How to Access Another Computer on the Same Network on PC or Mac

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parts

1Enabling Remote Desktop on Windows

2Connecting to Windows Remotely

3Setting Up Screen Sharing on Mac

4Connecting Remotely from Another Mac

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Article Summary

This How.com.vn teaches you how to access the desktop of another computer on the same network using Remote Desktop on a PC with the Pro version of Windows, or using Screen Sharing on a Mac computer. Before you can access another computer's desktop, you will need to set up the "host" computer to enable a remote desktop connection, then you can connect to it remotely from another computer with the same operating system. You will need the computer name, or local IP address of the computer you are trying to access. Windows 10 Home Edition does not support remote desktop connections.

Steps

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Enabling Remote Desktop on Windows

1. 
   1
   Open Start

   

   on the host computer. On the computer you want to access remotely, click the Windows logo in the lower-left corner of the taskbar to open the Start menu.

   • You must have the Professional version of Windows for this to work.
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   Spike Baron

   Network Engineer & Desktop Support

   Spike Baron is the Owner of Spike's Computer Repair based in Los Angeles, California. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.

   

   Spike Baron
   Network Engineer & Desktop Support

   Start accessing another computer through Server Settings. Go from the toolbar to Go then Server Settings. Type in SMB colon, forward slash, forward slash, computer name. There you can find the computer on your network that you want to access.
2. 
   2
   Type control panel. As you type, you will see a list of apps that match your search.
3. 
   3
   Click the Control Panel app. It's the app that has a blue icon with some graphs on it.
4. 
   4
   Click System and Security. It's the first option in the Control Panel.
5. 
   5
   Click Allow remote access. It's under the "System" header, which is the third header in the System and Security menu.
6. 
   6
   Click the radial button next to "Allow remote connections to this computer". It's in the box labeled "Remote Desktop".
7. 
   7
   Uncheck

   

   the box below "Allow remote connections". It will only complicate things if you check "Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication".
8. 
   8
   Go to http://www.whatsmyip.org in a web browser. On the same computer, open a web browser, such as Chrome or Edge, and go to the What Is My IP website. This will tell you what your universal IP address is.
9. 
   9
   Write down your IP address. It's the series of numbers at the top of the page separated by periods, such as "87.172.128.76". That's the IP address of the computer and you'll need it to connect to it remotely from another computer.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Connecting to Windows Remotely

1. 
   1
   Using a different computer, open Start

   

   . Go to the computer you want to use to access the host computer from and click the Windows logo to open the Start menu.
2. 
   2
   Type rdc. You will see a list of apps related to Remote Desktop Connection.
3. 
   3
   Click the Remote Desktop Connection app. It's the app that has an image of a computer monitor.

   • On a Mac, you can download Windows Remote Desktop from the App Store to connect to a Windows host computer. Install the app then launch it once it's finished installing.
4. 
   4
   Type the IP address of the PC you want to access. You can type the computer's name or the IP address in the box labeled "Computer".
5. 
   5
   Click Connect. It's at the bottom of the Remote Desktop Window.
6. 
   6
   Enter the credentials for the host computer and click OK. Type the administrators username and password and then click "OK". Click the checkbox next to "Remember my credentials" if you want it to remember the username and password for future connections.
7. 
   7
   Click OK. If it tells you the identity of the remote computer cannot be verified. Click OK to tell it to continue anyway. A window will open up displaying the desktop of the target computer on your network. Use your own mouse cursor to access the computer remotely.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Setting Up Screen Sharing on Mac

1. 
   1
   Click

   

   . Click the apple icon in the upper-left corner of the menu bar at the top of the screen. This opens the Apple menu.
2. 
   2
   Click System Preferences. It's the second option in the Apple menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Sharing. It's the option with the icon of a blue folder with a yellow sign on it.
4. 
   4
   Click the checkbox for "Screen Sharing". Screen sharing is the second option in the "Sharing" menu in the box to the left. You'll see a checkmark in the box when it's enabled.
5. 
   5
   Write down the VNC address. The VNC address is the text below the header that says "Screen Sharing: On" A typical VNC address looks something like "vnc://10.0.0.1".
6. 
   6
   Click Computer Settings. It's below the heading that says "Screen Sharing: On".
7. 
   7
   Click the checkbox next to "VNC viewers may control screen with password". It's the second option in the popup menu.
8. 
   8
   Enter a password. Use the box to the right of the check-marked message to enter a password that users will type to access this computer.
9. 
   9
   Click OK. It's in the lower-right corner of the popup menu. Screen sharing is now enabled on this computer.
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Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Connecting Remotely from Another Mac

1. 
   1
   Open Finder

   

   . It's the app that has a blue and white icon with a smiley face in the bottom-left of your Mac's dock.
2. 
   2
   Click Go. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen. This opens a drop-down menu.
3. 
   3
   Click Connect to Server. It's at the bottom of the "Go" menu.
4. 
   4
   Enter the VNC address of the Mac you want to connect to. When you set up Screen Sharing on the host Mac, it tells you the VNC address needed to connect to it.
5. 
   5
   Click Connect. It's in the bottom-right corner of the Connect to Server window.
6. 
   6
   Type the username and password, if prompted. Depending on how you setup screen sharing on the other Mac, you may be asked to enter the username and password for that Mac.
7. 
   7
   Click Connect. A window will open up displaying the desktop of the host computer. Use your mouse cursor to control the host Mac.
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