The default port for Remote Desktop is 3389, but there are cases where it is useful to change this port, for example on the external interface of a firewall should you be providing remote support of said firewall. These steps are known to work on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. They have not been tested by me on other versions of Windows.
On the Remote Desktop Server
- Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
- Locate the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ System\ CurrentControlSet\ Control\ TerminalServer\ WinStations\ RDP-Tcp\ PortNumber
- On the Edit menu, click Modify, click Decimal, type the new port number, and
then click OK.
- Quit Registry Editor.
On the Client
- Click Start, click All Programs, point to Accessories,
point to Communications, and then click Remote Desktop Connection.
- In the Computer box, type the computer name or IP address of the
computer to which you want to connect, followed by a colon (:) and the port
number you want to use.
For example, to connect to port 3390 on a computer named "MyXPPro,"
type the following information: MyXPPro:3390
To connect to port 3391 on a computer with IP address 10.10.10.1,
type the following information: 10.10.10.1:3391