Setting Up Xming on Raspberry PI: A Step-by-Step Guide

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This article will walk you through the process of setting up a remote desktop connection between your Windows computer and a Raspberry PI using the free SSH client, Putty, in conjunction with the popular virtualization software, Xming.

Why Use Remote Desktop?

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Before we dive into the nitty-gritty details, let's quickly explore why you might want to use remote desktop on your Raspberry PI:

1. Convenience: No need to physically connect a keyboard and mouse every time you want to access your Pi.

2. Space-saving: If space is at a premium in your home or office, having all of your machines accessible from one central location can be a major plus-point.

Hardware Requirements

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Before we begin, ensure that:

1. Your Raspberry PI has the latest version of Raspbian (the official OS for Pi) installed.

2. You have an Ethernet cable handy to connect your Pi to your network.

3. Xming is already installed on your Windows machine.

4. Putty SSH client is also downloaded and installed.

Step 1: Downloading and Installing Necessary Software

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To set up remote desktop between your Raspberry PI and a Windows computer, you'll need the following software:

* Xming (free): A powerful alternative to Microsoft's own Remote Desktop Client for accessing Linux-based systems from within Windows.

* Putty (free):

* Download & Install both programs from their official websites:

https://www.strawsoft.com/xming.html

https://www.putty.org/

Step 2: Configuring XDMCP on Raspberry PI

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1. Open the terminal on your raspberry pi.

2. Type 'sudo raspi-config' and press enter.

Now, you will see several options to configure:

3. Use arrow keys to navigate through these options until 'Advanced' is selected.

4. Press Enter key once again.

You'll now be presented with a new list of advanced configuration settings.

5. Select the option for 'XDMCP' (Remote Desktop).

Here, you can enable or disable remote desktop connections as per your preference:

* To allow anyone to connect using any client software, select 'Yes' and press Enter key twice.

* If only specific clients are allowed to access via X11-Forwarding on a particular port(s), then enter the IP address(es) separated by colon(:) followed by respective ports in order like so: 192.168.x.y:5901;192.168.q.w:6000 etc...

Step 3: Finding Your Raspberry PI's IP Address

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To connect to your raspberry pi via putty, you'll need its IPV4 address:

1. Open Advanced IP scanner.

2. Search for Rasberry pis IP address.

Note down the resultant IPV4 address as it will be required in subsequent steps!

Step 3: Establishing a Putty SSH Connection

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Now that we have both our Raspberry PI and Windows machine(s) configured, let's establish an initial connection:

1. Launch putty on your windows computer.

2. In 'Host Name (or IP address)' field, enter the IPV4 address of raspberry pi obtained in previous step.

Step 3: Authenticating with Your Raspberry PI

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Once you've entered these details and clicked 'Open', a new window should appear asking for username/password combination:

1. Enter your Pi's default credentials here - typically 'pi' / 'default password', which can be found on the back of your raspberry pi or in raspi-config under 'Performance/Onscreen Keyboard'.

Step 4: Configuring Xming

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With Putty now connected to our Raspberry PI, we need one final piece of software installed before we're good to go - x11forwarding:

1. In 'Connection-> SSH -> X11' section uncheck the box labeled 'X11Forwarding'.

2. Close and reopen putty.

Step 5: Accessing Your Raspberry PI via Remote Desktop

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Finally, you should now be able to access your raspberry pi from within windows using xming:

1. Launch 'Start->All Programs-> Accessories->Remote Deskop Client' on Windows.

2. In 'Computer' field type the IPV4 address of raspberry pi obtained earlier and click connect.

If everything has been configured correctly, a new desktop should appear showing you the GUI environment running directly within your existing windows session!

Troubleshooting Tips

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* Ensure that X11-Forwarding is enabled on both client (windows) & server sides.

* Check firewall rules to allow incoming connections from remote machines if necessary.

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And there we have it! With these simple steps, you should now be able to access your Raspberry PI's graphical user interface directly from within Windows using Xming as the SSH tunneling software. Happy computing!

References:

1. 'https://www.strawsoft.com/xming.html'(https://www.strawsoft.com/xmonguide)

2. 'https://github.com/putty-remmina/putty/blob/master/docs/FAQs/Tunnel-X11.md'(https://github.com/puttymaintainers/ putty/issues?utf8=%E2%82%AC&q=remote+desktop)