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How do I send a Remote Assistance request?
John Savill
June 18, 2001
1 Min Read
A. How you request help might change in the final Windows XP release, but currently the best way to send a Remote Assistance request is via XP's Help and Support component:
Click Start, then select Help and Support.
Select "Invite a friend to connect to your computer with Remote Assistance."
Click here to view imageThe system will display a dialog box with options to create a new invitation or view current open invitations. Click "Invite someone to help you."
The system will offer three options for sending the invitation: Windows Messenger, email, or as a file.
If you select either Windows Messenger or email, you can enter a message that explains why you want help.
You can also enter a password the assistant must know (you need to communicate the password via phone or in person).
When you've completed all the details, click Send Invitation.
The system creates a file with an MsRcIncident extension (the default filename is rcBuddy.MsRcIncident). If you selected the Windows Messenger or email option, the system attaches the file to a message and sends the message to the assistant. If you chose the file option, you can manually deliver the file. The file is an XML package that looks something like the following:
Notice that the file contains the IP address of the machine that's requesting help. If the requester uses DHCP and the address changes after the requester sends the invitation, when Remote Assistance sends a request to the user for permission to connect, the request won't go through.About the Author
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