Remote Desktop Windows to Linux Not Working: Step-by-Step Guide

 

Understanding How Windows-to-Linux Remote Desktop Works

Windows uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) by default. However, Linux distributions do not ship with native RDP servers installed. Instead, Linux must use packages like:

• XRDP (most common, supports Windows RDP client)
• Vino (GNOME VNC server)
• TigerVNC (VNC)
• NoMachine
• TeamViewer
• AnyDesk

For RDP specifically, XRDP is the recommended option because it interacts directly with the Windows Remote Desktop Client.

When XRDP is missing, misconfigured, or blocked, Windows cannot connect — leading to the familiar error:

1. XRDP Is Not Installed – The Most General Reason

If XRDP is not installed, Windows simply has no RDP endpoint to connect to.

Fix

Install XRDP:

Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install xrdp -y

CentOS / RHEL / Fedora:

sudo dnf install xrdp -y
sudo systemctl enable --now xrdp

After installation, enable it:

sudo systemctl enable xrdp
sudo systemctl start xrdp

Now try connecting again from Windows.

2. XRDP Service Not Running

Even if XRDP is installed, the service may not be running because of system updates, missing dependencies, or crashes.

Fix

Check service status:

systemctl status xrdp

If inactive:

sudo systemctl restart xrdp

If disabled:

sudo systemctl enable xrdp

3. Firewall Blocking Port 3389

RDP uses port 3389, which is blocked by default on most Linux distributions.

Fix

Ubuntu / Debian (ufw):

sudo ufw allow 3389/tcp
sudo ufw reload

CentOS / RHEL (firewalld):

sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=3389/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Now try the Windows connection again.

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