Options for remoting into Windows 7 Home Premium?

October 1, 2009 8:37 AM

Help me decide if I need to fork over the dough for Windows 7 Professional or not.

I've been on XP Pro since '02 and I've decided I'm ready for something new. Windows 7 Home Premium is more than enough for me with one huge caveat. I regularly use Remote Desktop on my home network. I can't use VNC because I have multiple user accounts with Fast User Switching on my family PC.

I can't seem to find if Windows 7 has an equivalent to Fast User Switching such that VNC will not work. If VNC does not work then I have no choice but to get Win7 Pro.

So will VNC work in my situation? Is there another option I haven't considered?

I'd be forever grateful if someone could set me straight on all this...

posted by jluce50 to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Could you clarify on the VNC thing? If you run VNC as a service, instead of running it under a particular user account, you should be able to access the machine just fine. Does Home Premium not allow you to install VNC as a service?
posted by odinsdream at 8:59 AM on October 1

Yes, I can VNC into my Windows XP machine no matter which use is logged in, or even if nobody is logged in yet (that's how I restart it).
posted by rokusan at 9:03 AM on October 1

You could also use the free version of LogMeIn (logmein.com) to the exact same thing.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:08 AM on October 1

@odinsdream: In XP I ran into all sorts of problems even with VNC running as a service. It's been a couple years so I don't remember the details, but I did plenty of research and never found a solution.

I don't know anything about how VNC would work under Home Premium. That's exactly what I'm trying to find out.
posted by jluce50 at 9:57 AM on October 1

@blue_beetle: That would work as a last resort. But since this is only on my LAN I'd hate to have to use a solution that connects over the internet. I'd rather spend the extra $$$ to get Professional.
posted by jluce50 at 9:58 AM on October 1

VNC is ancient technology. If youre using RDP over the internet prepare to be shocked at how horribly slow VNC is, even after going down to 8-bit graphics, full compression, etc. On top of it, it is insecure. If you dont run it over a VPN or SSH tunnel expect someone to sniff your password and session pretty easily. Just spring for Win7 Professional edition, afterall you sprang for XP Professional. Its worth it for not dealing with the hassles of VNC.

Logmein is VNC based, btw.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:32 AM on October 1

Also you can ask this question at the ultravnc forums.
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:01 PM on October 1

Vigorous googling reveals: No. You'll need Pro. However, XP and Vista's low end SKU's have both been hacked to support RDC serving. I imagine a similar hack will appear for Win 7 Home but if you must have it, you'd be better off buying the more expensive version.
posted by chairface at 10:16 PM on October 1