You're an average computer user—you know how to use your computer to get your work done, but you're no expert troubleshooter. You're sitting at your home PC when something goes wrong, and you don't know how to fix it. You could call tech support, but that could cost you too much time and money.
Or, you're an expert user, your friends know it, and they're always calling you for help. You offer what assistance you can over the phone, but because you can't see your friend's screen, you're not certain of your instructions or the way they're carried out. You often end up visiting your friend to troubleshoot and solve the problem yourself.
With Windows XP's Remote Assistance, a user can invite an expert user to view his screen, relay instructions in real-time, and take over and operate the problematic PC so the expert can fix the problem as the other user watches. Remote Assistance saves the user who needs help the time, cost, and language barrier-based frustrations of technical support and spares the Good Samaritan a trip.
There are two ways to use Remote Assistance: via email and the Web and via Windows Messenger. We'll cover the email/Web method, which requires more steps but will be more practical for most users. (For more on Remote Assistance via Windows Messenger, see "What About Windows Messenger?" at the end of this article.)
 Cry For Help
A Remote Assistance session can't begin unless the user who wants help invites another user (whom we'll call an expert) to a Remote Assistance session (or incident). To create and send an invitation, click Start and Help And Support. Click Invite A Friend To Your Computer With Remote Assistance and click Invite Someone To Help You. You'll be prompted to connect to the Internet if you're not already. (If a box appears telling you that your current system settings prevent an invitation; right-click My Computer; choose Properties; click the Remote tab; and under Remote Assistance, make sure Allow Remote Assistance Invitations To Be Sent From This Computer is checked. Click OK twice and repeat the instructions above.)|
If you're concerned about security, you can restrict the time after which your Remote Assistance invitation will expire and require a password to start the session. You'll still need to be at your computer to authorize any Remote Assistance session.
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Under Or Use E-mail, enter the email address of the person you want to invite and click Invite This Person. In the next screen, enter a description of the problem in the Message box (unless you've already talked with the person, in which case you won't need to type anything). Click Continue.
The next screen you'll see lets you enact a degree of security by putting a time limit on your invitation and setting a password for the session. (Much of what you choose will depend on your relationship with the person you're asking for help.) Under Set The Invitation To Expire, use the list boxes to set the number of minutes, hours, or days your invitation will be open. The default for the maximum invitation duration is 30 days, even though the drop-down menus seem to suggest longer periods are possible. In the bottom section, type and confirm your password. You'll want to relay this password to your assistant over the phone. Don't use your system password or a password you use to protect sensitive information.
Click Send Invitation. If you see a warning that a program is trying to access email addresses stored in your email program, click Allow Access For (the default should be one minute) and click Yes. If you see a warning that a program is trying to automatically send email on your behalf (which in this case you want it to do), just click Yes. You'll soon return to the Remote Assistance screen, which displays notification that your message has been sent.
How To Respond
A remote support invitation comes in the form of an email with an attachment. The subject of the email reads You Have Received A Remote Assistance Invitation From, followed by the name of the sender. The attachment is the Remote Assistance Incident file, which you need to run to start the Remote Assistant session.
Open the email, right-click the attachment, choose Save As, and save the attachment to your Desktop. Scan the incident file with your antivirus app (it's an executable file that could carry a virus).
Contact the sender to ensure she is at her PC and to get any password the sender has set to restrict Remote Assistance. Double-click the incident file shortcut on your Desktop. In the box that appears, enter the password you and the sender have set and click Yes. On your screen, the Remote Assistance workspace will open; once the sender grants permission to begin a Remote Assistance chat session, you'll see the sender's screen in the workspace.
Getting To Work
The most basic way to conduct a Remote Assistance session is for the expert to type and send instructions via the message entry area and watch the other user perform those instructions. However, while instant messaging is great for nonurgent chat, it can be a restrictive and frustrating way to converse during the problem-solving process. If both of your phone lines are free, you'll probably prefer to do your talking on the phone as you work on the problem.
If both PCs are equipped with speakers and a microphone or, even better, with headsets, you can talk with each other over the same Internet connection you're using for Remote Assistance. One user clicks the Start Talking button. The first time you click the button, you'll have to go through the Audio Tuning Wizard, which helps you tweak settings for optimal sound quality. Once you're finished and once the other user agrees to start talking, start talking as you'd talk over a phone.
Taking (& Surrendering) Control
The most expedient way to conduct a Remote Assistance session is for the expert to take remote control of the other user's PC and perform corrective action while the other user watches. The expert clicks the Take Control button in the top-left corner of the Remote Assistance workspace. (The user who requested Remote Assistance won't have a Take Control button.) A box appears on the other user's screen, which he can use to authorize remote control; the other user clicks Yes. The expert can operate the other user's computer as if she were sitting in front of it. (The other user can still operate his PC, although that can cause confusion.) |
The Remote Assistance request arrives in your email; save the attached incident file, which you run to start the session.
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Remote control is a great way for the expert to demonstrate or conduct a Windows Update session, install an antivirus app, or take any of the somewhat intimidating steps often necessary to solve problems. It's also ideal when the expert has less time to teach and just needs to solve the problem and get back to work.
Another handy Remote Assistance feature is the Send A File button, which you can use to transfer files over the Remote Assistance connection. Click the Send A File button, use the Browse button to locate the file, and click Send File; the user at the other end will accept it and save it.
Either party can end the session by clicking the Disconnect button.
What About Windows Messenger?
Many sources list Windows Messenger, the IM (instant messaging) program included with WinXP, as the preferred conduit for Remote Assistance: Windows Messenger has a simple menu command for initiating a Remote Assistance session.
But Remote Assistance via Windows Messenger requires that both users have a Windows Messenger screen name, which requires that both users have a Microsoft .NET Passport account. If you or the other user use another IM app, you won't likely want to go through this trouble. The same is true if you don't use IM at all. You almost certainly won't want to add an IM program just for occasional assistance sessions. Better to use email, which you can be certain both of you are already using. 
by Mark Scapicchio
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