Complete headless Armbian and Orange Pi installation tutorial connecting via Windows Remote Desktop (xrdp).

[cligonegui]

If you want to do a complete headless install of Armbian OS on an Orange Pi 5, and connect with Windows Remote Desktop, I put together what has worked for me.
I pieced this tutorial together using an Orange Pi 5, installing Armbian 23.02 Jammy Gnome Desktop, and connecting via a Windows 11 PC using Windows Remote Desktop client. Keep in mind, your Orange Pi OS needs to be a full Desktop edition, otherwise, if you're using CLI editions, you will not have a Graphical User Interface installed, which Windows Remote Desktop needs to connect.

ArmbianOS Download Link
Putty Download Link
 

Start PUTTY and enter your Orange Pi's IP address or host name (orangepi5) into PUTTY's Host Name field, hit enter.

Accept any certificate popup screens.

Login with Armbian's default user and pass.

USER(logon): root
PASSWORD: 1234

You'll be prompted with your Orange Pi's IP address. Take note of that, you might want to use it to remote connect, though you can also use the Orange Pi default hostname (orangepi5).
Next, you'll be prompted to complete the following...create a root password, select bash or zsh, create a user and user password, enter real name, select timezone, and select locale.
Take note of the User Name and Password you created since you will use that to logon with the Windows Remote Desktop Client.
After completing account setup, you should be at a blank command prompt.
 

DO NOT RUN ANY UPDATE COMMANDS
 

enter the following commands...

sudo apt install xrdp xorgxrdp
sudo systemctl enable xrdp
sudo systemctl status xrdp

After entering the systemctl status xrdp command , you should see a listing showing "Active: active (running)". If Active shows "failed" then you will not be capable of connecting via Remote Desktop. **See below to try and resolve this issue.

If you get a successful status list then, press the Ctrl key and C key simultaneously to get back to the command prompt.

Reboot your Orange Pi by entering

sudo reboot

You should now be capable of accessing your OrangePi remotely by using Windows Remote Desktop.

Open your Windows Remote Desktop client.

You can adjust the size of the Remote Desktop screen session by clicking the "Show Options" located at the lower left corner of the Remote Desktop logon windows, then click the "Display" tab to set your preferred screen size, among other options.

In the Computer field, enter your Orange Pi's IP address or host name (orangepi5), hit Connect.

You should now be prompted with an XRDP logon screen. Enter the username and password you created when setting up Armbian during the PUTYY session.

**INSTRUCTION TO ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE A FAILED SYSTEMCTL STATUS.

If you haven't rebooted, and need to get back to the command prompt, then press the Ctrl key and C key simultaneously to get back to the command prompt.

Enter the following commands to uninstall xrdp...

sudo apt remove xrdp
sudo apt purge xrdp

Reinstall xrdp by following the same instructions at the start of this tutorial. Check the status again by entering the following command...

sudo systemctl status xrdp

Hopefully, this time it will show as "Active: active (running)".

 

Hope this helps.

Edited March 20, 2023 by cligonegui