TightVNC or what to use

[debianuser81]

Hello Everyone still trying to get Debian and desktop functional.

On this post i want to access the laptop using remote desktop while I am setting up.

I use tightvnc on windows installations.

What do you all sugest on seriously old laptop so I can connect from windows machines to Debian laptop, internal network.
I did follow this website steps. I am not sure of all the steops.

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/ ... -debian-11
I got to around step 2 - 3 and now stuck. I skipped the SSH as debian says not available anymore.

ssh -L 5901:127.0.0.1:5901 -C -N -l sammy your_server_ip

Here is what my machine is. I hope this is enough specs. Thank you.

[steve_v]

Ignore ssh tunnelling until you have a VNC server installed and working. The added security is irrelevant on an internal network, and you can set it up later if you need access over the open 'net.

The easiest server option (assuming you want a "shadow session" connection to the local desktop) is likely x11vnc (read the manual with 'man x11vnc') or, as you appear to be running GNOME, vino. I don't use GNOME myself, but IIRC vino integrates a "screen sharing" whatsit into GNOME settings when installed.

As a bare-minimum test (with no authentication), simply running 'x11vnc' without arguments in a terminal window on the desktop you want to connect to should do. It'll tell you which port it's listening on (and warn you loudly about security).
Basic instructions WRT connecting with 'vncviewer', specifying an X11 display to shadow, setting a password, having x11vnc listen only on localhost, and tunnelling the connection over SSH are all in the manual.

If you want further help, try posting the commands you actually used and the output they produce. Parroting "ssh -L 5901:127.0.0.1:5901 -C -N -l sammy your_server_ip" from a random blog tells us nothing whatsoever.

[debianuser81]

Thank you appreciate the answer. I dont know what some of the things you said mean but I will try it.

I do realize that parroting that you commented I am not sure why the comment. But to be clear I was putting the long steps from the other website. And in my comments here I did put here the error message was "debian says not available anymore"

I hope that all of you who love linux can be gentle with us who are asking for help. We definitely OR I for sure may not know the correct lingo and the correct questions. Please know that through your comments from all of you will help me to decide and others to try to love linux as you do. If I did not present the problem clearly I do apologize but definitely when I am trying to get into it I am 3 to 4 hours of reading and trying things.

Please be gentle all of you with us newbies. Again I do apologize if I did not ask it in the correct FORUM rules way and thank you again for help.

[debianuser81]

...
The easiest server option (assuming you want a "shadow session" connection to the local desktop) is likely x11vnc (read the manual with 'man x11vnc') or, as you appear to be running GNOME, vino. I don't use GNOME myself, but IIRC vino integrates a "screen sharing" whatsit into GNOME settings when installed.
...


Thank you

I tried this X11vnc - command not found.

I tried to do sudo apt install iirc - no package found. but now typing this out I did not do IIRC capital. Hmmm.

And I am googling what vino means. I do not know what that means either.

Anyone or steve can you help me out thanks in advance.

[steve_v]

I tried this X11vnc - command not found.

Sure. You will have to install it first. i.e. 'apt install x11vnc'

I tried to do sudo apt install iirc - no package found. but now typing this out I did not do IIRC capital.

Uhhh, ROFL?
"IIRC" is an ancient (and I thought well understood) abbreviation for "If I Recall Correctly"
In long-form: "If I recall correctly, vino integrates a "screen sharing" whatsit into GNOME settings when installed". Or in other words: "once you install vino, have a look for "screen sharing" in the GNOME settings app"

I am googling what vino means. I do not know what that means either.

"vino" is the name of another VNC server you might want to try as an alternative to x11vnc. It's part of the GNOME software collection so may integrate better with your GNOME desktop. If it isn't installed already you should be able to install it with 'apt install vino'.
I haven't used GNOME myself in many years though, so I can't be much help setting it up.

Aside, your quote above is kinda broken.

[dilberts_left_nut]

And in my comments here I did put here the error message was "debian says not available anymore

That's not an error message
To help others help you, please post EXACTLY the commands you enter and EXACTLY the responses returned.

[debianuser81]

I tried this X11vnc - command not found.

Sure. You will have to install it first. i.e. 'apt install x11vnc'

Thank you it worked ! Now I can remote in from across the room and start to figure out if this is the right Linux for this old thinkpad r40 that is windows useless now.

Should I UNINSTALL the tightvncserver I installed in this link https://www.digitalocean.com/community/ ... -debian-11 to save disk space and processor cycles? like this???

sudo apt uninstall tightvncserver

[debianuser81]

And in my comments here I did put here the error message was "debian says not available anymore

That's not an error message
To help others help you, please post EXACTLY the commands you enter and EXACTLY the responses returned.

You guys just wont give a new guy a break lol.

[sunrat]

And in my comments here I did put here the error message was "debian says not available anymore

That's not an error message
To help others help you, please post EXACTLY the commands you enter and EXACTLY the responses returned.

You guys just wont give a new guy a break lol.

You seem to be getting all the help you need. But to make that help effective, helpers need to know what's happening so exact details are vital.
I don't know much about ssh protocols except that v.2 is now the current version.
We encourage you to search the internet and forum using the error message as search term before posting, you may get your answer instantly.
Some promising results - https://www.startpage.com/do/dsearch?qu ... +supported
And please post terminal text output as text, not images.

[steve_v]

Should I UNINSTALL the tightvncserver

Depends on whether you still want to use it, obviously.
Tightvncserver is more capable (and more complex to set up) than x11vnc, but they also serve slightly different purposes - tightvncserver is geared toward providing VNC services to many users, on dedicated desktops - i.e. starting a new, independent session for each remote connection. x11vnc is specifically designed to shadow an already running local desktop. I guessed the latter was what you wanted (again with the guessing due to lack of information), so I suggested the simplest server for that purpose.

You guys just wont give a new guy a break lol.

We expect people asking for help to do so in a manner that is not gratuitously annoying to deal with. That's just basic netiquette. You are for example still using forum quotes improperly in your replies to me (please put your response after the quote block, not in it), despite my hint above. This makes your responses difficult to read.
Posting text output as an image is also a pain in the ass for me, because I can't copy-paste your command for testing, checking for subtle typos etc. So is waiting an extra day for information I asked for in the very first response to this thread.

For your SSH error:
You are probably passing '-1' (one) instead of '-l' (lower-case L) in your ssh command before the username (is "z" really your username or what?), but it's hard to tell from a screenshot.
See what I mean about typos and the reason we ask people to post exact commands and their output as plain text? See how I could have dealt with that problem yesterday if you had?

Code: Select all

ssh -L 5901:127.0.0.1:5901 -C -N -1 steve 192.168.5.100
SSH protocol v.1 is no longer supported

Code: Select all

ssh -L 5901:127.0.0.1:5901 -C -N -l steve 192.168.5.100
steve@192.168.5.100's password:

Aside:

figure out if this is the right Linux

When it comes to minimising resource usage for old systems, there isn't really a "right Linux" as such. Any distribution can be as lightweight or not as you like, depending on how you configure it and what software you run on it. GNOME isn't exactly a light desktop environment IMO, and you may find something like XFCE, mate, or even a plain window-manager to perform better.
Debian will even run reasonably well on something as ancient as my 1998 K6-2, if you are sufficiently picky about what you install.

[debianuser81]

Thank you. Not sure what the rules for quotes etc are for this website. On others there is a difference but then again I dont go on them much as I do most of the research myself to solve it.

I know there is a vibrant linux community. All I am asking for help and not to point out my faults right away - easy me into it.
But yeah the screen prints was there in response to the other only for information purposes. I dont really care about the remote connection inside the network and the machine has nothing on it as this is a test install.

There are so so many links and opinions on which linux to load. And I am not understanding some of what is talked about different preferences basically because I dont know what the difference is. I have a feeling i will be loading them all to try it.

Again I hope you experts can tolerate simple questions from me as I want to be a part of this community. Can you please let me join? thank you for taking it easy on me. And again I apologize if i misunderstand what is asked of me and what format. I am not the perfect linux person.

[debianuser81]

That's not an error message
To help others help you, please post EXACTLY the commands you enter and EXACTLY the responses returned.

You guys just wont give a new guy a break lol.

You seem to be getting all the help you need. But to make that help effective, helpers need to know what's happening so exact details are vital.
I don't know much about ssh protocols except that v.2 is now the current version.
We encourage you to search the internet and forum using the error message as search term before posting, you may get your answer instantly.
Some promising results - https://www.startpage.com/do/dsearch?qu ... +supported
And please post terminal text output as text, not images.

no complaints about the help. thank you all.

just please take it easy if i make mistakes. would you really make a sarcastic remark at a newbie in the office if they did not understand what you are asking or what you are explaining. for HR purposes probably you would be more gently.

thanks guys for help

[steve_v]

would you really yell at a newbie in the office if they did not understand what you are asking or what you are explaining. for HR purposes probably you would be more gently.

This is not an office, and there is no HR or corporate communication policy here. We are users, not "customer support" and we are not being paid to be nice to you. There has not been any yelling or sarcasm here (yet) either.
Also, yes. Yes I would.

You are welcome to join or not as you please, and there are very few rules... But if you want to get along and get useful answers to your questions, you would do well to learn the forum features (such as BBcode for formatting), and make an effort to ask smart questions. We're all volunteers, and wasting our time with poorly formulated and/or formatted queries (or not searching the web and reading the manuals before you ask) is a good way to have your posts ignored.

Ditto with excessive grovelling for that matter. If you don't like my help, feel free to ignore it and I'll go spend my free time doing something else.

ed. Interesting theory that may well apply here. Guess which one I am.

[debianuser81]

would you really yell at a newbie in the office if they did not understand what you are asking or what you are explaining. for HR purposes probably you would be more gently.

This is not an office, and there is no HR or corporate communication policy here. We are users, not "customer support" and we are not being paid to be nice to you. There has not been any yelling or sarcasm here (yet) either.
Also, yes. Yes I would.

You are welcome to join or not as you please, and there are very few rules... But if you want to get along and get useful answers to your questions, you would do well to learn the forum features (such as BBcode for formatting), and make an effort to ask smart questions. We're all volunteers, and wasting our time with poorly formulated and/or formatted queries (or not searching the web and reading the manuals before you ask) is a good way to have your posts ignored.

Ditto with excessive grovelling for that matter. If you don't like my help, feel free to ignore it and I'll go spend my free time doing something else.

ed. Interesting theory that may well apply here. Guess which one I am.

thank you appreciate all the help.