Remote Desktop Connection - RDC

Owned by S Helms
Last updated: Dec 19, 2023 by Kelly Thomas
2 min read

You can access computers at PSU from off campus by establishing a Remote Desktop Connection (RDC).

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Prerequisites

  • To establish a remote desktop connection, you must first contact the Helpdesk to request a change to the power management settings of the computer you are connecting to remotely. Otherwise the computer will power down to a sleep state and prevent you from connecting to it.

  • Before you establish a remote desktop connection, you must first connect to PSU’s Virtual Private Network (VPN).

  • If you are using a Mac, confirm that you have the Microsoft Remote Desktop application installed. On a PSU-owned computer, you can download the application from Self-Service Software - free software for PSU-owned computers. On a personal computer, you can download the application from iTunes at Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac.

Connect to Your PSU Workstation

On-Campus Machine Setup

  1. Contact your technology administrator, or call the Helpdesk at 5-4357 when you are at your on-campus computer, to have Remote Desktop access granted to you on your computer for the first time setup.

  2. From the Start menu, select Settings > Control Panel > System. Record your full computer name, located in the Computer Name tab. You will need this to connect later.

  3. Your machine must be powered on and and connected to the PSU network to connect.

Off-Campus Machine Setup

MacOS to Windows  

  1. Connect to the VPN.

  2. Open Microsoft Remote Desktop from the applications folder.

  3. In the Computer field, enter: computer_name.psu.ds.pdx.edu and replace computer_name with your on-campus machine’s name.

  4. Select Connect.

  5. Enter your Odin username and password when prompted, but leave the Domain blank.

Windows to Windows

  1. Connect to the VPN.

  2. From the Start menu, select Programs.

  3. Select Accessories.

  4. Open Remote Desktop Connection Utility.

  5. In the Computer field, enter: computer_name.psu.ds.pdx.edu and replace computer_name with your on-campus machine’s name.

  6. Select Connect.

  7. Enter your Odin username and password.

  8. Note: If you are connecting from a non-PSU owned system, enter your Odin username as psu\OdinUsername

  9. To disconnect, select Disconnect from the Start menu.

Further Resources

For more information on how to find your computer's name, reference the Find your computer's name article.