Accessing the GCRC/ITHS Domain Remotely Using a Remote Desktop Connection

Obtaining a Remote Desktop Client

To connect to the ITHS terminal server, you'll need to make sure you have the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection installed. Users running Windows XP or Windows Vista do not need to install anything--the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection is already installed by default. Users running Windows 95, Windows 98 and 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000 can download the Remote Desktop Connection for Windows. Macintosh users can download the Remote Desktop Connection for Macintosh. If you are using a Linux based box, you'll want to look into using free software such as rdesktop.


Connecting to the GCRC/ITHS Terminal Server

  1. Start the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection. For Windows users, this can be found in Start > Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.
  2. When asked which computer to connect to, enter "remote.crc.washington.edu" as shown in the image below:

    Connection Screen

    If you're using rdesktop, open a terminal window and type rdesktop -g 16 remote.crc.washington.edu and press "Enter."
  3. If you do not want to create a shortcut to this connection on your desktop, skip to the next step. If you would like to create a shortcut on your desktop, press the "Options >>" button. Make sure you're on the General tab, then press the "Save As..." button. The Save As dialog box appears. Save this connection to your desktop and press the "Save" button.
  4. Press the "Connect" button to connect to the ITHS Terminal Server.
  5. If you are using Remote Desktop Connection 5.1, the Windows logon screen will appear. Enter your GCRC domain username and password and press OK to logon. If you are using Remote Desktop Connection 6.0--installed on Windows Vista by default, or installed through Windows Update on Windows XP SP2--a user authentication dialog box will appear prompting for a username and password. If this occurs, enter "gcrc\[username]" in the username field where [username] is your GCRC domain username, enter your GCRC account password, and press OK. This will bypass the standard login screen you may be accustomed to at work.

Adding Access to Locally Attached Devices

  1. Start the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection. For Windows users, this can be found in Start > Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.
  2. Once the Remote Desktop Connection window appears, click on the "Options >>" button to edit your connection options.
  3. Click on the Local Resources tab. Under the "Local devices" section, check any devices you wish to make available in your connection. Checking "Disk drives" will make your C: drive and any other local disk drives and/or mapped network drives available when you connect. Likewise, checking "Printers" will make any printers attached to the computer you are connecting from available for use when you're connected to the server.

    Local Resources

  4. Press the "Connect" button to connect.

Hot Keys

For more advanced users, here are some hot keys you may find useful:

  • CTRL + ALT + BREAK switches the client between a window (if applicable) and a full screen
  • CTRL + ALT + END opens the Windows Security dialog box.
  • ALT + INSERT cycles through the programs in the order they were started.
  • ALT + PAGE UP switches between programs from left to right.
  • ALT + PAGE DOWN switches between programs from right to left.
  • ALT + HOME displays the Start Menu.
  • ALT + DEL displays the Windows Menu.
  • CTRL + ALT + plus (+) symbol on the numeric keypad places a snapshot of the entire client window are on the Terminal Server clipboard, and this provides the same functionality as pressing PRINTSCREEN on a local computer.
  • CTRL + ALT + minus (-) symbol on the numeric keypad places a snapshot of the active window, within the client, on the Terminal Server clipboard, and this provides the same functionality as pressing ALT + PRINTSCREEN on a local computer.