Remote Assistance from Vista to XP - Microsoft bug?

[scorpionleather]

I'm puzzled about something that should be really simple. I'm trying to
provide Remote Assistance to someone who has Windows XP, and my PC is
running Vista x64, but after making a connection I get a message saying that
the other person is away from the computer and did not respond. This
message is wrong, because the prompt never pops up on the other end. When I
try connecting from the same network using my laptop which is running
Windows XP, I am able to successfully connect and control their desktop.

While searching the web I read conflicting things. On the one hand some
people say to tweak the Vista auto-tuning setting. That doesn't do anything
to fix it. On the other hand, another message says that remote assistance
from Vista to XP is not possible. Well if it was not possible then why
doesn't Microsoft pop up an error message that says it's attempting to
connect to an incompatible operating system? Why instead is there an error
message saying that the person didn't respond? Seems like a bug to
me.

I have ruled out things like the firewall by disabling it entirely. The
same NOD32 antivirus is running on the XP laptop that is working fine for
remote assistance. These computers are on the same network behind the same
Linksys router so it's not because of the network. Scientifically ruling
out possible causes by comparing the XP and Vista computers appears to point
to a bug.

Maybe my question is real basic - is it even possible to do remote
assistance from Vista to XP?

Or do we need to wait for some kind of service pack or hotfix?

 

[Sooner Al [MVP]]

What invitation method are you using?

I have used Remote Assistance (testing only) between an XP Pro (Novice role)
and a Vista Ultimate (Expert role) machines. This was with the file method
over my home LAN to test. Both versions of Windows are 32-bit though.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/remoteassist/viafile.mspx

Created the file on the XP Pro desktop, placed it in a shared folder on my
Vista machine and successfully connected.

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows – Desktop User Experience)

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Safai]

A general advice: Forget about Windows Remote Assistant, use UltraVNC or
similar software. much easier !

Good luck

 

[scorpionleather]

I used the MSN Messenger method...

 

[Sooner Al [MVP]]

Have you tried the file method?

TeamViewer may be a viable alternative for you since this is a help desk
type function you want.

http://www.teamviewer.com

--

Al Jarvi (MS-MVP Windows – Desktop User Experience)

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights...
The MS-MVP Program - http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[scorpionleather]

I'll try TeamViewer, thanks for the tip. Because the Microsoft built in
Remote Desktop Connection is a complete piece of junk. Just like Windows
Paint compared to Adobe Photoshop. I'm starting to realize that Microsoft
has abandoned their remote desktop capability and this Windows feature is
worthless.

 

[scorpionleather]

I just tried TeamViewer and it is amazing and it blows away the Microsoft
included Remote Desktop! I can't believe I hadn't tried it before. I
struggled with the Remote Desktop junk provided with Windows, and if I had
known about TeamViewer before it would have saved me a lot of headache.
Thanks much for the tip!!