Prev: Dell Latitude Screen Replacement
Next: Which is the best laptop in the town?
From: Barry Watzman on 16 Mar 2010 21:03
I don't know, I have never seen that behavior, and I've used Remote
Assistance dozens of dozens of times to help people. I suspect that you
have some [unusual] security settings on the server computer [the one
receiving the remote assistance].

[Note: "I've used Remote Assistance dozens of dozens of times to help
people"; but always over the internet. Never with someone on the same
[local] network.]


mike wrote:

>
> OK, but it would be more helpful if you used a few more HELPFUL
> words...
>
> I'm sittin' here with two xpprosp3 computers on the same router.
> On the controlling computer, I click "remote desktop connection".
> I enter the password.
>
> The controlled computer screen comes up on the controlling computer
> and I can control it.
> The controlled computer screen immediately switches to a windows login
> screen asking for a password. Nothing else can be seen on the
> controlled computer. If I enter the login password, the connection is
> lost.
>
> What now???
From: Barry Watzman on 16 Mar 2010 21:23
You still don't understand what Remote Assistance is, what it's for,
what it does or how to use it.

The good news is .... once you resolve all of those issues .... you are
very likely to be in LOVE ... if, that is, Remote assistance is really
the solution to the problem you are trying to solve.

As others have pointed out, your first issue is that you have two
different (related, but different) products totally confused. Remote
desktop and remote assistance are two different things.

In remote assistance, an "Invitation" (which is a small text file) has
to be created on the computer requesting help (assistance) and it has to
get to the computer of the person who will provide that help.

Your comment that "It wants to use outlook or instant messaging" isn't
quite correct. RA SUPPORTS using either Outlook or IM (any flavor of
"Messenger") for this purpose (conveying the invitation). However, it
does not REQUIRE using EITHER of them. They are just convenient and
available, but, again, neither is required.

ANY means of transferring the invitation file will work. If you look at
the screen below where it offers to use E-Mail or Messenger, below that
you will see "Save Invitation As A File (Advanced)". This allows you to
save the invitation as a file anywhere on the computer (it's small, only
about 1k), after which you can use ANY method you want to get the file
to the other computer (E-Mail attachment, file sharing over a network,
floppy diskette, flash drive, whatever).

RA is for a specific purpose, which is allowing support technicians at
one location to help users at another location by allowing the support
technicians to have the screen (and, optionally, keyboard and mouse) of
the person being helped on their computer. It is not for all purposes.
When it works, it serves that specific purpose spectacularly well.

Re: "I looked at Barry's process, but it seems overly complicated"

The writeup which I posted (which I wrote) solves an all too common
problem in which Remote assistance doesn't work when the client computer
is behind a router with NAT (note: RA often DOES work when the remote
computer is behind an NAT router. Often, but not always. This writeup
addresses those situations in which it does not work. I have no idea
why it works sometimes and not other times.).

Like many computer procedures, this procedure looks far more complex
when explicitly written down in step-by-step form than it does when you
actually do it. It takes about two minutes or less to do it. It takes
longer than that to read the description.

mike wrote:

> Thanks,
> I tried remote assistance. It wants to use outlook or instant messaging,
> both of which are purposely disabled.
> I looked at Barry's process, but it seems overly complicated.
> With VNC, you click the link, enter the ip address or dyndns address
> and it just works...cross platform. I can control a linux machine
> from my PDA.
>
> If M$ would just leave the remote desktop active with remote desktop,
> all would be well.
From: mike on 17 Mar 2010 07:41
Barry Watzman wrote:
> You still don't understand what Remote Assistance is, what it's for,
> what it does or how to use it.

Yep, that's the case.
I assist one person remotely. I need to have both screens and mice and
keyboards active. VNC works marvelously for that.

The interesting thing about remote assistance is that it might work
thru a NAT router. The guy on the other end has used up all the entries
in the port forwarding table and has to edit the router configuration
every time to make VNC server work. It's faster and easier for him
to do that than to mess with the invitations and me to mess with turning
RA on and off.

I've also read that RA might be more efficient. My upload speed is only
160Kbps.

>
> The good news is .... once you resolve all of those issues .... you are
> very likely to be in LOVE

I'm still not sure what features I'm supposed to LOVE over VNC????

... if, that is, Remote assistance is really
> the solution to the problem you are trying to solve.
>
> As others have pointed out, your first issue is that you have two
> different (related, but different) products totally confused. Remote
> desktop and remote assistance are two different things.
>
> In remote assistance, an "Invitation" (which is a small text file) has
> to be created on the computer requesting help (assistance) and it has to
> get to the computer of the person who will provide that help.
>
> Your comment that "It wants to use outlook or instant messaging" isn't
> quite correct. RA SUPPORTS using either Outlook or IM (any flavor of
> "Messenger") for this purpose (conveying the invitation). However, it
> does not REQUIRE using EITHER of them. They are just convenient and
> available, but, again, neither is required.
>
> ANY means of transferring the invitation file will work. If you look at
> the screen below where it offers to use E-Mail or Messenger, below that
> you will see "Save Invitation As A File (Advanced)". This allows you to
> save the invitation as a file anywhere on the computer (it's small, only
> about 1k), after which you can use ANY method you want to get the file
> to the other computer (E-Mail attachment, file sharing over a network,
> floppy diskette, flash drive, whatever).

I tried that. As I recall, it wasn't obvious what to do with the file when
it got to the other end. Seems like it had to do with not knowing
what to put in as a domain name for the local network??? I'd already
decided that the work to do it had already exceeded the hassle for VNC,
so didn't try too hard.
I'll have to try it again.
>
> RA is for a specific purpose, which is allowing support technicians at
> one location to help users at another location by allowing the support
> technicians to have the screen (and, optionally, keyboard and mouse) of
> the person being helped on their computer. It is not for all purposes.
> When it works, it serves that specific purpose spectacularly well.
>
> Re: "I looked at Barry's process, but it seems overly complicated"
>
> The writeup which I posted (which I wrote) solves an all too common
> problem in which Remote assistance doesn't work when the client computer
> is behind a router with NAT (note: RA often DOES work when the remote
> computer is behind an NAT router. Often, but not always. This writeup
> addresses those situations in which it does not work. I have no idea
> why it works sometimes and not other times.).
>
> Like many computer procedures, this procedure looks far more complex
> when explicitly written down in step-by-step form than it does when you
> actually do it. It takes about two minutes or less to do it. It takes
> longer than that to read the description.
>
> mike wrote:
>
>> Thanks,
>> I tried remote assistance. It wants to use outlook or instant messaging,
>> both of which are purposely disabled.
>> I looked at Barry's process, but it seems overly complicated.
>> With VNC, you click the link, enter the ip address or dyndns address
>> and it just works...cross platform. I can control a linux machine
>> from my PDA.
>>
>> If M$ would just leave the remote desktop active with remote desktop,
>> all would be well.
From: Barry Watzman on 17 Mar 2010 17:39

You are continuing to apply your knowledge of Remote Desktop to Remote
Assistance as if they were the same thing when they are not. As has
been said many times, the two are not the same. When I try to apply my
knowledge of boats to my car, I have problems similar to yours .... I
can't figure out how to either adjust the car's rigging OR how to turn
it's rudder.

Re: "it wasn't obvious what to do with the file when it got to the other
end"

Put it anywhere and just double click on it. However, I'm not sure that
the "file" that YOU are referring to IS a remote assistance invitation.

mike wrote:

>> In remote assistance, an "Invitation" (which is a small text file) has
>> to be created on the computer requesting help (assistance) and it has
>> to get to the computer of the person who will provide that help.
>>
>> Your comment that "It wants to use outlook or instant messaging" isn't
>> quite correct. RA SUPPORTS using either Outlook or IM (any flavor of
>> "Messenger") for this purpose (conveying the invitation). However, it
>> does not REQUIRE using EITHER of them. They are just convenient and
>> available, but, again, neither is required.
>>
>> ANY means of transferring the invitation file will work. If you look
>> at the screen below where it offers to use E-Mail or Messenger, below
>> that you will see "Save Invitation As A File (Advanced)". This allows
>> you to save the invitation as a file anywhere on the computer (it's
>> small, only about 1k), after which you can use ANY method you want to
>> get the file to the other computer (E-Mail attachment, file sharing
>> over a network, floppy diskette, flash drive, whatever).
>
> I tried that. As I recall, it wasn't obvious what to do with the file when
> it got to the other end. Seems like it had to do with not knowing
> what to put in as a domain name for the local network??? I'd already
> decided that the work to do it had already exceeded the hassle for VNC,
> so didn't try too hard.
>
From: Roy Smith on 23 Mar 2010 08:44
On 3/16/2010 8:03 PM, Barry Watzman wrote:
> I don't know, I have never seen that behavior, and I've used Remote
> Assistance dozens of dozens of times to help people. I suspect that you
> have some [unusual] security settings on the server computer [the one
> receiving the remote assistance].
>
> [Note: "I've used Remote Assistance dozens of dozens of times to help
> people"; but always over the internet. Never with someone on the same
> [local] network.]
>
>
> mike wrote:
>
>>
>> OK, but it would be more helpful if you used a few more HELPFUL
>> words...
>>
>> I'm sittin' here with two xpprosp3 computers on the same router.
>> On the controlling computer, I click "remote desktop connection".
>> I enter the password.
>>
>> The controlled computer screen comes up on the controlling computer
>> and I can control it.
>> The controlled computer screen immediately switches to a windows login
>> screen asking for a password. Nothing else can be seen on the
>> controlled computer. If I enter the login password, the connection is
>> lost.
>>
>> What now???

Sorry to jump in here a little late, been really busy at work the past
few days. I've tried to use Remote Assistance in the past and have been
frustrated with how it is not user friendly for novice computer users.
I've found that by using Team Viewer
(http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx) which is free for non-commercial
use, is much easier for a novice to understand and use.

--

Roy Smith
Windows 7 Home Premium

Timestamp: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 7:44:01 AM

First  |  Prev  | 
Pages: 1 2
Prev: Dell Latitude Screen Replacement
Next: Which is the best laptop in the town?