Solvivo

A weakness of Remote Assistance is that it ordinarily depends on the novice—someone who is having trouble using his or her computer—to initiate a Remote Assistance session by sending an invitation. Depending on how the novice and expert computers are connected and the novice’s general computer aptitude, this hurdle might prevent the novice from ever getting the needed help.

An expert running Windows XP Professional (but not Windows XP Home Edition) can initiate a session with another Windows XP Professional user on the same local area network.

To do this, the expert must first configure the novice’s computer to accept unsolicited Remote Assistance requests, as follows:

1. At a command prompt on the novice’s computer, type gpedit.msc to open Group Policy. (Alternatively, from the expert’s computer, open the novice computer’s Group Policy remotely.)

2. In Group Policy, open Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\ System\Remote Assistance, and then double-click Offer Remote Assistance.

3. On the Setting tab, select Enabled.

4. Specify whether you want helpers to be able to remotely control the computer or simply view it remotely.

5. Click Show to display the list of permitted helpers. In the Show Contents dialog box, shown in Figure, click Add to add a user account or security group to the list. In the Add Item dialog box, type the name of the account or group. Then click OK to close each dialog box.

6. Turn off Simple File Sharing.

In Control Panel, open Folder Options (in the Appearance And Themes category). On the View tab, clear the Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended) check box.


Figure. Specify the names of users and groups who are allowed to initiate a Remote Assistance session with this computer.

Once the novice’s computer is set up in this way, an expert can initiate an unsolicited Remote Assistance session by following these steps:

1. On the Help And Support Center home page, click Use Tools To View Your Computer data And Examine Problems.

2. In the Tools pane on the left side, click Offer Remote Assistance.

3. Type the name or IP address of the novice’s computer, and click Connect.

4. If Windows prompts you to do so, select the name of a user on the novice’s computer.

5. Click Start Remote Assistance.

A dialog box appears on the novice’s screen; if the novice accepts your invitation, the Remote Assistance session begins.