xRDP

Connect to a remote Linux server from a Windows machine using xRDP to get an interactive GUI.

Setup on the Linux (Mint in my case) Server

Open a terminal and install xRDP:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install xrdp -y

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable xrdp
sudo systemctl start xrdp

Allow RDP through the firewall (if enabled):

sudo ufw allow 3389

Check status:

systemctl status xrdp

Linux Mint uses Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce. To avoid a black screen:

echo "exec cinnamon-session" > ~/.xsession

(If using Xfce: exec startxfce4)

Reboot once:

sudo reboot