help accessing my work computer from home using a VPN

[scott7saunders]

Hello,

at my place of work I have my own desktop PC which is running Windows XP, we are all using Windows Server 2008 and have the ability to connect from home using a VPN and RDP which is pretty pants due to how slow and choppy the whole experience is.

Now, I have managed to establish the VPN and actually map the main shared drive on our service without the need to windows RDC however I cannot seem to do the same for my own desktop PC.

I want to be able to map my desktop or the hard drive on my work PC but just cannot figure it out. I have tried mapping the IP address and then using my username and password however that doesn't work either.

Can anyone offer me some help ? I need access to the files that are on my PC .

Many thanks .

Scott

 

[UsernameIssues]

Welcome to the Seven Forums.

You mentioned that it "doesn't work either". What does not work? You are unable to map the drive or it maps but not all files are available? Tell us what you see.

Are you admin on your work XP desktop?
If so, then try \\XPcomputerName\c$

If you can assign the XP work computer a static IP address in the office, then you can reliably use the IP address for connectivity --- that is what I do.

 

[scott7saunders]

Hi,

My work machine has a status update address on the network, how would you use the ip address?

 

[scott7saunders]

Tried using my ip address on the domain however it tells me that the my network password is incorrect....

 

[UsernameIssues]

Hi,

My work machine has a status update address on the network, how would you use the ip address?

Sorry, I don't know what a "status update address" is. I've only worked with dynamically assigned IP addresses (DCHP) and static IP addresses. The norm is to use DCHP. You need to know lots of things about the network at the office before you decide to use a static IP address.

If the business is a tiny office, with just one router and one network, then it might be easy to setup and use a static IP address. If the office is bigger, then hopefully there is an IT department that can help you get/use a static IP.

As far as how to use the IP address, you replace this
\\XPcomputerName\c$
with this
\\IPAddress\c$

The only reason why I use the IP address is, the company that I'm connecting to has DNS issues at times (DNS being the thing that turns a computer name into an IP address before connections are made.) I just skip the DNS process by using the IP address of the computer that I want to RDC/RDP to or map a drive letter to.

Since you can connect via RDC/RDP, then connect that way, check the IP address and then test mapping a drive letter to that IP address. That should insure that you are attempting to connect to the correct computer.

 

[scott7saunders]

cheers UsernameIssues

gonna give that a try.

can I just check that the IP address of my office computer is one beginning with 10.10 etc, I presume this is like it is because its a server hosted network. Once I have established a VPN connection to the server then its the 10.10 address on my computer that I try and map ?

sorry to sound thick....

 

[UsernameIssues]

Don't worry about sounding thick. I only know a tiny bit about some things and I'm clueless about other stuff. That is why I stated that I did not know what a "status update address" was. And sadly, I don't know what a "server hosted network" is either.

I know that some companies have employees sit at a computer that is little more than a terminal. The terminal connects them to a Virtual Machine. The VM is running on a server - usually in some secure room/building. I don't know what phrase sums up that type of setup. If that is your setup, then I don't know much about getting to those files without RPD/RDC.

 

[Dwarf]

I can also access my work network from home over a VPN connection, albeit with limited functionality. However, it is sufficient to view the Intranet and also access my emails. Files on the shared server (which I can access at work) remain inaccessible.

You will need to have a word with your IT department (and also your line manager) for the necessary authorisation to access more than the basics, bearing in mind that their decision will be final.