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Overview of Remote Assistance in Windows
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This article was previously published under Q300546
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SUMMARY
MORE INFORMATION
o Requirements for Remote Assistance
o Sending a Remote Assistance Invitation
o Overview of Methods for Sending the Invitation
Windows Messenger
Email
Save invitation as a file
o Technical Overview
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SUMMARY
Remote Assistance is a technology in Windows XP which
enables Windows XP users...
Remote Assistance is a technology in Windows XP which enables Windows XP users to help
each other over the Internet. With this tool, one user, called the "Expert," can view the desktop of
another user, the "Novice." With the Novice's permission, the Expert can even share control of
the Novice's computer to resolve issues remotely.
With Remote Assistance, a Help Desk can assist users on the network, which is known as the
Offer Remote Assistance feature.
For additional information about the Offer Remote Assistance feature, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
301527 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301527/ ) Configuring a Windows XP computer to
receive Remote Assistance offers
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MORE INFORMATION
Requirements for Remote Assistance Both the novice's
computer and the expert's c...
Requirements for Remote Assistance
Both the novice's computer and the expert's computer must
be running a version of Windows XP or Windows Server
2003.
The novice's computer and the expert's computer must be
connected to a common network. The Internet can serve as
this common network.
For additional information about possible network
configurations, click the following article number to view
the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
301529 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301529/ )
Supported connection scenarios for Remote Assistance
In Windows XP Home Edition, the novice must be using
an Owner account.
The novice must be able to transfer a file to the expert. The
novice can send a file automatically through the Help and
Support Center by using Microsoft Outlook Express or
Windows Messenger. Therefore, the user must have set up
Outlook Express or Windows Messenger. The novice can
also save the file and send it to the expert by using any
other means of transferring a file.
Note This article describes Remote Assistance situations where the novice initiates the Remote
Assistance session by sending an invitation to the expert. On computers that are in the same
domain, the expert can offer Remote Assistance to the novice and bypass the requirement that
the novice sends the invitation to the expert.
For additional information about offering Remote Assistance, click the following article number
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
301527 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301527/ ) Configuring a Windows XP machine to
receive Remote Assistance offers
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Sending a Remote Assistance Invitation
1. Open Help and Support Center by clicking Start, and then
clicking Help and Support.
2. Under Ask for Assistance click Invite a friend to connect
to your computer with Remote Assistance.
3. The Remote Assistance page is displayed. Click Invite
someone to help you.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. After the Expert initiates the session, the Novice's
computer verifies the password that the Expert entered.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
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Overview of Methods for Sending the Invitation
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.
For additional information, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
301529 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301529/ )
Supported connection scenarios for Remote Assistance
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:
1. On the Tools menu, click Send an Invitation.
2. Click To Start Remote Assistance.
3. 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.
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Technical Overview
For a technical overview of Remote Assistance please see the following Microsoft Knowledge
Base article:
300692 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300692/ ) Description of the Remote Assistance
connection process
Note Remote Assistance uses DCOM. In Windows XP, the DCOM registry path is
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Ole with a String value of EnableDCOM = Y.
If this value is set to 'N' or is missing, remote assistance will not work.
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APPLIES TO
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
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Keywords: kbenv kbinfo KB300546
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