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Connect to Your Windows Instance
To connect to a Windows instance, you must retrieve the initial
administrator password first, and then use it with Remote Desktop.
You'll need the contents of the private key file that you created when
you launched the instance (e.g.,
GSG_Keypair.pem).
To connect to your Windows instance
Retrieve the initial administrator password:
Navigate to the directory where you stored the private key file when you launched the instance.
Open the file in a text editor and copy the entire contents (including the first and last lines, which contain BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY and END RSA PRIVATE KEY).
Go to the AWS Management Console and locate the instance on the Instances page.
Right-click the instance and select Get Windows Password.
The Retrieve Default Windows Administrator Password dialog box is displayed (it might take a few minutes after the instance is launched before the password is available).
Paste the contents of the private key file into the Private Key field.
Click Decrypt Password.
The console returns the default administrator password for the instance.
Save the password. You will need it to connect to the instance.
Connect to the instance using Remote Desktop:
Start the Remote Desktop application (e.g., from the Start menu, point to All Programs > Accessories, and then click Remote Desktop Connection).
![[Note]](http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/docs-common/images/note.png)
Note Most modern Windows operating systems from Windows XP onward already include the Remote Desktop application. If you're using an old version of Windows, you can download the Remote Desktop application from the Microsoft web site.
Enter the public DNS name of the instance (which you should have recorded earlier) and click Connect.
Log in using
Administratoras the username and the administrator password you got in the previous task as the password.
You're now connected to your instance. You can work with it like you would any Windows server.
![[Caution]](http://docs.amazonwebservices.com/docs-common/images/caution.png) | Caution |
|---|---|
After you connect to any new Windows instance you've just launched, we recommend you change the Windows administrator password from the default value. |
Normally you'd continue using the instance. However, for the purposes of this tutorial, we're going to show you how to terminate the instance immediately. Click the following Terminate Instance button.
