What steps should I take to troubleshoot the MySQL error 2003 when connecting from a remote Windows machine?

1. Verify MySQL server is running on the host. 2. Check server's firewall rules (inbound for port 3306). 3. Check client's firewall rules (outbound for port 3306). 4. Ensure the MySQL user account has privileges to connect from the client's IP address. 5. Use `ping` or `telnet` from the client to the server's IP and port to test network connectivity. 6. Verify the `bind-address` setting in `my.ini` allows remote connections (e.g., `0.0.0.0` or the server's IP).