School of Computer Science Wiki

If you wish to connect to the SoCS Windows Servers from off campus, you must first set up the UoG VPN. Instructions to do so can be found here.

The SoCS Windows servers are available via Remote Desktop. Microsoft Remote Desktop is installed in the Thronbrough 2420 MacLab. It is installed by default on Windows, and is available through the App Store on macOS. Note that Microsoft Remote Desktop 8 is now deprecated and may not be supported. Instructions to connect to the SoCS Windows Servers on both macOS and Win10 can be found below.

Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection application Hit Click New to set up a new connection:

You will then be asked to enter your credentials (screenshots below):

• General → PC Name: windows.socs.uoguelph.ca
• General → User account dropdown: Choose “Add User Account
  • Username → Central User ID (ie. everything before the @ symbol in your email address)
  • Password → Central ID password (what you use for Courselink, WebAdvisor, etc.)
• General → Friendly Name: Some memorable name (ex. SoCS Windows Server)
• Display → Uncheck “Start Session in Fullscreen” tickbox
• Display → Resolution: Set to 1024×768 (can be changed later)

Once complete, press “Save”, then double click the new image that has appeared (If you set a friendly name, it will have that as the label, otherwise it will display the name of the server).

• If you receive a popup indicating that the certificate cannot be verified back to the root certificate, ignore this and his “Continue”. Login should be successful after this step.

Then, click on the connection, and hit Start.

If you receive a message asking you to verify the certificate, ignore this and choose “continue”.

You should now be connected to the SoCS Windows Servers.

First, open the pre-installed Remote Desktop Connection software that comes packaged with Windows.

• If this loads as a small window, select “Show Options” to expand the options fields.

You will then be asked to enter your credentials (screenshots below):

• General → Computer: windows.socs.uoguelph.ca
• General → User name: Central Email Address (ex. nameHere@uoguelph.ca)
• (Optional) Tick the box to allow credentials to be saved for later use
  • Doing this will restrict access to the “User name” field on future launches. This restriction can be removed by unchecking this box.
• Display → Resolution: Set to 1024×768 (can be changed later)

Once all the required changes have been made to these settings, press the “Connect” button at the bottom of the window. You will be prompted for a password: this is your Central ID password (what you use for Courselink, WebAdvisor, etc.)

Enter your Central ID password and hit “Ok”. You will then be prompted with a warning message stating that the certificate cannot be verified. Ignore this and hit “Yes”. Optionally, you can tick the checkbox to avoid having this message pop up again.

You should now be connected to the SoCS Windows Servers.