Short answer: Everything you need is in the Basic Account Information email we sent when you signed up. It gives you a user name, a password, a server address ending in .mycloud.computer, and three ways in. The fastest is Option 3: click the direct link in that email and your Windows desktop opens in the browser. Nothing to install, nothing to set up first.
Applies to: All Infosaic cloud desktops · any computer, phone or tablet · your first session
Your cloud desktop is a real Windows machine running in our data centre. You reach it over the internet, and it keeps running whether or not you are connected.
You do not have to configure anything to start. The email we sent when you signed up — subject Basic Account Information — contains your user name, your password, your server address and three different ways of connecting. Find that email and you are about a minute away from a working desktop.
Take ten minutes now and the rest of the first week is much smoother.
1. Find the Basic Account Information email
This is the one thing to do before anything else. Everything below refers to it, and it is the only place your password appears.
It contains:
- User Name — something like UserIDxxxx
- Password
- IP address / server hostname — a number followed by .mycloud.computer
- Three connection options, described below
Save it somewhere you will find it again — a password manager is ideal, a starred email is fine, a note on your desk is not. If you cannot find it, ask us to resend it rather than guessing.
Your password is in that email in plain text. Anyone who can read the email can reach your desktop, so do not forward it, and change the password once you are in if the account holds anything sensitive.
2. Choose how you want to connect
There are three routes in, and they all reach the same machine. Pick whichever suits what you are doing.
- Option 3 — the direct link. Easiest. The email contains a link beginning https://virtualpc.infosaic.com with your user name and password already in it. Click it and your desktop opens in the browser. Nothing to install and nothing to type. Bookmark it and that is your permanent one-click way in.
- Option 2 — Remote Desktop. Best performance. Use your device’s Remote Desktop app with the server hostname, user name and password from the email. This is the one to set up if you will be working on the desktop every day — it is faster and it brings your printer, your files, your sound and a second monitor.
- Option 1 — through the control panel. Sign in at controlpanel.infosaic.com with the user ID and password from the email, then click One Click Access. This gets you to the same place with an extra step, and the panel is where billing and account settings live.
Most people start with Option 3 today and set up Option 2 later in the week.
The direct link contains your password. That is what makes it one click. Treat the link itself as a password: bookmark it privately, do not paste it into a shared document, chat or ticket.
3. Sign in and look around
Whichever option you chose, you should now be looking at a Windows desktop. It behaves like the computer in front of you: Start menu, taskbar, File Explorer, Recycle Bin.
Spend a minute on these four things:
- Open File Explorer and see which drives are there. There is normally a separate data drive — commonly D: or E:, depending on your package — and that is where your work should live.
- Check the time zone. Servers often start on a different one, and it affects every file timestamp and calendar entry.
- Open the browser on the desktop and load a page, to confirm the machine has working internet.
- Note what is already installed. Most desktops come with a browser or two and an office suite.
4. Set up the Remote Desktop app if you will use this daily
Browser access is genuinely fine for occasional use. If this is going to be where you work, the free Remote Desktop app is worth the three minutes: it adds sound, your own printer, your own files, USB drives and a second monitor, none of which the browser can do.
You need three things from the email — the server hostname ending .mycloud.computer, your user name and your password — and then the guide for your device:
Tick the boxes for printers, drives and sound before you connect — they are read at the moment the session starts — then save the connection so you never do it again.
5. Decide where your work is going to live
This is the single most useful thing to get right on day one, and the commonest thing to get wrong.
Save your work to the data drive on the cloud desktop — typically D: or E: depending on your package. That drive is what we back up and what your work should sit on.
Do not save to a redirected drive that appears during an RDP session. Those are the drives on the computer you happen to be sitting at, and a file saved there is on that machine, not on your desktop. It is the number one reason a file appears to have vanished.
If you are not sure which drive is your data drive, ask. Open a support request and we will tell you in one reply. It takes a minute now; recovering work from the wrong place takes considerably longer.
Questions and answers
Where do I find my cloud desktop login details?
In the Basic Account Information email sent when you signed up. It contains your user name, password, server address and three connection options.
What is the fastest way to open my cloud desktop?
Click the direct link in that email — Option 3. It opens your Windows desktop in the browser with nothing to install and nothing to type.
Do I have to use the control panel to get started?
No. The control panel is one of three routes, and it is the one with the extra step. The direct link and Remote Desktop both reach the same machine.
What is my server address?
A number followed by .mycloud.computer, given in your welcome email. You need it for Remote Desktop connections.
Which connection option gives the best performance?
Option 2, a regular Remote Desktop connection. It is also the only one that supports your own printer, sound, USB drives and a second monitor.
Can I just bookmark the direct link?
Yes, and most people do. Treat the bookmark as a password, because the link contains your credentials.
Where should I save my files?
On the data drive on the cloud desktop, usually D: or E: depending on your package. Not on a redirected drive from your own computer.
I cannot find my welcome email. What now?
Open a support request or email [email protected] and ask us to resend it. Do not guess at the details.
Does my cloud desktop keep running when I close the browser?
Yes. It runs in our data centre whether or not you are connected, so anything left open is still there when you return.
Related articles
- Where to find your login details and connection address
- How to open your cloud desktop in a web browser
- Browser access or RDP: which should you use?
- Where to save your files on a cloud desktop
- What you need to connect by RDP
- How to open a support request (and get it solved faster)
Still stuck?
Open a support request from your control panel — that is the fastest route, because it reaches the team who can already see your account and your desktop. You can also email [email protected].