Headless Windows PC

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!

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

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 ..

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:

Skeptic Mike said:

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.

Click to expand...

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.

XxXxX said:

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.

Enable or Disable Auto Sign-in and Lock after Update or Restart in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically sign in and lock last user after an update or restart in Windows 11. You can speed up the Windows sign-in process by turning on Use my sign in info to automatically finish setting up after an update to automatically sign in and...

www.elevenforum.com

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

Click to expand...

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!

NavyLCDR said:

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:

AURGA Viewer

Introducing the AURGA Viewer, a compact yet powerful device that revolutionizes your digital experience with its 5-in-1 functionality. This innovative gadget combines wireless video streaming, a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, and a digitizer pen, all in one sleek package. Key Features...

www.aurga.com

Click to expand...

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!

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.

hsehestedt said:

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.

Amazon.com

NOTE: This are also available for DisplayPort.

Click to expand...

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.

Hollywood said:

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

Click to expand...

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.

Skeptic Mike said:

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.

Click to expand...

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!