My new file server is not accesable via RDP from a Windows XP sp2 machine over a WAN. I have no difficulties over the LAN and am running out of idea! I cannot access the internet from the server for file updates either, which I am sure is related. I am new to Server 2003 and I am sure this must be a simple one, but I am pulling my hair out! Without remote administration, I spend alot of time in my car! Please help! Thanks. As times like this I wish I had listened to what my mother used to tell me...

It sounds like your server has connectivity problems in general. You should look at a few things to find the problem. 1. Is the server's network card properly installed? It should show up in device manager with no errors if it is. 2. Is TCP/IP installed and configured properly? Can you ping the server's loopback address? Is there a real IP address assigned? Can you ping it from the server? 3. Can you ping the server from another computer on your network? 4. Does the server have a gateway address assigned? Can you ping it? The fact that you can't access the Internet for updates is troublesome, but not necessarily related. Can you access other Internet sites? If everything has been successful so far, then you are probably looking at either an RDP configuration problem, or a firewall issue. Can you remote-desktop to the server from a computer on the same network? If yes, then the problem is probably with your firewall. Anyway, post back and let us know the results of the above troubleshooting steps. We'll go forward from there :)

Wow fast response! You got me on the right track. MAC filtering is enabled for network security and their was a typo in the server's MAC address. Once I fixed that everything fell into place. Thanks for the assistance! As times like this I wish I had listened to what my mother used to tell me...

Hey, good deal. Glad you got it working. Also FYI, since you seem to be security-conscious already, 2003 server supports SSL for RDP as of SP1 :)

Thank you, I will research that tonight! New problem... in a fit of joy, I happily installed all the updates on my new server. I am now completely updated. Unfortunately at system restart, I lost all RDP capabilities, both from LAN and WAN. I will dig into it in the morning, but I was curious if their was an easy solution to this. Does MS default its security settings at service pack installations? All my netwroking seems to be operating correctly. Thanks once again! As times like this I wish I had listened to what my mother used to tell me...

I don't believe service-packing would reset your security settings to default. SP1 isn't being pushed through the WU client yet anyway, so you may not have installed it yet if that's what you used for updating. Are you using terminal services for RDP, or remote desktop? I know terminal services stops working after a while if you don't have a license server running for it. That might be something to check.

I was previously using remote desktop. I made the switch to terminal services yesterday, installed the license server and activated it. It was working perfectly until I performed my updates! I have gone through the system checking for problems and nothing is jumping out at me. So here it is; I can ping to and from the server and I can run remote desktop on the server to itself or to another machine. My licenses are installed and reactivated and I am at a loss once again. Any thoughts would be, as always, greatly appreciated! As times like this I wish I had listened to what my mother used to tell me...