Using an iMac as display for a Mac Mini running XP?

[clockworks]

I have 2 computers set up in the study - a 2011 iMac 27" and a Mac Mini that just runs Windows XP. Having two completely separate computers takes up a lot of desk space, so I'm wondering if I can somehow lose the separate display, and possibly a keyboard too.


The only way that I can think of is to use Remote Desktop, but that is a bit sluggish. I use it to manage my headless media and CCTV servers from the iMac.

The Mini only really gets used for ripping CDs and DVDs, as it's a lot quicker to do on Windows than OSX, so it's only switched on for a few days a month. I need both machines on at the same time, so dual-booting the iMac isn't really an option.

[clockworks]

Does Target Display work if the "remote" computer is running Windows?

[clockworks]

Bootcamp isn't suitable for me, as I want to get on with other work on the iMac while doing rips

[clockworks]

Is RDP the Microsoft Remote Desktop?

[clockworks]

Thanks. Since I've already got Remote Desktop on the iMac, I'll just use that.

Something else has just occurred to me. The separate monitor that's used with the Mini has a Freeview TV tuner built in. What's the best way to watch live TV on an iMac?

[clockworks]

I finally got round to trying remote desktop, but I couldn't get it to work with the XP machine. It works fine on my iMac with two microservers running WHS2011. A bit of googling, and it seems XP Home doesn't have RDP.

I found a "how to" guide to get RDP to work on XP Home, but it wasn't successful. The RDP options don't show up in system/remote. More googling, and it looks like Microsoft have plugged this free upgrade hack.

So, my options are either to use a different remote access app, or upgrade from XP. I had a look at realVNC, but it looks like a paid for app. I'm sure it was free the last time I used it.
Is there a free version out there?

What other versions of Windows (that have RDP) will work on a Mac Mini, preferably as a straight upgrade from XP Home?

[clockworks]

I've tried installing RealVNC. Bit of a nightmare, as Safari and IE don't want to talk to the VNC website.
I've managed to sign up and verify a RealVNC Home account, using Chrome.

I can't install the current version of VNC Connect on the XP machine, as XP isn't supported! There is a list of earlier versions that support XP, but there are quite a few, and the website isn't at all helpful about which one to choose. It also says that these earlier versions are only available if I have a valid (purchased) licence key.

I seem to remember that the last time I used VNC, it was just a simple, free, server and viewer that was easily installed, and ran in the background. I used it to manage my XP HTPC from another XP computer. Looks like they've made it a lot more complicated now, and created some compatibility issues.

Any other suggestions?

[clockworks]

sybaseian said:

Mac Share Screen is built in........

I use it to log onto my Mac mini from home and the office. Teamviewer is blocked from my office, but share screen is not.


https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18686?locale=en_US&...

My Mac Mini is running XP.

[clockworks]

I've been looking at the possibility of upgrading the Mini to run XP Professional, which has RDP built-in.
It seems that there are quite a few different versions of XP Pro, and for ease of installation I need the "upgrade" version to save messing about with a fresh install. That version seems to be quite rare on the secondhand market.

[clockworks]

sybaseian said:

I also use Microsoft Remote Desktop on my MacBook to connect to my work Desktop from outside the office.

I'm using Microsoft remote desktop on the iMac to control two WHS2011 microservers. The problem is that XP Home doesn't come with remote desktop service

[clockworks]

That's the conclusion that I've come to.
Shame I can't find an XP Pro upgrade disk and licence at a reasonable price. I'd much prefer to upgrade rather than do a fresh install, as the XP drivers for the Mini might be hard to find now.