Subj : Re: Start Linux session from within Windows
To   : comp.os.linux
From : Michael Hearne
Date : Mon Oct 25 2004 07:18 am

Durk van Veen wrote:
> Michael Hearne wrote:
> 
> 
>>I'm not talking about using Samba to transfer files, we can already do
>>that. We want to log on to Linux from the Windows machines, and bring up
>>our Linux Desktops.
> 
> 
> What you need to install on the Windows machines is an X server so that you
> can bring the X desktops down to the Windows boxes. cygwin is a free
> solution which I've been using for a few years now. You can open up remote
> access to the Linux box using XDMCP but this is a fairly insecure solution.
> The better approach is to use the built-in X server of cygwin, start it
> without a Window Manager, then use "ssh -X" to remote into the server. From
> there you can start whatever desktop you want.

Thanks,Durk, I've got Cygwin on a CD and I'll dig it out tomorrow. It's 
kind of old though. That's how I became interested in Linux in the first 
place, and then I finally left Windows altogether. But not my friends! 
They just want to Yahoo and chat and don't really care about the 
technical end.

And they really want to play all those free Linux games, but I'll make 
sure they do their backup duties too. Besides, the more time they spend 
on their Linux desktops, the better chance I have to win them over.

I tried using VNC, but when I logged out to change users, the network 
went down. The Linux machine doesn't crash, but I lose control from the 
Windows machines, and have to physically go to the Linux machine to 
finish changing users.

Then the network comes back up, and I can make a new connection. Not 
very viable. That's why I was thinking of putting a separate logon 
screen on a different tty. Or I could build a separate network server.

I will try to use Cygwin, since I already have the disk. I hadn't 
thought of ssh under windows until you mentioned it.

Thanks,

Michael

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