Remote Assistance

[dlong]

Just visited other forums, and a lot of people have this problem:

When initiating a response to a request for Remote Assistance, I get the
message "Attempted connection failed. Please try again."

MS Says it should be independent of firewalls, etc.
Tried disabling MS Firewall and/or Norton on both ends.
XP Home (mine)-> helping XP Pro fails
XP Pro (another's) -> helping (same) XP Pro fails
Fails with either Email or IM initiation

I Can't find much useful info about this, but appears to be common. I refuse
to follow advice like "reformat drive" or re-install XP OS. The computers are
woking ok.

Any help appreciated!

Thanks,
Symied in Sunnyvale

[Shenan Stanley]

"... MS Says it should be independent of firewalls, etc ..."
Where'd you get that load of bull?

If the correct ports in the firewalls (software/hardware) are not opened
and/or the correct ports forwarded through any NAT devices/routers <- things
will fail.

Overview of Remote Assistance in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300546

Using Remote Assistance to Get Help When You Need It
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/remoteassist/intro.mspx

HOW TO: Obtain Remote Assistance Using Windows Messenger in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306556/

Start a Remote Assistance Session from Windows Messenger
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/remoteassist/viaim.mspx

HOW TO: Provide Remote Assistance In Response to Windows Messenger
Invitation in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306800/

HOW TO: Obtain Remote Assistance by Sending an E-mail Message in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306757/

HOW TO: Provide Remote Assistance in Response to an E-mail Invitation in
Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306791/

Start a Remote Assistance Session by Sending a File
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/remoteassist/viafile.mspx

Step-by-Step Guide to Remote Assistance
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/rmassist.mspx

Provide Remote Assistance When Using a NAT Device
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/learnmore/tips/jackson1.mspx

Don't want to use "Remote Assistance"?

UltraVNC
http://ultravnc.sourceforge.net/

TightVNC
http://www.tightvnc.com/

*Note* - you still need to know how to properly configure any firewall
(software or hardware) and any router/NAT device you have to allow these
products to work.

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html