Recently I did a complete windows recovery on my hp machine. prior to that I was able to use my toshiba laptop with Remote desktop to access and run any program on the hp machine and vice/versa.

Since the re install I am unable to figure out what I did to get it to work. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated
Both machine have vista premium, sp1.

If I recall I had to change the workgroup name from workgroup to mshome to accomplish it.

What are the OSs & what versions. Some versions of XP & Vista allow this but some don't but I'll point out the basics as best I can. If it is XP or Vista you need to right click on Computer/My computer (depending on the OS) and choose properties. From there in Vista you need to click on advanced system settings & in either XP or Vista chose the remote tab, look for the option to allow remote connection (or something like that) & click ok. In vista you should choose to allow from any version because if you don't you'll only be able to connect from a Vista machine. Now from "start search" (Vista) or run (XP) type in cmd. Now type in ipconfig & look for the ip address for your network device (ethernet or wireless). All this is on the machine you are accessing and this must be enabled on the HP. From the laptop find remote desktop connection (usually under accessories). The ip address goes where it says computer. Now click connect. You can click on options and then click to save your settings.

To be done this way both computers must be on the same network or you'll have to find a complicated workaround. If the computers aren't on the same network you can use logmein.com. You'll have to sign up for an account and install software on the server (the computer you are accessing) and you'll access it through logmein through a web browser on the client (the computer you are accessing the server from). Either way you have to allow the connection through your firewall.

Hope this helps. I could be more exact if I knew the OSs involved. If you still can't figure it out get back to us with your operating systems, what you tried, & what happened.

As I said, I'm running windows Vista premium on the Toshibe laptop, hp m8120n is also vista premium and the xp desktop is professional

"In vista you should choose to allow from any version because if you don't " these options don't appear on either vista machines at this time. could something be disable?

Sorry, I didn't see the OS in your post. Microsoft's remote desktop is only available on Vista buisness & ultimate but not home/home premium because business & ultimate cost significantly more so I don't know how you were doing it before. Work group name has nothing to do with remote desktop that I'm aware of but you do have to be on the same network. Doing a quick google search I found a guy that posted a hack around it being disabled in home premium. However, as a disclaimer I would be cautious about using this because it might not be safe, malware-free, or even legal. I take no responsibility for this nor does d-a-l, according to the terms of use so use at your own risk!!! I can vouch for logmein.com because it is legal, malware free, & works on vista. However it isn't as good as microsoft's remote desktop & has its limitations unless you're willing to pay for the professional version. There might be some other tools out there but when I found logmein I believe that it was the only one, or best one, available at the time and at the time I couldn't use remote desktop. You could try doing a search. logmein does have an advantage over microsoft's R.D. in that you don't have to be on the same network to remote connect.

[QUOTE= logmein does have an advantage over microsoft's R.D. in that you don't have to be on the same network to remote connect.[/QUOTE]

Oh well, I don't think I want to spendc $159 just for ultimate for that. But I would like to thank you for your time.