HUGE Problem with remote assistance, need help ASAP!!!

[Art Vandelay]

When I use remote assistance on my internal network my
take control icon is grayed out. I can only login to the
other XP machine and the other user doesn't get the
option to allow me to view them. They just get logged off
(it acts like a ts session).

Remote assistance offers three ways of invitation:

Outlook
MS Messenger
File based

We don't use outlook/exchange and messenger is blocked. I
am creating a file session via the remote assistance
wizard and then sending the invitation file over the
network to my admin workstation. I double click the file
and it opens the remote assistance window but all the
buttons are grayed out. I can only logon (thus logging
the user off) and take control is grayed out (upper left
button).

I have a MS article that explains using file based
invitations if you don't have a mapi client or messenger
but it says NOTHING about limited usage.

Either the person who wrote the article REALLY dropped
the ball when it came to letting us know the difference
or I am doing something wrong.

Please help! My contract with pcanywhere expires very
soon and I need to know if I will have to renew. I would
hate to do that when I can do it for free with remote
assistance (one of the reasons we ordered 1000+ xp
machines).

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sooner Al]

Maybe a Group Policy issue? Go to "Start -> Run" and type gpedit.msc at the command line. Navigate
to the "Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System ->
Remote Assistance" and make sure both the "Solicited Remote Assistance" and "Offer Remote
Assistance" policies are either "Not configured" or configured correctly...

Since you appear to be in a domain environment, ie. "we ordered 1000+ xp machines" is the clue, you
might do a search on "Offer Remote Assistance" in Help and Support. It may make your job easier...
Also look at these KB articles for help with the "Offer Remote Assistance" feature. I believe you
should look closely at the "Solicited" policy, which I believe has to be enabled...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308013
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;301527
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310629
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;306496

Hmmm.... Art Vandelay... that name seems familiar... Are you an architect?

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...

 

[Art Vandelay]

Thanks for the reply! I did all that before posting this
(I guess I should have mentioned it) I enabled the user
accounts in both the Domain GP and the local policy on
the machines using gpedit.msc

Everything is grayed out and I just can't understand why.
I want the users to see me make changes and would rather
then not get logged out.

-----Original Message-----
Maybe a Group Policy issue? Go to "Start -> Run" and

type gpedit.msc at the command line. Navigate

to the "Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -
Administrative Templates -> System ->
Remote Assistance" and make sure both the "Solicited

Remote Assistance" and "Offer Remote

Assistance" policies are either "Not configured" or configured correctly...

Since you appear to be in a domain environment, ie. "we

ordered 1000+ xp machines" is the clue, you

might do a search on "Offer Remote Assistance" in Help

and Support. It may make your job easier...

Also look at these KB articles for help with the "Offer

Remote Assistance" feature. I believe you

should look closely at the "Solicited" policy, which I believe has to be enabled...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en- us;308013
us;306496

Hmmm.... Art Vandelay... that name seems familiar... Are you an architect?

group for the mutual benefit of all of us...

 

[Art Vandelay]

I guess I will renew my contract with pcanywhere because
this remote assistance is a friggin joke! How can
something so easy screw up this bad? Oh wait its a
Microsoft product... :/

I am so frustrated right now, nothing seems to work. What
boggles my mind is that remote assistance works fine but
the damned icons are grayed out. How can this be? WHY IS
THERE NO DOCUMENTATION TO SUPPORT THIS>?!>>!>!>!>

AM I THE ONLY ONE IN THE UNIVERSE WHO HAS RUN INTO THIS
FRIGGIN PROBLEM!?!?!

ARgh I can just scream!!!

 

[Sooner Al]

Have you looked that this KB article? It seems to describe your problem...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];306045

--
Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows Networking)

Please post *ALL* questions and replies to the news group for the mutual benefit of all of us...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights...