A friend has an HP system with XP SP2 and updated IE and OE. When she
received emailed .pps files from friends, she is not able to double click on
them to open the slide show. She can open these files if she copies them to
her desktop and then double clicks on them.

I've :
Uninstalled and then reinstalled a fresh download of the PowerPoint Viewer
Checked the file associations
Repaired IE/OE
Have asked her to try some percussive maintenance

Also, when logged in on Windows Messenger - she shows as offline.
I have disabled some of her services and startups - but nothing obviously
attributable to these problems.
Also, I can't connect using Remote Assistance (could be my system that's at
fault here).

In news:E7A6716E-A05A-4278-96DA-(E-Mail Removed),
usasma had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> A friend has an HP system with XP SP2 and updated IE and OE. When she
> received emailed .pps files from friends, she is not able to double
> click on them to open the slide show. She can open these files if
> she copies them to her desktop and then double clicks on them.
>
> I've :
> Uninstalled and then reinstalled a fresh download of the PowerPoint
> Viewer Checked the file associations
> Repaired IE/OE
> Have asked her to try some percussive maintenance
>
> Also, when logged in on Windows Messenger - she shows as offline.
> I have disabled some of her services and startups - but nothing
> obviously attributable to these problems.
> Also, I can't connect using Remote Assistance (could be my system
> that's at fault here).

Send your friend to Ramesh's site:

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/ppsopen.htm

RA needs ports open, firewalls set to allow it, etc... That's another topic
entirely. She should be able to follow the advice from Ramesh (he's an MVP
as well) without much of a problem.

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"At present I am, as you know, fairly busy, but I propose to devote my
declining years to the composition of a textbook which shall focus the
whole art of detection into one volume." - Sherlock Holmes