Windows 7 Remote Assistance - Troubleshooting Off Premises

Windows 7 Remote Assistance - An Introduction

Windows 7 remote assistance comes to your rescue when something goes wrong with your computer and you need help immediately. Though you can call up any technician or your friends, the phone chat does not really solve the problem without you having to manually make changes yourself. Plus there are chances that you may get the instructions wrong and further spoil the state of your computer. If you opt for Windows 7 remote assistance, you can simply let the technician access your computer who can then solve your problem without involving you in the troubleshooting process.

Note that as the person troubleshooting your computer can access any portion, you should use the remote assistance tool with only the people whom you trust.

Using the Windows 7 Remote Assistance Tool

You can invoke the Windows 7 remote assistance by typing Windows Remote Assistance in the Search dialog box. For proper troubleshooting, the remote assistance tool should be open on both sides - the person asking for help and the person who is troubleshooting.

Once you have the Remote Assistance tool open, click on Invite Someone you trust to help you.

The next screen presents you with a number of options on how to invite the person to help you. You can save the invitation as an attachment and send it with a webmail. You can also use a direct email to call the person. The last option is EasyConnect. You can use this option if both you and the helper has an EasyConnect account. In this case, both your and the helper’s computer connect to a remote server and use it as a point to communicate with each other. However, I don’t recommend this as many a times, the firewalls create problems, especially if you or the helper is in a business environment. Whatever option you select, your computer also sends a 12 digit alphanumeric password so that the other person can connect to your computer.

Once the person receives your invitation, s/he needs to open the Remote Assistance on his/her computer and enter the 12 digit password in order to connect to you. Please do not close the Remote Assistance tool on your computer else the other person will not be able to connect. Once the person enters the password, you will get a message asking if you would like the person to connect to your computer. Click Yes so that the person can connect to your computer and help you. Once connected, you can see the Remote Assistance Panel on your desktop.

The person assisting you can use the panel to chat with you and to pause and resume the troubleshooting process. Once the process of troubleshooting is done, either you or the person assisting you can use the Remote Assistance panel to close the connection. You can also use the panel to close the connection if you feel that the person assisting you is trying to misuse the connection.

The above gives you the idea of how to use the Windows 7 Remote Assistance tool. While it is a great tool to share computer and attached resources for troubleshooting, it can be dangerous if you allow strangers to connect to you. As said earlier, invite only those people whom you can trust with the contents of your computer.