Headless Windows PC


Hollywood

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I know this has been discussed before, but a search on this just led me to more confusion.

Recently I built a Raspberry Pi music server that is headless. It is low security but works 100% for almost a year. I access the music server controls via a web browser.

Now I want to use a cheap Windows mini PC as another headless PC, but with a different purpose, so it would require a local Windows logon/password.

The PC on Amazon is amazing for only $161.00. It came with Windows Pro and I set it up. I then disconnected my monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and reconnected them to my primary PC. I was able to use Windows built in Remote Desktop and I was more then pleased with the results.

I installed some software that required a reboot and was not able to connect after the headless computer rebooted. I assume the reboot logged off the user that was signed on. Is that correct?

Basically my question is it possible to use Remote Desktop to connect to a headless PC that may reboot and require a password?

Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
It really is a remote connection. You can log on and off via rdp. And initiate reboots. I've done this for years with win 10 Pro and more recently with win 11 Pro. Most likely you have a network issue. I don't know whether your usage means you want the mini pc permanently awake or not. I've always had the remote machine on a wired connection which I'd recommend. Have you checked for any other connection to the mini pc? Can you ping it? Does your router reassign ip addresses? Nirsoft's wakemeonlan is helpful for seeing what's on your local network. One thing to check is that many modern low powered systems will sleep the network connection to save power. You may have to turn this off in the connection properties.

You probably should do more checks on the network connection. One win 10 Pro system I have will sleep, so when I try to connect mstsc times out before the system wakes up. If I wait for a bit and retry it connects.

Mike
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i3-1215U
    Memory
    8GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2721
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    PSU
    External 65W
    Keyboard
    Cherry mechanical (Blue)
    Mouse
    Microsoft
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    MS
just a thought .. you could set up the headless pc to auto log on so it would not need a password after restart or shutdown/start.

there are a few howto's in the tutorials above.

hope this is of help, best of luck. Steve ..
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 24H2 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 24" AiO
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    64GB DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Sound Card
    RealTek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" HP AiO
    Hard Drives
    1TB WD Blue SN580 M2 SSD Partitioned.
    2x 1TB USB HDD External Backup/Storage.
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    900MB full fibre
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    Firefox ESR & Thunderbird
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    ClamAV TK
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    Mainly Open Source Software
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    Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS
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    Dell 13" Latitude 2017
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    i5 7200u
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    Dell
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    16GB DDR4
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    Intel
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    Intel
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    13" Dell Laptop
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    250GB Crucial 2.5" SSD
    Mouse
    Gerenic 3 button
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    WiFi only
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    FireFox
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    ClamAV TK
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    Mainly Open Source Software
Did you set the computer's BIOS to ignore errors? It may be hung up because there is no keyboard connected.

As a side note, I use this little device for monitoring my headless NAS computer booting before I can access it via web interface:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
It really is a remote connection. You can log on and off via rdp. And initiate reboots. I've done this for years with win 10 Pro and more recently with win 11 Pro. Most likely you have a network issue.
Hi Mike,
You may be right, but I did have a few hours of great remote usage until the remote miniPC needed a reboot. I will not know the state on the remote PC until I switch back on at least a monitor.

Just to be sure, your headless PC can work (be seen with Remote Desktop?) after reboots?

Thanks for your advice.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
just a thought .. you could set up the headless pc to auto log on so it would not need a password after restart or shutdown/start.

there are a few howto's in the tutorials above.

hope this is of help, best of luck. Steve ..
Thanks for the reply, but this PC will be used only for my banking transactions and will need a Windows password. I know a regular Windows password can be bypassed, but I think with Bitlocker it can't. Please correct me if that is not true.

If someone gained access to the physical PC, I would rather see it bricked then broken into.

As I read your reply, it does give me ideas about creating encrypted drives or folders that would disappear when logged off or the PC powered down.

Still thinking my strategy and you did give me ideas, THANKS!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Did you set the computer's BIOS to ignore errors? It may be hung up because there is no keyboard connected.

As a side note, I use this little device for monitoring my headless NAS computer booting before I can access it via web interface:
I looked in the BIOS to find the setting I seen on other computers, After power loss, Reboot or Remain Powered down. I could not find that setting though.

I seen your other thread where there was discussion about Aurga. There were comments about security concerns. I didn't fully research it, but I wanted to try built in Windows methods first.

Thanks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
I think I may possibly have a solution for you...

I have several PCs setup as headless systems. On some systems, I encounter a problem connecting to them via RDP only if no display is connected to those systems. I have discovered you can connect a dummy HDMI adapter to the computer and that resolves the problem. I have made this suggestion here in similar threads and those users reported that it worked for them as well.

Here is an example of a 3-pack of these adapters for $6.99 on Amazon.


NOTE: This are also available for DisplayPort.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A MB
    Memory
    64GB (Waiting for warranty replacement of another 64GB for 128GB total)
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    3 x 512GB 2.5" SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    5 x 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case
    Cooling
    Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Home Computer Specifications, Configuration, and Usage Notes General Specifications ASUS Prime Z590-A motherboard, serial number M1M0KC222467ARP Intel Core i7-11700K CPU (11th Gen Rocket Lake / LGA 1200 Socket) 128GB Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 3200 MHz DRAM (4 x 32GB) Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU cooler Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Corsair LL-120 RGB Fans (Qty. 3)
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    The five 8TB drives and three 512GB SSDs are part of a DrivePool using StableBit DrivePool software. The three SSDs are devoted purely to caching for the 8TB drives. All of the important data is stored in triplicate so that I can withstand simultaneous failure of 2 disks.

    Networking: 2.5Gbps Ethernet and WiFi 6e
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
I think I may possibly have a solution for you...

I have several PCs setup as headless systems. On some systems, I encounter a problem connecting to them via RDP only if no display is connected to those systems. I have discovered you can connect a dummy HDMI adapter to the computer and that resolves the problem. I have made this suggestion here in similar threads and those users reported that it worked for them as well.

Here is an example of a 3-pack of these adapters for $6.99 on Amazon.


NOTE: This are also available for DisplayPort.
I will look into these, but I WAS connected several times and only lost the ability to connect after the remotePC reboot. Do you think the adapters are needed for the boot process, but not after the boot completes? Could be an interesting answer.

Thanks!
[edit]
scrolling over the second image, it indicates it only works with a stand alone graphics card, not a CPU with integrated graphics.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
Just to be sure, your headless PC can work (be seen with Remote Desktop?) after reboots?
Yes, this has always worked on my systems. Obviously I can't see what's going on during the reboot. Try rebooting via rdp with a monitor attached but no keyboard, then try with the monitor disconnected. I do remember there was a Gigabyte minibrix that wouldn't start without a monitor or a fake monitor attached.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i3-1215U
    Memory
    8GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2721
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    PSU
    External 65W
    Keyboard
    Cherry mechanical (Blue)
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    MS
Yes, this has always worked on my systems. Obviously I can't see what's going on during the reboot. Try rebooting via rdp with a monitor attached but no keyboard, then try with the monitor disconnected. I do remember there was a Gigabyte minibrix that wouldn't start without a monitor or a fake monitor attached.
I'm skeptical, Mike, but yes, I need to connect a monitor temporarily to see what it's doing. At least a few of you confirmed it should be able to be "headless" and still survive reboots and logons, so it is worth the work to troubleshoot. I hate to waste time only to find something wasn't possible to begin with.

Thanks again!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
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