How to make Logmein work with Windows 7

Back in 2009 I wrote a workaround for installing LogMeIn Free on Windows 7 Beta, months before LogMeIn shipped an installer that recognized the new OS. Windows 7 is long since end-of-life and LogMeIn Free no longer exists, so the original steps are obsolete. I’m keeping them below the fold for the record (the post drew some genuinely grateful comments in 2009), and I’ve added what to use instead in 2026.

What happened to LogMeIn Free?

LogMeIn discontinued its free remote-access tier in early 2014, giving users seven days to upgrade to a paid plan or lose access to their saved machines. The product line survives as a paid offering under the GoTo umbrella (and the newer LogMeIn Resolve), but there is no free tier to return to.

Remote access in 2026: what I’d use instead

• RustDesk — open-source remote desktop you can self-host, so your traffic never leaves infrastructure you control. Actively developed and hugely popular. rustdesk.com · docs
• Chrome Remote Desktop — free, dead simple, works in a browser tab. remotedesktop.google.com
• Tailscale — not remote desktop but a zero-config WireGuard mesh: once your machines are on the tailnet, RDP/SSH/VNC over private IPs just works. My personal default for reaching my own boxes. tailscale.com

One lesson from the 2009 workaround that still applies: whenever you connect to a machine in a different security context — a VM, another domain, a fresh Windows install — logons fail with Error 1326: Logon failure: unknown user name or bad password unless you qualify the username as COMPUTERNAME\username (or .\username for the local machine). That tripped people up then and it still does.

The original 2009 workaround (for the record)

LogMeIn’s installer refused to run on Windows 7 Beta/RC builds. The trick was to unpack the installer and run the MSI directly from an elevated prompt:

1. Download the LogMeIn installer (then served from https://secure.logmein.com/logmein.zip — the URL still responds, but only installs current paid products).
2. Unzip it to a folder named logmein on your desktop.
3. Open the Start menu, search for cmd, right-click Command Prompt and pick Run as Administrator.
4. cd into ...\Desktop\logmein\x86 (use x64 on 64-bit Windows).
5. Run logmein install — the service installed and a tray icon appeared.
6. Open https://127.0.0.1:2002/ in your browser, click through the self-signed-certificate warnings and add the exception, then supply your Windows credentials followed by your LogMeIn account.
7. If logon failed with error 1326, type the username as computername\username — that was the gotcha everyone hit.

Within months LogMeIn added official Windows 7 support and the workaround stopped being necessary; the free product itself followed in 2014.