FIXED!!! ok im not sure what fixed it, here is what i did: I unchecked[applied] and rechecked[applied] remote desktop I then ran network setup whizard and choose my porper "local area connection X" as i have 2 network cards... I restarted... the reason i could not connect to my computer after this was because network setup whizard changed my IP to DHCP so i called home and had my dad change it back to static and reconfigured the ip address settings and voila - it worked! not sure if there is a bug in the xp install that doesnt really change all the settings needed for remote desktop or if i needed to run network setup whizard...but this shouldnt be needed because before i reinstalled i could connect to my RD thru both network connections (as i have to cable modems, ones uncapped ) newayz it works....im gonna go slipstream a SP2 RC1 installation now...ill post results in a lil bit