Step-by-Step Guide: How to Set Up the Micro

Getting Started

When you first turn on the Micro thin client, it displays the default desktop. The desktop has the icons Home, Remmina, and Trash.


• Desktop Icons

Clicking the Home icon opens the thin client’s home directory.

Clicking the Remmina icon opens the Remmina GUI window, where you can make your connection settings.

Clicking the Trash icon opens the recycle bin.

• Using the taskbar

The Taskbar of the thin client is at the top of the screen. You can use it to find and launch programs from the Start menu, or to view any program that is currently open. It also shows the date and time.

 

Click 1 to open the Start menu, where you can browse the applications installed on the thin client.


Click 9 to open the volume panel, where you can increase or decrease the volume.


Click the 11th icon to shut down the system.


Network Settings

You can open the network configuration window in two ways.

Method 1:

Start menu > All applications > Advanced Network Configuration.

Method 2:

Click the 5th icon on the taskbar.

Ethernet

• By default, the thin client uses DHCP. You can change this to a static configuration in the network settings.

• The network settings window opens when you use either of the two methods above.

2.1

• Click the settings icon, as shown in figure 2.1, to open the editing window. Click the IP4 Settings tab. Select either DHCP or Manual from the list.

• After selecting Manual, click Add and enter the IP address you want to assign to the thin client (figures 2.2 and 2.3).

 

• After entering the IP address, click Save and close the network setting window.

• To apply the settings, click the network icon at the top right of the taskbar. Click disconnect, and then click Wired connection again. The thin client then uses the new IP settings.


WiFi

• Connect the WiFi dongle to your thin client.

• Click the network icon on the taskbar to display the available WiFi networks. Click the network you want to join and enter its WiFi password to connect.

Configuring Printers

You can configure a local printer on the thin client in two ways.

Method 1: Configuring through the start menu

• Connect the printer USB cable to the thin client and search for Printers in the Start menu.


• Clicking Printers opens the printer configuration window.


• Click Add to add the printer.

• The window shows the name of each printer that the thin client detects. If your printer does not appear in the Select Device section, check the printer USB cable. Select the printer and click Forward. The system then searches for the printer drivers.


• After the driver is installed, the settings window displays an option to print a test page, which confirms that the printer is configured correctly.


• After the printer prints the test page, the printer settings window lists the configured printer.


Method 2: Configuring through the Web Browser

• Open the web browser, type localhost:631 in the address bar and press Enter.


• The CUPS utility page opens. Click the Administration tab.


• The utility offers three options: Add Printers, Find New Printer and Manage Printer. To manage a pre-installed printer, click the Manage Printer button. To add a new printer, click Add Printer.

• The system asks for a username and password. Enter root as the username and thinux as the password.

• If your printer is connected to the thin client, its name appears in the Add Printer configuration window. Select the printer you want to add and click Continue.


• The utility then asks whether you want to share the printer. Select the checkbox to share the printer, and click Continue.


• Select the PPD file for your printer in the Model section. You can also provide a PPD file from an external driver or a directory. Click Add Printer when you have finished.


• Set the default page settings and other options, and then click Set Default Options.


• The printer is now configured. Click Administration or Maintenance to view the printer options. You can print a test page from Maintenance > Test page.

Managing RDP Preferences

Thinvent provides two ways to access a remote computer:

• Remmina.

• Kiosk Mode.

Remmina

• Remmina is a remote desktop client widely used on Linux-based operating systems. It supports the Remote Desktop Protocol, which connects to a remote system. You can open Remmina from the main menu or by clicking the Remmina icon on the taskbar. The main Remmina dialog box then opens, where you can make your connection settings.


• You can connect to a remote system by entering its IP address in the RDP section, but you will not be able to use the other features of Remmina. We recommend creating a new connection with the required options enabled.

• To create a new connection, click the icon to open the Remote Desktop Preference window. The default protocol in the Protocol section is NX-NX Technology; select RDP -Remote Desktop Protocol instead. Your Remote Desktop Preference window will then look like the screenshot below. Each field of the window is described below.


Name

This is a name for the computer that you want to connect to. It does not need to be the actual name of the host computer. Choose a name that describes the computer and distinguishes it from others, if you plan to have multiple hosts.

Group

Leave this field empty. A remote connection does not need it.

Protocol

Select the RDP – Remote Desktop Protocol.

Pre-command and Post-command

Remmina supports ‘Pre’ and ‘Post’ commands, which run a script before it connects and after it disconnects, respectively. You can leave these fields blank.

Server

Enter the IP address of the system you want to connect to. The IP address can be an internal address, if the system is on the local network, or a public IP address.

Username and Password

Enter the username you use to log on to the host computer in the Username field. Enter that user's password in the Password field.

Domain

If your network has a domain, enter the domain name in this field. Otherwise, leave it blank.

Resolution

The resolution field has 3 options. If you choose Use initial window size, the RDP screen is small. We recommend the Use client resolution option instead. To set a custom resolution, select Custom and choose the resolution from the drop-down list.

Colour Depth

Select the colour depth in this field. This setting is important: if you select 256 colours (8bpp) and your desktop background is high-resolution, the colours display incorrectly and the screen is generally unusable. On a slow connection, or when connecting to a machine outside your network, you may need to reduce the number of colours. Otherwise, keep the predefined setting, GFX AVC444(32bpp).

Share Folder

Use this option to copy files between your thin client and the remote PC. When you select this box, you can choose a folder or path to share, and that folder then appears on your Windows machine.
When you have filled in all these options, your Remote Desktop Preference screen will look like this.


Click the Advanced tab to enable other features, such as sound during the RDP connection.


Quality

This option sets the quality of the RDP connection. The options are Poor, Medium, Good, Best. The Best option gives the highest display quality, but the connection may lag. We therefore recommend the Poor option.

Sound

This option enables sound over the RDP connection. The options include Local, Local-medium and Local-best.

Security

Choose a security level, such as NLA, TLS or RDP, or leave this option set to Negotiate.
Scroll down the window and select other options, such as sharing the local printer, as required.


To connect automatically when Remmina opens, select the Turn on “Auto Start” for this profile option in the Autostart tab.


Click the Save button when you have finished. The main Remmina window then lists the connection under the name you provided.


Double-click the connection to connect to the host system.

Kiosk Mode

Kiosk mode allows only one application, Remmina, to run. Thinux disables its other features, such as the desktop GUI, and the screen shows only the Remmina window.

• Click the Enable Kiosk Mode icon in the Thinux menu to enable the Kiosk mode in your thin client.

Note: Create the RDP connection in Remmina before you enable Kiosk mode. In Kiosk mode, you cannot create new connections or change existing connections.

• When you click the icon, a dialog box asks whether to enable Kiosk mode. It offers three options: enable the mode (yes), quit if you clicked the icon by mistake, and change password.


• If you click yes, the system asks for the Kiosk mode password.


• If you enter the correct password, the system enters Kiosk mode. Otherwise, it displays an incorrect password message.

• In Kiosk mode, the only window on the screen is the Remmina window, which lists the RDP connection you created before enabling Kiosk mode.


• If you selected the auto connect option, the system connects to the remote system automatically when you enable Kiosk mode. Otherwise, you must start the connection manually.

• To disable Kiosk mode, click the button on the Remmina window. A dialog box offers two options: shut down the system or configuration. Click the configuration tab and enter the Kiosk mode password. The system then disables Kiosk mode and returns to the Thinux operating system GUI.


• To keep Kiosk mode enabled permanently, shut down the system without disabling it. The next time the system boots, it connects to the remote system automatically.

Change Kiosk Password

• You can change the default Kiosk password by clicking Change Password.


• The window asks for the current password and the new password, and then asks you to confirm the new password. If the current password is incorrect, or the new and confirmation passwords do not match, the system displays an error. Otherwise, the window displays a password update message.


Disconnect RDP From Server

You can disconnect the RDP connection from a server in two ways.

Method 1:

Click the shutdown button in the Windows Start menu, and then click the Disconnect option.


Method 2:

Click the disconnect option in Remmina to end the RDP connection.


Factory Reset

If the thin client does not work properly or some operating system features do not work, try a factory reset. A factory reset restores the system to its original state as delivered to the customer. To perform a factory reset, open the main menu and search for the factory reset icon.


When you click the icon, the system asks you to reboot. Click yes. After the reboot, the system is restored to its factory state.