Remotely connect to a Windows workstation (RDP)

To setup remote access initially to your workstation, you will need to be on-campus at your workstation. 

You only need to complete these steps once.

Remote access to your workstation on campus is supported from any laptop/workstation. Remote access to laptops is not possible.

Prerequisite 1 - Windows Operating System

The workstation on-campus must be running:

• Windows 11 or Windows 10
• Professional/Enterprise version

All workstations purchased under the University of Galway Central Procurement Contract are supported. 

Your workstation must have received all latest Windows updates.

Learn more about how to check your Windows OS version

Prerequisite 2 - Enable Remote Access to your workstation

You can configure your workstation to allow remote access with a few easy steps.

1. Select Start, select Settings, then select System.
2. Select Remote Desktop, toggle the option Enable Remote Desktop to On.
3. Select Confirm on the pop-up dialog box to enable Remote Desktop.

Ensure your user account is listed in the "Remote Desktop Users" tab.

Prerequisite 3 - Enable "Auto Start Up"

This step should enable your workstation to automatically turn-on at 07:00 each weekday morning. This may be useful in the scenario that you accidentally turn off your machine.

1. Open File Explorer on your Taskbar
   
   
   
2. Click on This PC or My Computer, and then double-click on the University of Galway Applications folder 
3. Double-click on Auto Start Up

Prerequisite 4 - Configure power settings

The workstation must be powered-on in order to connect. ISS cannot power-on workstations remotely.

1. In the search box beside the start button type: Power and sleep settings
2. Press Enter, this will open Power & Sleep settings
   
3. Change all screen and sleep options to Never as below:
   

Prerequisite 5 - Get your workstation information for the ticket

1. Select the windows icon to access the search function of the Start menu.
2. Click in the search box and type in cmd. Click the cmd program.
   
   
   
   
3. Type in ipconfig/all in the Command Prompt window and press the Return key
4. Right click, copy and paste this information into the ticket. 

Request remote access

To request access, log a ticket with the Library & IT Service Desk under the following category:

Please include the following information in the Request Detail box:

• The name of the staff member requiring the access
• Email address of the staff member
• University of Galway Staff ID
• Operating system of your off-campus device
• IP Address of your Windows workstation on-campus - this is contained in the output from Prerequisite 6
  
• MAC Address of your Windows workstation on-campus - this is contained in the output from Prerequisite 6
• Dell Service Tag of your Windows workstation on-campus - you will find this on the asset tag sticker or on your Desktop wallpaper (7 digits long or it may start with GALW-XXXXXXX)
• Reason for requesting access
• Ensure that your PC/laptop meet ISS security requirements to allow the VPN service to be installed on your computer.

Note: Students may only request access to a workstation/server using the Client-based VPN.

Connect using the Terminal Sessions method (Windows remote users)

This method is only available to staff connecting from a Windows computer. Students/External Users must use the Client-based VPN.

1. Using Microsoft Edge, go to Staff VPN
2. Login using your Campus Account
3. Under the Terminal Sessions tab, click on the machine you wish to connect to: ‌
4. If prompted, Open Pulse Secure Application Launcher. Otherwise, you may need to install this application first.‌
5. That’s it, you should now be connected!

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Connection error

If you see this error, make sure the PC is turned on and connected to the network. If possible, you could ask a colleague that is on-campus to check if your workstation is switched on. Please make sure that you have completed all prerequisite instructions at the top of this page.

ISS staff do not have the ability to remotely turn-on Windows workstations and most ISS staff are working remotely.

How do I connect to a Windows machine without using Campus Account/UDS credentials?

The password for RDP does not work. What should I do?

Avoid the characters " , £ , @ , ~ , # in domain account passwords. There is a limitation with keyboard mappings on the current version of software which results in incorrect keyboard mapping over the RDP session for these characters.

The following workaround is available if these characters are required.

• Install the US keyboard mapping on the laptop you are using to connect to myfiles.nuigalway.ie. The link below illustrates the instructions to do this on windows 10

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4027670/windows-10-add-and-switch-input-and-display-language-preferences

• Switch to US language on the laptop you are using to connect. In windows 10, this can be achieved by clicking on “ENG” on taskbar or pressing windows key + SPACE.
• It is then possible to use these characters on the remote RDP session
• You can switch back and forth between Irish and US keyboard without disconnecting from VPN or RDP sessions