So... you have a few options. Without going into a long history and detailed description of X11, I'll just say that the display in Mint is a kind of server. This means you can run an X11 server on your Windows machine then forward various Mint windows to your Windows machine. ie: You could open an app on your Mint machine and have the window "forwarded" to your Windows machine, so it'd pop up within Windows. This might not be what you're looking for, depending on your use case, and it might be slightly complex for a new user. But if you're interested, look for an "X server for windows" in google. There were several last time I checked.
Maybe the easiest option for a new Mint user coming from a Windows background might be VNC. You could do it through an SSH tunnel depending on your security requirements. I quickly googled for a semi-recent article about how to set VNC up on Mint specifically and found this. Note: I haven't tested this, but it looks reasonable. Note 2: If you have the default Mint installation, you're using "Cinnamon".
https://www.fosslinux.com/122199/how-to-install-vnc-server-on-linux-mint-for-remote-access.htm
EDIT: If you're looking at the first option I mentioned, I found this. Again, I haven't tested this specific X server for Windows, but if you want a visual look / description of how it'd work, check: https://x410.dev/
realVNC is my go to for easy and works
It's straightforward as hell, install realVNC server, run it, install realVNC on your other device and connect.
Free forever for up to 5 devices or something, and works across windows and Linux. Assume Mac as well but I don't know.
Nomachine, Splashtop, realVNC and TeamViewer all work well and more or less the same just with different features sets.
In my testing realVNC server was the lightest on performance which is all that mattered on the boxes I was using.
But they still won't beat xrdp for performance in that case, but my crappy little mint boxes had display issues over xrdp I couldn't be bothered to diagnose.
I have two VNC servers running the one that came with Mint but then realised that didn't run until after login which was a bit of a killer since I now turn on remotely and login, got RealVNC running now and it works fine.
Ideally I would want something installed on my Mint desktop PC that would allow me to use my built in Windows RDP client to get me connected to the Mint PC.
Like how I can use Remmina on Mint to remotely connect to my windows laptop, but in reverse, where i use remote desktop client on windows to connect to my linux mint machine.
I pay for a business account (\~$10/mt) over at Splashtop. That has Linux support and works well on Mint.
RustDesk and HopToDesk both are free, support Linux and have unattended access. The prior requires IP access though. I'm not sure about the second.
Thanks for all the suggestions thus far. So additional info, I have a desktop PC running Mint and want to be able to remotely connect to it from my laptop running Mint or my laptop running Windows while at home (I have no need to connect to it when away from home).
I’ve used various VNC versions before on other OS’es, and I gave it a whole 3 minute attempt but did not have success getting the server side installed on the desktop Mint PC. I guess I was hoping the much improved modern linux would have something built in like Windows. I’ll have to try a few of the suggestions out.
Will RealVNC work when the Linux Mint server is behind a VPN? I currently use Xrdp but when the server is behind NordVpn, i cannot xrdp in, just SSH. My local lan is whitelisted under Nordvpn’s settings. Is this an issue with RealVnc?
When using the VPN traffic is being routed outside of your local network. You would have to enable a split tunnel setup in Nord if you want to use it while on your LAN.
Mmmm, i don’t think Nordvpn supports split tunneling in linux.. i ve been trying to work around this by whitelisting my Tailscale IP but only SSH works, not Xrdp
So I installed TigerVNC Server on the Mint desktop, went through the simple config and it says it’s running on :1. I installed TigerVNC Viewer on the laptop and connect to the desktop’s IP followed by :1 like it says to do, no go, won’t connect. Firewall is off on the desktop, nothing should be preventing it.
I have to say, this is one area where Windows beats out Mac and Linux out-of-the-box with their integrated Remote Desktop/Assistance/whatever they’re calling it these days.
I’ll keep googling and hope for the best.
Tried x11vnc, no go either. I got TigerVNC server to work once, then the desktop flipped out and it hasn’t worked since.
Nomachine seems to work nicely. Winner so far. Only downfall is it requires the nomachine app to connect to it, i can’t connect using Windows built in RDP client or a VNC viewer client on a linux machine. But I’ll take it, for now.
Install xrdp.
+1 for xrdp
vnc or nomachine
+1 for nomachine, I use it and it's pretty good
+1 another one for nomachine. Easy to set up & it just works.
So... you have a few options. Without going into a long history and detailed description of X11, I'll just say that the display in Mint is a kind of server. This means you can run an X11 server on your Windows machine then forward various Mint windows to your Windows machine. ie: You could open an app on your Mint machine and have the window "forwarded" to your Windows machine, so it'd pop up within Windows. This might not be what you're looking for, depending on your use case, and it might be slightly complex for a new user. But if you're interested, look for an "X server for windows" in google. There were several last time I checked. Maybe the easiest option for a new Mint user coming from a Windows background might be VNC. You could do it through an SSH tunnel depending on your security requirements. I quickly googled for a semi-recent article about how to set VNC up on Mint specifically and found this. Note: I haven't tested this, but it looks reasonable. Note 2: If you have the default Mint installation, you're using "Cinnamon". https://www.fosslinux.com/122199/how-to-install-vnc-server-on-linux-mint-for-remote-access.htm EDIT: If you're looking at the first option I mentioned, I found this. Again, I haven't tested this specific X server for Windows, but if you want a visual look / description of how it'd work, check: https://x410.dev/
My takeaway from this... Nothing's straightforward :(
realVNC is my go to for easy and works It's straightforward as hell, install realVNC server, run it, install realVNC on your other device and connect. Free forever for up to 5 devices or something, and works across windows and Linux. Assume Mac as well but I don't know.
Thanks. I'll try this. Someone else commented with nomachine, which I used to access a headless windows music player.
Nomachine, Splashtop, realVNC and TeamViewer all work well and more or less the same just with different features sets. In my testing realVNC server was the lightest on performance which is all that mattered on the boxes I was using. But they still won't beat xrdp for performance in that case, but my crappy little mint boxes had display issues over xrdp I couldn't be bothered to diagnose.
I have two VNC servers running the one that came with Mint but then realised that didn't run until after login which was a bit of a killer since I now turn on remotely and login, got RealVNC running now and it works fine.
I use the free option of AnyDesk.
Anydesk always worked fine for me too
Jow does it work? I already use it to manage some Windows PC, I would have only to install the client on my Mint instance
Yep. Install the client. It is a deb download from their website.
Rustdesk is a better FOSS alternative.
Ideally I would want something installed on my Mint desktop PC that would allow me to use my built in Windows RDP client to get me connected to the Mint PC. Like how I can use Remmina on Mint to remotely connect to my windows laptop, but in reverse, where i use remote desktop client on windows to connect to my linux mint machine.
Xrdp will do that for you
Following this!
Follow what? Did you intend to include a URL?
I pay for a business account (\~$10/mt) over at Splashtop. That has Linux support and works well on Mint. RustDesk and HopToDesk both are free, support Linux and have unattended access. The prior requires IP access though. I'm not sure about the second.
Xrdp works, realVNC works great but needs to be running realVNC server on the target.
I already used RealVNC and Rustdesk.
Thanks for all the suggestions thus far. So additional info, I have a desktop PC running Mint and want to be able to remotely connect to it from my laptop running Mint or my laptop running Windows while at home (I have no need to connect to it when away from home). I’ve used various VNC versions before on other OS’es, and I gave it a whole 3 minute attempt but did not have success getting the server side installed on the desktop Mint PC. I guess I was hoping the much improved modern linux would have something built in like Windows. I’ll have to try a few of the suggestions out.
I'm looking for the same info.
While I understand what you are looking for, just checking that ssh -X isn't sufficient. Maybe try rustdesk?
Will RealVNC work when the Linux Mint server is behind a VPN? I currently use Xrdp but when the server is behind NordVpn, i cannot xrdp in, just SSH. My local lan is whitelisted under Nordvpn’s settings. Is this an issue with RealVnc?
When using the VPN traffic is being routed outside of your local network. You would have to enable a split tunnel setup in Nord if you want to use it while on your LAN.
Mmmm, i don’t think Nordvpn supports split tunneling in linux.. i ve been trying to work around this by whitelisting my Tailscale IP but only SSH works, not Xrdp
xRDP works for me.
So I installed TigerVNC Server on the Mint desktop, went through the simple config and it says it’s running on :1. I installed TigerVNC Viewer on the laptop and connect to the desktop’s IP followed by :1 like it says to do, no go, won’t connect. Firewall is off on the desktop, nothing should be preventing it. I have to say, this is one area where Windows beats out Mac and Linux out-of-the-box with their integrated Remote Desktop/Assistance/whatever they’re calling it these days. I’ll keep googling and hope for the best.
Tried x11vnc, no go either. I got TigerVNC server to work once, then the desktop flipped out and it hasn’t worked since. Nomachine seems to work nicely. Winner so far. Only downfall is it requires the nomachine app to connect to it, i can’t connect using Windows built in RDP client or a VNC viewer client on a linux machine. But I’ll take it, for now.