Question Getting a Win 11 computer to boot up as a hotspot & remote desktop without a router

[excitron]

Is it possible to set up a Win 11 machine to boot from startup as a hotspot, ready to be remote controlled from another computer, without a router middleman? Everything I've seen so far requires a router.

I'm trying to emulate what I do with a Raspberry Pi that I have up as an Astroberry system that I use for astrophotography. I have two cameras that unfortunately don't have drivers in that system, but do so in Windows. So I bought a Mele Quieter 3C MiniPC to try and emulate what the Astroberry does right out of the box on th ePi, which is that it starts up ready to be logged into, I log into it with a Win 10 laptop, and then I can control it using VNC Viewer to have a remote desktop.

So is there a way I can do that on a Win 11 and control it from my Win 10 laptop without a router middleman? The machine needs to start up and be ready to be logged into and controlled remotely "headless", as it will be attached and connected to a telescope in a fashion similar to what you see here. I'm not a computer techie but I have some basic understanding of network stuff, preferably a simple software solution and/or system config would be ideal for me.

Thanks for any help with this.

 

[kerberos_20]

you coul autorun batch script or do it with task scheduler on startup

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=name key=key
netsh wlan start hostednetwork

replace name/key with your hotspot name/key

 

[shengton]

Is it possible to set up a Win 11 machine to boot from startup as a hotspot, ready to be remote controlled from another computer, without a router middleman? Everything I've seen so far requires a router.

I'm trying to emulate what I do with a Raspberry Pi that I have up as an Astroberry system that I use for astrophotography. I have two cameras that unfortunately don't have drivers in that system, but do so in Windows. So I bought a Mele Quieter 3C MiniPC to try and emulate what the Astroberry does right out of the box on th ePi, which is that it starts up ready to be logged into, I log into it with a Win 10 laptop, and then I can control it using VNC Viewer to have a remote desktop.

So is there a way I can do that on a Win 11 and control it from my Win 10 laptop without a router middleman? The machine needs to start up and be ready to be logged into and controlled remotely "headless", as it will be attached and connected to a telescope in a fashion similar to what you see here. I'm not a computer techie but I have some basic understanding of network stuff, preferably a simple software solution and/or system config would be ideal for me.

Thanks for any help with this.

Yes, it is possible to set up a Windows 11 machine to act as a hotspot and be remotely controlled from another computer without a router. Here's how you can do it:

1. On the Windows 11 machine, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile hotspot.
2. Enable the "Mobile hotspot" option and configure the hotspot settings, including the network name and password.
3. Connect the Windows 10 laptop to the hotspot created by the Windows 11 machine.
4. On the Windows 10 laptop, install and open a remote desktop software such as Remote Desktop Connection or TightVNC.
5. Enter the IP address of the Windows 11 machine in the remote desktop software and connect to it. You may need to allow remote connections on the Windows 11 machine by going to Settings > System > Remote Desktop.

Alternatively, you can use a software such as Connectify Hotspot (https://www.connectify.me/) to create a hotspot on the Windows 11 machine and remotely control it from the Windows 10 laptop.

I hope this helps!

 

[excitron]

Yes, it is possible to set up a Windows 11 machine to act as a hotspot and be remotely controlled from another computer without a router. Here's how you can do it:

1. On the Windows 11 machine, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Mobile hotspot.
2. Enable the "Mobile hotspot" option and configure the hotspot settings, including the network name and password.
3. Connect the Windows 10 laptop to the hotspot created by the Windows 11 machine.
4. On the Windows 10 laptop, install and open a remote desktop software such as Remote Desktop Connection or TightVNC.
5. Enter the IP address of the Windows 11 machine in the remote desktop software and connect to it. You may need to allow remote connections on the Windows 11 machine by going to Settings > System > Remote Desktop.

Alternatively, you can use a software such as Connectify Hotspot (https://www.connectify.me/) to create a hotspot on the Windows 11 machine and remotely control it from the Windows 10 laptop.

I hope this helps!

Thanks for the info. Can the Win 11 machine start up with this arrangement so it's it's ready to be logged into and remote controlled? It will be without KVM. Where can I find the Win 11's IP address, and is that address static?

Thanks again.

 

[bill001g]

Not sure what you are trying to do. It does not sound like you intend to connect via wifi since you would not need to know any ip address.

This sounds more like your standard I want to access a machine via the internet. It should be the same issue as you have with the raspberry box but I know little of that apps ability.
Assuming that this box is directly connected to the internet and gets a public IP address you should be able to use a function likey dyndns to get the IP.

What is strange is you should already have been doing this with your current solution so maybe I have misunderstood what you are asking.

 

[excitron]

Not sure what you are trying to do. It does not sound like you intend to connect via wifi since you would not need to know any ip address.
This sounds more like your standard I want to access a machine via the internet. It should be the same issue as you have with the raspberry box but I know little of that apps ability.
Assuming that this box is directly connected to the internet and gets a public IP address you should be able to use a function likey dyndns to get the IP.
What is strange is you should already have been doing this with your current solution so maybe I have misunderstood what you are asking.

Basically I'm trying to replicate what I can do with the Raspberry Pi running the Astroberry system setup. I need the Win 11 MiniPC to boot up and be ready to be logged into from my Win 10 laptop so I can run software on the MiniPC from the laptop.

The reason for this is that I have cameras which have no control drivers in Linux, so I need to run a Windows machine to use the drivers and software that exist in the Windows domain that can control them.

However the MiniPC will be set up "headless", so it needs to boot up in a fashion where it is ready to be logged into and controlled from the laptop once booted up, which is exactly how the Astroberry system works.

Now I'm not a network savvy guy to know how exactly all this goes down, only bits and pieces. Most of what I had read seem to require a router middleman, but I will be setting up in remote locations in order to do the astrophotography, and require minimal hardware to carry to those locations, so I need the have the MiniPC to be able to communicate and be controlled directly by the laptop.

I hope that clarifies my objectives. Thanks for your time.

 

[bill001g]

If you want to use VNC they likely have a guide that explains how to start it on windows boot.

What I don't understand is what you mean by "hotspot". How far away is "remote".

You could say connect to it using wifi if it was in your backyard but if it is say at another location then you would need some form of network/internet connection to that remote location.

 

[excitron]

If you want to use VNC they likely have a guide that explains how to start it on windows boot.
What I don't understand is what you mean by "hotspot". How far away is "remote".
You could say connect to it using wifi if it was in your backyard but if it is say at another location then you would need some form of network/internet connection to that remote location.

Getting VNC to connect is not the problem. Getting the Win 11 MiniPC to automatically boot to be connected via WiFi and remote controlled is the issue I'm referring to. I will try some of the recommendations here. Hopefully they are all I need to do to get this up and running. I just hope Windows doesn't change the IP address every time I boot up the MiniPC.

You've never heard of a WiFi hotspot? The Win11 MiniPC needs to be one, set up to be ready to be logged into and then remote controlled. That is how the Astroberry system works on the Raspberry Pi, it boots up as a WiFi hotspot, and then I log into it and run it from the Win 10 laptop, either through VNC, or even a web browser.

The WIn 10 laptop will be anywhere from 5-50 feet away from the rig, depending on location. For instance, in winter, I could be in a heated vehicle, which needs to be at least 35 feet away from the rig in order to not induce engine vibrations to it. I could also be set up and have the Win 10 control laptop in a cabin while the rig is out side in winter.

 

[bill001g]

I guess I thought maybe the win11 machine was connecting to some internet connection and then you were trying to access it using the win 10 device.

Microsoft disabled a lot of support when windows 10 came out. This used to be pretty easy you set the wifi in adhoc mode and it allowed remote access.

Now they have something they call internet connection sharing that is similar but I am not sure if it just allows you to use a internet connection connected via ethernet (which you do not have), or if it also allows direct access to the machine itself.
It work more like a hotspot on a phone that only allows the data to pass through the phone to the internet connection not interact with the phone via wifi.

This is something they disabled at the driver level because the chips themselves can run in host/ap mode under linux.

I am not sure on this one. Just be careful to find instructions for win10 or win11 the methods used on older versions of windows no longer work. Maybe the connection sharing hotspot option has a feature to allow local access. I have not used this ability since before win10 and the newer connection sharing is easier done either with linux on the machine or a small travel router. If the connection sharing does not allow local access maybe there is a different feature in the area where you find bluetooth setup. This is where the adhoc stuff used to be in win7.

Otherwise you are likely going to have to find some third party software that gets around windows removal of the adhoc feature in the drivers. Microsoft are real idiots sometimes they want to protect all the stupid people from themselves. Its like if stores no longer sold sharp knives because children might cut themselves.

 

[emsalsszz]

Hello,

I was looking for same thing and finally I have connect my pc via Wi-Fi network that I created.

Here is my solution
1- Install "connectify hotspot" or similar program that allows you create hotspot without internet connection to your mini PC
2-Install VNC Connect or similar program to your mini PC
3-Create hotspot from mini PC
4-connect the wi-fi with your phone or another pc
5-configurate the VNC app in your phone or other pc, Tap on the "+" sign or "Add PC" to add a new connection, Enter a name for the connection (e.g., "My PC"), In the PC name or IP address field, enter the local IP address
6- connect !

I m not sure if you need VNC connect in your mini pc I think you can try other remote desktop applications.

And You can configurate the apps that start on boot
Also find the reddit thread I suppose it is yours https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAstroph...ing_a_windows_11_hotspot_without_an_internet/

 

[excitron]

Hello,

I was looking for same thing and finally I have connect my pc via Wi-Fi network that I created.

Here is my solution
1- Install "connectify hotspot" or similar program that allows you create hotspot without internet connection to your mini PC
2-Install VNC Connect or similar program to your mini PC
3-Create hotspot from mini PC
4-connect the wi-fi with your phone or another pc
5-configurate the VNC app in your phone or other pc, Tap on the "+" sign or "Add PC" to add a new connection, Enter a name for the connection (e.g., "My PC"), In the PC name or IP address field, enter the local IP address
6- connect !

I m not sure if you need VNC connect in your mini pc I think you can try other remote desktop applications.

And You can configurate the apps that start on boot
Also find the reddit thread I suppose it is yours https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAstroph...ing_a_windows_11_hotspot_without_an_internet/

Ha! No, that wasn't my post, but it shows the frustration Microsoft imposes on anyone trying. I gave up on Windows and installed Stellarmate, which is an Ubuntu-based astronomy ISO, and it does everything needed out of the box. Since that time, I've seen references made to certain programs that allow creating a hotspot and remote control on Windows without a router.