Remote assistance problem

[Spike]

I am trying to offer remote assistance to a friend via windows messenger, but am unable to do so.

I feel this may be largely due to having followed Soul Harvesters guide to cutting the fat on XP (I knew it might break a few things, but nothing essential/important to running my machine). When I followed it, I didn't envisage offering remote assistance again before my next re-install, but I've found no cause to format and start again yet, which for me is higly unusual, being the type of person to do things like change the start button text etc just because I can.

Apparently, when I request or offer remote assistance, the remote user gets a "small window" appear on her monitor (she's not technically inclined), whereas I get the accepted message on Messenger, but nothing else happens.

Does anybody have any idea's short of a re-install/repair?

It seems a reasonably likely assumption, to myself at least, that I've deleted the files required for Remote Assistance to work from the folder %systemroot%/pchealth/ , but I'm only guessing.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Shouldn't you be using NetMeeting instead?

 

[Spike]

I guess I could use netmeeting, but that's a little too techie for my friend. lol Nice thought though.

Oh well, I guess I'll either have to visit her to fix it, or not play minesweeper on MSN with her. lol

I think she's too frightened to be guided through windows over the phone or on messenger.

I could re-install, repair, but after the last time I formatted, I don't think I want to run the risk of my 10G WD drive being detected as 2200GB again. I still have no idea why it happened. lol Just one of those things that shouldn't logically happen, but did I think.

 

[poertner_1274]

Well I know of a program called PCRemote that you could use. All that takes is each of you running the .exe and then you getting her IP to connect directly to.
But anyway, it could be due to a firewall problem, if she has XP firewall turned on it could be blocking the attempt. I have had problems trying to fix my sisters computer this way in the past, and had to end up using PCRemote.