USC Marshall School of Business Academic Information Services Wake My PC Windows Version Connecting to a Marshall Windows PC Remotely Remote Desktop allows you to access the files and programs on a remote computer. For example, it allows you to access your work computer from home. Once connected, your home computer (local computer) will display the screen of the computer you are connecting to (remote computer) and you will use your local mouse and keyboard to control the remote computer. You will also be able to access any network drives your work (remote) computer is connected to. This handout covers how to connect to a Marshall computer using the Wake My PC widget located within MyMarshall. About the Wake My PC Widget and Remote Desktop As part of its IT Energy Initiative, Marshall has installed Verdiem Surveyor energy saving software on all of its computers. Surveyor saves energy by placing the computer into a lowered power state after a specified duration of inactivity. You can wake the computer by hitting your space bar; or, if you are working remotely, by using the Wake My PC widget within MyMarshall. Further, if you are remoting into a Windows PC, the Wake My PC widget has the added advantage of being able to power on Marshall Windows PCs which were either shut down by the user or by a temporary power failure. About Programs Which Run Overnight such as SAS and Open Files As mentioned above, during non-business hours, Surveyor will place a Marshall computer whose mouse or keyboard has not been utilized for a specified duration into lowered power state. Marshall realizes that some applications run queries which can take all night and has configured Surveyor to not place a computer into lowered power state when these types of applications are running. Below is a list of some of the applications which will not be interrupted by Surveyor: SPSS R Mathematica SAS Minitab Matlab SDC Platinum v4.0 PASW If the application you wish to remain running is not on the list above, simply contact the Marshall Help Desk at (213) 740-3000 to schedule a date range where Surveyor will not be active for power management on your computer. Also, while it is always safer to close any open files prior to going home for the day, any data in an open file should not be lost when Surveyor activates after the set time of inactivity. When the computer is woken back up, those files should be restored to the state you left them. Overview of the Tasks Required to Setup a Remote Desktop Connection The illustration below gives you a quick overview of the steps required to configure and remote into a Marshall Computer. Configure Your Marshall Computer (Performed only once while at Marshall) Most users must contact the Help Desk to: Determine the computer name of the Marshall PC. Enable remote access on the Computer. Configure the Wake My PC Widget (Performed only once from any computer) Configure the Wake My PC widget within MyMarshall with your Marshall Computer s name. Connect to Marshall Computer (Performed from any Computer) Wake your Marshall remote PC using the Wake My PC widget within MyMarshall. Login to AnyConnect VPN. Begin working remotely. Note for Home Mac Users If are remoting into a Marshall Windows computer from a home Mac computer, you must install the Remote Desktop Client for Macs on your Mac. It can be downloaded at: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/remote-desktop-client
Configure a Marshall Computer for a Remote Connection As a rule, Marshall faculty can perform most of the steps below themselves and staff must go through the Marshall Help Desk. The instruction below gives more explicit direction. Instructions for Staff With a few exceptions, staff must contact the Marshall Help Desk to setup their office PC for a remote connection. Specifically, the Help Desk will need to: Enable remote access on the PC. Provide you the name of your Marshall PC so you can use it when you configure the Wake My PC widget. The Marshall Help Desk can be reached at (213) 740-3000 or HelpDesk@marshall.usc.edu. Instructions for Faculty The steps below are for Marshall faculty and are performed on their Marshall PC. Task A: Contact Help Desk to Verify that the PC is in a Group that Allows Remote Access Contact the Marshall Help Desk to verify that your Marshall PC is in a group that allows remote access. They can be reached at (213) 740-3000 or HelpDesk@marshall.usc.edu. Task B: Determine Computer Name of the Marshall PC (One Time Only) To make a remote connection, you must know the name of the Marshall PC you will be remoting into. These steps only need to be performed once on the remote PC. 1. Click Start. 2. Click in the Search Programs and Files box. (or Run if you are running an older version of Windows.) 3. Type: cmd 4. Press Enter. 5. At the command prompt type: ipconfig/all 6. Press Enter 7. Your computer s name should be listed on the Host Name line in the area indicated below. Be sure to write it down exactly as it reads on your screen. 8. Close the command window by typing Exit. Go to Task C on the next page.
Instructions for Faculty - Continued Task C: Enable Remote Access to your Marshall PC (One Time Only) The steps below must be performed on the PC at Marshall you wish to later remote into. Once enabled, you will not have to perform them again. Note that the steps are slightly different depending upon whether you are running Windows XP or 7/Vista and that Surveyor cannot run on a Mac that does not have a Windows operating system installed. Steps for Windows XP Faculty Users Follow these steps if your USC PC is running Windows XP 1. Right click the Computer icon located on your desktop and select Properties. 2. Click the Remote tab. 3. In the Remote Desktop area, check Allow users to connect remotely to this computer. 4. Click OK to close the My Computer window. Steps for Windows 7 or Vista Faculty Users Follow these steps if your Marshall PC is running Windows 7 or Vista 1. Click Start. 2. Right click Computer and select Properties. 3. Click Remote settings located on the left menu. 4. If necessary, click the Remote tab. 5. Check Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop (less secure). 6. Click OK.
Configure the Wake My PC Widget in MyMarshall The steps in this section are performed within MyMarshall on any PC. They configure the Wake My PC widget within MyMarshall for a remote connection to your Marshall PC and because the settings will be saved within your MyMarshall account, they only have to be performed once. Add Your USC PC to Wake My PC (One Time Only) Here you will configure Wake My Comuter to connect to your Marshall Computer. Note that these steps only need to be performed once. 1. While still logged into MyMarshall, click the Manage Computers button within the Wake My PC widget. 2. Click Add New. 3. In Display Name, type any descriptive name you wish to identify the Marshall PC you are remoting into. 4. In Computer Name, type the Host Name provided to you by the Help Desk (staff) or you looked up in Task B (faculty). 5. Do not check Is Mac. 6. Click Save. An icon representing the Marshall PC you are remoting into should appear in the Wake My PC window. You will use this icon to connect to your Marshall PC. This icon indicates that the PC is awake. Note that you can delete the icon or add more Marshall PCs by clicking the Manage Computers button. This icon indicates that the PC is in a lowered power state.
Connecting to your Marshall PC Remotely Now that you have configured the Wake My PC widget for a remote connection to your Marshall PC, you can connect to your Marshall PC from any Windows PC or a Mac running Microsoft s RDP. Note that if this is your first time connecting remotely on the local PC, Wake My PC should install Cisco Java client software on the local PC. 1. On the PC you are remoting in from (i.e. home PC, wireless laptop, etc.) log into MyMarshall (https://mymarshall.usc.edu). If Surveyor has placed your remote PC into lowered power state, its icon will appear as shown to the right. 2. Click the icon to wake the remote PC. This will send a test every 10 seconds. When the PC responds back that it is awake, the message Your computer is ready to connect will appear and the icon will change. Note that the wake up process can take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes depending upon whether your PC is simply in lowered power state or completely shut off. As mentioned earlier, Surveyor will power up a PC which has been shut down. 3. Click the icon representing your remote PC to connect to it. Connecting to VPN If you are connecting to a Marshall PC from a non-marshall PC, you may be required to connect first to USC s AnyConnect VPN. If you have not already started a USC AnyConnect VPN connection, Wake My PC should automatically launch the USC AnyConnect login page allowing you to start it now. 4. Click OK at the VPN message. You should be taken to USCs WebVPN Service web page. 5. Select your group (Typically 2-Home). 6. Type your USC username. 7. Type your USC password. (Note that this is the same password you would use to login to Blackboard.) 8. Click Login.
After clicking Login on the previous page, you should be taken to the page shown to the right. 9. Click Start AnyConnect. First Time VPN Users If this is the first time you have used AnyConnect on this PC, you will be prompted to install the VPN client. Simply follow the on-screen prompts to install VPN on your local PC. 10. At the prompt to open the.rdp file, select Open with (but don t click Browse.) 11. Click OK. At this point, the Remote Desktop Connection prompt should open. 12. Click Connect to connect to your USC PC.
Working Remotely (Windows Computers) When working remotely you can switch between viewing your local PC, your remote PC, or view both at once. When working with the remote PC maximized (full screen), you will see only the remote PC and the yellow bar shown below. Lock / Autohide Remote Bar Click to lock the yellow bar in place make or only display it when the mouse approaches its location. Hide Remote PC Clicking this will display your local PC full screen and place the remote PC as an icon on the Windows taskbar. Window View Clicking this will display the remote PC in a window floating on top of the local PC. Disconnect Disconnects you from the remote PC. Running Programs While you are viewing the remote PC, you can start applications just as you would if you were in front of the PC. Copying Files You will not be able to drag and drop files between the two PC s but you can copy and paste them using the windows clipboard. Simply right click a file and select Copy then go to the destination location and click Paste. Printing Unless you checked Printers on the Local Resources tab prior to connecting, when you print documents running on the remote PC, they will print in your office. Disconnecting To disconnect from the remote PC, simply close the window the remote PC is running in. Note about Configuring Local Resources In the past, when making a Remote Desktop connection, users had the ability to configure access to local devices such as printers, ports, and drives. When using the Wake My PC method of Remote Desktop, these options are configured for you. Specifically, you will have access to your local printer, ports, and drives. If for some reason you need a different configuration, you can configure local resources yourself with combination of using the Wake My PC to bring your PC out of a lowered power state and a normal Remote Desktop connection using the icon in Windows Accessories group. Assuming you have already created the icon for your remote PC in the Wake My PC widget, the basic steps would be: a. In MyMarshall, click your USC PC in the Wake My PC widget to wake up the PC (but do not connect to it). b. Go to http://sslvpn.usc.edu and login to AnyConnect to make a VPN connection to USC. c. Go to Start All Programs Accessories and click Remote Desktop Connection. d. Click Options to set the configuration you would like. e. Specify your computer name and click Connect.