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Remote Assistance in Windows 7 or Windows XP
Using Microsoft's Remote Assistance
utility, you can allow someone
you know to connect to your computer over the Internet and help you with a
problem. Also you can use Remote Assistance to help someone else. The
recipient of the assistance will be able to see the mouse move around on
the screen as you are helping them or vice versa. These Remote
Assistance instructions are for Microsoft Windows XP, or Windows 7.
Requesting help using Remote Assistance
By following the easy steps in Remote Assistance, you can use
Windows Messenger or via e-mail message to invite a friend to connect to your
computer. After he or she is connected, your friend will be able to view your
computer screen and chat with you in real time about what you both see. With
your permission, your assistant can even use his or her mouse and keyboard to
work with you on your computer.
Before you begin Remote Assistance in
Windows 7 or Windows XP:
- Open Control Panel/System and click on
Remote tab. Make sure the check mark is in "Allow Remote Assistance/Access..."
and under the Advanced button, "Allow this computer to be
controlled remotely."
- Both you and your helper must be using
either Windows Messenger Service or a MAPI-compliant e-mail account
such as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express.
- If the person you are asking for assistance
from does not have a Messenger (.NET) account, it will give you the
opportunity to send them directions on how to sign up.
- You and your helper need to be connected to
the Internet while using Remote Assistance.
- If you are working on a local area network,
firewalls might stop you from using Remote Assistance. In this case, check
with your network administrator before using Remote Assistance.
- If for some reason you are unable to send an
invitation by using e-mail or Windows Messenger, you can create and
save an invitation. On the first page of Remote Assistance, click Invite
someone to help you, and then click the save option at the bottom of the next
page. You can then send the saved invitation file to your helper in the manner
you choose, such as copying it onto a floppy disk or a shared network
location, sending it over another e-mail service or an FTP connection, and so
on.
How to start Remote Assistance in Windows 7
- Click on the Start menu and
Control Panel
- Under the System and Security
category, choose Find and fix problems.
- On the next windows that pops up,
look on the left margin and click Get help from a friend.
Here you can Invite someone to help YOU, or Offer Remote Assistance
to help someone (link at bottom of that window)
- Follow the instructions to send
the invitation for remote assistance by one of the 3 methods
presented. The easiest method by far is using Easy Connect.
It will generate a security code that the sender and receiver of the
help will type in and establish the secure connection.
- Follow the prompts to complete the
connection.
How to start Remote Assistance in Windows XP
- Click Start, and then click Help and
Support.
- Click Get help from a friend by using Remote
Assistance.
Full Details:
- Open Help and Support Center by
clicking Start, and then clicking Help and Support.
- Under Ask
for Assistance click Invite a friend
to connect to your computer with Remote Assistance.
- The Remote Assistance page is
displayed. Click Invite someone to help you.
- There are three available options
for sending the Remote Assistance invitation: Windows Messenger,
email, or saving the invitation as a file. Choose one of the three
options, and then follow the directions. With the email or
Save as Invitation methods, the Novice will be given the
opportunity to protect the session with a password. The Novice must
also select a time period when the invitation will automatically
expire. The Novice can expire any invitation at any time by clicking
the View invitation status link on
the Remote Assistance page that is referred to in Step 3.
- When the Expert receives the
invitation, the Expert is prompted for the password which the Novice
set. After supplying this password, the Expert can initiate the
Remote Assistance session.
- After the Expert initiates the
session, the Novice's computer verifies the password that the Expert
entered.
- The Novice's computer also checks
to make sure that the invitation that the Expert used is a valid
invitation and that the invitation is still open.
- If the invitation is open and the
password is correct, the Novice receives a notification stating that
the Expert wants to start the session now and the Novice is prompted
to start the Remote Assistance session.
- If the Novice chooses to start the
session, the Remote Assistance Novice chat dialog box will
open on the Novice's computer and the Remote Assistance Expert
console opens on the Expert's computer. At this point, the Expert
can see everything on the Novice computer, in real time.
- The Expert can request to take
control of the Novices computer at this point by clicking the
Take Control button on the Expert console. This sends a message
to the Novice's computer notifying the Novice that the Expert is
requesting to take control of the computer. The message provides the
following three methods by which the Novice can stop the Experts
control of their computer:
Press the ESC key.
Hold down the CTRL key, and then press the C key.
Click the Stop Control button next to the Novice's chat
window.
- If the Novice chooses to give
control of the computer to the Expert, the Novice and the Expert
share control of the keyboard and the mouse. It is best if the
Novice does not move the mouse or type when the Expert has control
because the session responds to both users inputs, which causes the
mouse to behave erratically. If the Novice stops control, the Remote
Assistance session continues and the Expert can still see the
Novice's desktop.
Methods for Sending a Remote Assistance
Invitation in Windows XP
Windows
Messenger
Users of the Windows Messenger service can
invite a contact to help them by using Remote Assistance. Using Windows
Messenger is the preferred method of sending a Remote Assistance
invitation for the following reasons:
-
Windows Messenger works in real
time which allows the Novice to know if the Expert is online
- Windows Messenger provides
additional ways for the Novice and Expert computers to find each
other over the Internet. This is used when computers are not on the
same network or are attempting to connect over the Internet through
a firewall or NAT machine
When using Windows Messenger service
there is no need to open Help and Support Center. You can also send the
invitation by opening Windows Messenger, and then following these steps:
- On the Tools menu, click Send an
Invitation.
- Click To Start Remote Assistance.
- Click the desired contact for
Remote Assistance
- The selected contact
receives a message requesting a Remote Assistance session and the
Expert can click Accept or Decline
- A Remote Assistance session
may also be initiated in Windows Messenger by right-clicking on a
contact, clicking Invite, and then clicking
To Start Remote Assistance
Email
Remote Assistance can help the
Novice compose an email to send to the Expert. The email contains an
attachment with the invitation. When the Expert opens the attachment,
they are prompted for a password, providing that the Novice specified a
password, and the process continues as explained in the "Sending a
Remote Assistance Invitation" section.
Remote Assistance uses the e-mail
client that is specified in the Programs tab of Internet Options. If an
e-mail client has not yet been configured, Remote Assistance attempts to
help the Novice configure it. To change the e-mail client that Remote
Assistance uses, in Control Panel, double-click Internet Options, and on
the Programs tab, change the e-mail setting to the e-mail client of your
choice.
Remote Assistance uses Simple Mail
Advanced Programming Interface (Simple MAPI) to help the Novice compose
an email. Some e-mail clients to not support Simple MAPI and do not
appear as an option in the Internet Options Control Panel program. Save
invitation as a file If the Novice's e-mail client does not support
Simple MAPI, or if the Novice wants to use another means by which to
transport the invitation file to the Expert, the Novice can choose to
save the invitation as a file.
This option allows the Novice to save
the same file that would be created and attached to an email
automatically to be saved to their local drive or to a network share.
The Novice can then attach this file to an e-mail message by using an
e-mail client that does not support Simple MAPI, or the file can be
transferred on a network share, a floppy disk, and so forth. When the
Expert receives the file, they can double-click it to open the
invitation and start the Remote Assistance session.
(source: Microsoft)
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