You may think you've experienced stress in your lifetime: deadlines, breakups, downsizing. But absolutely nothing approaches the frustration of an expert trying to help a PC beginner over the phone ”for both parties. The expert is flying blind, using Windows terminology that the beginner doesn't know. Meanwhile, the beginner doesn't1 know what to look for and describe to the expert on the phone. Every little operation takes 20 times longer than it would if the expert were simply seated in front of the machine. Both parties are likely to age ten years in an hour . Fortunately, that era is at an end. One of Windows XP's biggest big-ticket features is something called Remote Assistance. It lets somebody having trouble with the computer extend an invitation to an expert, via the Internet. Through Remote Assistance, the expert can actually see the screen of the flaky computer, and even take control of it by remotely operating the mouse and keyboard. The guru can make even the most technical tweaks ”running utility software, installing new programs, adjusting hardware drivers, even editing the Registry (Section 16.10) ”by long distance remote control. Remote Assistance really is the next best thing to being there. 5.3.1 Remote Assistance: Rest AssuredOf course, these days, most people react to the notion of Remote Assistance with stark terror. What's to stop some troubled teenager from tapping into your PC in the middle of the night, rummaging through your files, and reading your innermost thoughts? Plenty. First of all, you, the help-seeker, must begin the process by sending a specific electronic invitation to the expert. The invitation has a time limit: If the helper doesn't respond within, say, 10 minutes, the electronic door to your PC slams shut again. Second, the remote-control person can only see what's on your screen. She can't actually manipulate your computer unless you grant another specific permission. And finally, you must be present at your machine to make this work. The instant you see something fishy going on, a quick tap on your Esc key disconnects the interloper.
NOTE If, despite all of these virtual locks and chains, you absolutely can't stand the idea that there's a tiny keyhole into your PC from the Internet, choose Start Control Panel. Click "Switch to Classic View," if necessary, and then double-click the System icon. In the System dialog box, click the Remote tab, and turn off "Allow Remote Assistance invitations to be sent from this computer." Click OK. Now you've effectively removed the use of the Remote Assistance feature from Windows XP. 5.3.2 Remote Assistance via Windows MessengerWindows Messenger is a little program that lets two people communicate across the Internet ”by typing in a chat window, speaking into their microphones, or even watching each other via a video camera. It's all detailed in Chapter 11. For now, it's enough to note that the Remote Assistance process is much simpler and more streamlined if both the helper and the helpee use Windows Messenger. Here's how it works. 5.3.2.1 Instructions for the noviceSuppose you're the person who needs help. If you suspect that your expert may need to install software or fiddle with your network settings while fooling around with your machine, sign into your PC with an Administrator account . Then connect to the Internet, and proceed like this:
The only further action that's required on your part comes when the expert asks for permission to take charge of your machine. You'll see a request like the one shown in Figure 5-8. Click Yes, and then watch in amazement and awe as your cursor begins flying around the screen, text types itself, and windows open and close by themselves . That's just your friendly neighborhood computer wizard fixing your machine. Figure 5-8. Top (beginner's screen): Now the expert wants to touch, not just look. You're not actually relinquishing control of your PC ”you're going to share it. Both you and your expert will be able to move the mouse and type simultaneously ”a comical, strange , and fairly useless phenomenon . It's probably best to keep your hands off your own machine while the work is being conducted . Bottom (expert's screen): Once you're controlling the other machine, you can cancel at any time, too.As noted earlier, if the expert's explorations of your system begin to unnerve you, feel free to slam the door by clicking the Stop Control button on the screen ”or just by pressing the Esc key. Your friend can still see your screen, but can no longer control it. (To close the connection completely, so that your screen isn't even visible anymore, click the Disconnect button.) 5.3.2.2 Instructions for the expertWhen your less-fortunate comrade sends you an electronic invitation to help, a little message on your Notification Area pops up, as shown in Figure 5-6 at top. Furthermore, the Windows Messenger on your taskbar changes color to signal the invitation. Bring Windows Messenger to the front, and then click Accept or press Alt+T (Figure 5-6, middle). Assuming that the hapless novice is skilled enough to click Yes to grant final permission (Figure 5-6, bottom), you're in. At this point, you observe a strange sight: the other person's screen in a special Remote Assistance window (Figure 5-7). To communicate with your troubled comrade, use any of the Windows Messenger communications tools described in Chapter 11 (chat, microphone, video, sending files back and forth) ”or just by chatting on the telephone simultaneously. When you want to take control of the distant machine, click the Take Control button on the toolbar at the top of your Remote Assistance screen. Of course, all you've actually done is just ask permission to take control (Figure 5-8). If it's granted, you can now use your mouse, keyboard, and troubleshooting skills to do whatever work you need to do. When your job is done, click Disconnect on the toolbar ”or wait for your grateful patient to do so. NOTE Once you've taken control of the other person's screen, your first instinct might be to close the gargantuan Remote Assistance window that's filling most of the screen. Don't. If that window closes, the connection closes , too. What you really want is to minimize it, so it's out of your way but not closed. 5.3.3 Remote Assistance without Windows MessengerAs noted earlier, using Remote Assistance is most efficient and satisfying when both participants fire up the Windows Messenger program. That's not technically necessary, however. Although more steps are involved, anybody with Windows XP can help anyone else with Windows XP, even if neither person has a Passport nor uses Windows Messenger. 5.3.3.1 Instructions for the noviceIf you're the one who wants help, send an invitation like this:
5.3.3.2 Instructions for the expertWhen the novice sends you an email invitation, it arrives in your email program with an attachment ”a tiny file called rcBuddy.MsRcIncident (see Figure 5-10). This is your actual invitation, a Remote Assistance ticket. Figure 5-10. You, the guru, have just received a .MsRcIncident ticket ”an invitation to help somebody whose PC needs troubleshooting. Lucky you! And by the way: If the novice, a trusting individual, has sent you a Remote Assistance ticket that doesn't expire for a very long time (99 days, for example), keep it around on your desktop or in your Start menu. From now on, both of you can skip all of the invitation-and-response rigamarole. Now, whenever he needs your help, he can just call you up or email you. And all you have to do is double-click your ticket and wait for the OK from the other side.When you open it, a little electronic message goes back to the novice, where a message like the one shown at bottom in Figure 5-6 appears. The online help session can now begin. |