There are different ways in which your computer can be accessed from Nokia N800 tablet, such as ssh, VNC, Remote Desktop Protocol(RDP). If you want to access the desktop of your Windows machine(XP or Vista) from N800, the best option would be to use RDP and rDesktop for N800 is an application that lets you do exactly that.

Access Windows desktop from Nokia N800 using rDesktop
We need to do some preparation first. You need to have a user account in Windows operating system that uses a non-blank password. If your user account doesn’t use a password or if you want to create a separate user account for remote access anyhow, follow the steps below. If you do have a password-enabled user account that you want to use for remote access, jump directly to the next section.

The screenshots shown in this post were taken on Windows Vista but the procedure is described for both Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Creating a New User Account in Windows XP/Vista

  1. Create a new user account in Windows Vista by going to:
    Vista: Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Manage other accounts -> Create a new account
    XP: Control Panel -> User Accounts -> Create a new account
    Create a new account in XP/Vista for rDesktop
  2. Now create a password for this account by clicking the “Create a password” link on the user’s account page.
    Create a new user account for Windows remote desktop access from N800

Enabling Remote Desktop Access in Windows XP/Vista

Before we can connect to the Windows desktop remotely from N800, we need to first enable remote access in Windows. To do so, go to Control Panel -> System -> Remote Settings and select the second or the third radio button in the “Remote Desktop” section according to your security requirements. In XP, select the “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer” checkbox and add the user account created above by clicking the “Select Remote Users…” button.

Enable Remote desktop access from the Windows machine

NOTE: Going to Control Panel -> Control Panel Home and entering “Remote” in the search box(top-right corner) will also take you to the same properties dialog page when you click the link “Allow remote access to your computer.”
Enable Remote desktop access from the Windows machine
You can access most of the features in Vista this way.

Note Domain/Workgroup name and IP address of Windows Machine

Now we need to collect some information about our Windows system – the Domain/Workgroup name and the IP address of the computer.

  1. Control Panel -> System will show you the Workgroup name. In XP, go to Control Panel -> System -> Computer Name to find the same information.
    Note Domain/Workgroup name of the Windows machine
  2. Running the command ipconfig on the command prompt(All Programs/Start -> Accessories -> Command Prompt) will display the IP address:
    Note IP address of the Windows machine from the command prompt
    Control Panel -> Network and Sharing -> View Status -> Details will also show you the IP address.

Installing rDesktop RDP client on Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

Update: For reasons I can’t remember, I had not included instructions to install rDesktop on Nokia N800 tablet. You can find them in comment #6 below but I am including a copy of it here for convenience:

You need to install the application called rDesktop in your Nokia N800 tablet.

Depending on the repositories present in your N800′s catalog, you might be able to install directly from the Application Manager. Go to Tools -> Application manager -> Browse Installable Applications -> All and scroll-down to see if an application called rDesktop is visible in the shown list. If yes, then select it and tap on the “Install” button to install it.

If you can’t find it in the Application Manager, go to this link from your N800’s web browser: http://maemo.org/downloads/product/OS2007/rdesktop and click on the green button labelled “Click to Install.” N800 will then download the .install file, add relevant information to your application/repository catalog and will then install rDesktop application itself. Then you can access rDesktop from the Extras menu.

Connecting to Windows Desktop from Nokia N800 using rDesktop

We are now done setting up the Windows machine for remote access and collecting the necessary information.

  1. Run rDesktop from the Extras menu in your N800.
    rDesktop for Nokia N800 Internet tablet
  2. Enter the connection details as shown in the screenshot below:
    Enter connection details in rDesktop for N800
  3. Click OK and you will be greeted with the welcome screen of XP/Vista:
    Vista Welcomes screen on N800's screen
  4. Full Vista desktop as visible on the Nokia N800:
    Vista desktop visible on N800's screen

Unless you use a wireless keyboard with your Windows machine, you have the choice of using only the stylus/finger as the mouse to browse through the Windows desktop as you get no keyboard access to it from N800/rDesktop. Use ssh for keyboard intensive work. Use TightVNC for raw/direct access to the Windows screen(unlike RDP where a login session is required).