Remote Assistance: Can't send invitation

[Guest]

I have XP Pro, Dlink 604 router. I have turned off windows firewall, open
the router to allow all ports. When I open Remote Assistance, I put email
address in, set time for any number of hours, no security check mark, hit
"Send Invitation",
and I get a window from Microsoft Internet Explorer with yellow triangle
saying 'A program could not start. Please try again". Try over and over, no
good. I have checked all settings in services and they are set up exactly
like my brother's, who can send me invitation and I get it and can go on his
computer and take control of his computer.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Roger

 

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

I have XP Pro, Dlink 604 router. I have turned off windows firewall,
open the router to allow all ports. When I open Remote Assistance, I
put email address in, set time for any number of hours, no security
check mark, hit "Send Invitation",
and I get a window from Microsoft Internet Explorer with yellow
triangle saying 'A program could not start. Please try again".

There are potentially two simultaneous problems here.

The first is that your PC is behind a NAT router. Remote Assistance will
not work if the novice (the one requesting assistance) is behind a NAT
router, unless:

1. The router support UPnP, and UPnP support is turned on in the router;
2. The Windows Firewall has Exceptions enabled for "UPnP Framework" and
"Remote Assistance".

I cannot tell from your mention of "604" whether your router supports UPnP,
as there were several versions of this router, and only later firmware
levels supported UPnP. What hardware versions and firmware version is your
router?

The second problem, about a program not starting, looks like an internal
Windows problem. Inspect the Application Event Log and System Event Log to
identofy which program (probably a Service) it was that would not start.

 

[Guest]

The HelpAssistant account is disabled or missing, or the password could not
be verified. Remote Assistance will be disabled. Restart the computer in safe
mode and type the following text at the command prompt: sessmgr.exe -service.
If the problem persists, contact Microsoft Product Support. For more
information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp. Event 5251. I get this same error
every time I try to run Remote Assistance.

I have router version 3.51, released 11-2004 and I have UPnP enabled on the
router and in services on XP. I have disabled Windows Firewall. I have
tried running this "sessmgre.exe-service" from the command prompt and it says
".. Unrecognized batch file". The system32 folder has file by this name, but
I click on it and nothing happens.
I have also turned off 3rd part internet security (Trend 2005). I also
installed Messenger, (which I don't want to use) by chance it would turn on
something I needed but it did not.
Thanks for your quick reply
Roger

 

[Guest]

The HelpAssistant account is disabled or missing, or the password could not
be verified. Remote Assistance will be disabled. Restart the computer in safe
mode and type the following text at the command prompt: sessmgr.exe -service.
If the problem persists, contact Microsoft Product Support. For more
information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp. Event 5251. I get this same error
every time I try to run Remote Assistance.

I have router version 3.51, released 11-2004 and I have UPnP enabled on the
router and in services on XP. I have disabled Windows Firewall. I have
tried running this "sessmgre.exe-service" from the command prompt and it says
"Cannot find Internal or external program.. Unrecognized batch file". The system32 folder has file by this name, but
I click on it and nothing happens.
I have also turned off 3rd part internet security (Trend 2005). I also
installed Messenger, (which I don't want to use) by chance it would turn on
something I needed but it did not.
Thanks for your quick reply
Roger

 

[Robin Walker [MVP]]

The HelpAssistant account is disabled or missing, or the password
could not be verified. Remote Assistance will be disabled. Restart
the computer in safe mode and type the following text at the command
prompt: sessmgr.exe -service. If the problem persists, contact
Microsoft Product Support. For more information, see Help and
Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp. Event
5251. I get this same error every time I try to run Remote Assistance.

I have tried running this "sessmgre.exe-service" from the
command prompt and it says ".. Unrecognized batch file".

It looks like you misspelled the command. It should be:

sessmgr.exe -service

Note the blank space after "sessmgr" and before "-service". Note also this
has to be done in Safe Mode.