Re: Home v. Pro...still confused about Remote Desktop/Assistance

Fr@nk wrote:
> Hi. I'm about to buy a new machine, and am confused about
> the differences between XP Pro and Home when it comes to
> Remote Assistance and/or Desktop. I need to decide which OS
> I need. My question is pretty simple:
>
> If I'm running XP Home, can I connect to and remotely
> control a friend/relative's computer (running Win 2k or XP,
> right?) to help them with a problem they're having?
>
> Or, do I need XP Pro to do this?
>
> If I have XP Pro, does that enable me to do any additional
> remote-control-type things that XP Home can't do?
>
> Just trying to narrow down my decision on which OS to buy
> with my new machine. I don't need to join a domain here at
> home. I really would like to be able to connect to
> friends/relatives' computers if the need arises, and want to
> make sure I don't waste money/resources on Pro if I don't
> need it. Thanks.
>
>
> Fr@nk

Remote Assistance is available in all editions of Windows XP.
That means you can provide Remote Assistance to another user as
long as both computers are running Windows XP. It won't work
with earlier versions such as Win 2K or Win98SE.

Note: Windows XP Professional also has the ability to offer
Remote Assistance to a remote user. With XP Home, you would
only be able to respond to invitations initiated by the remote
user. In other words, with XP Pro you can start the process
while with XP Home the person seeking assistance has to make
the first move.

Remote Desktop is a feature that is only available with Windows
XP Professional. Remote Desktop allows another user running
most versions of Windows to take control of your PC as if they
were sitting at the keyboard. For example, let's say I have a
PC at my office running Windows XP Professional. I could, as
long as I've installed the remote desktop client software,
connect to that computer from another location with a machine
running Windows 98, 2000 and all versions of XP.

Here are a few articles you may find helpful in making your
decision:

Remote Assistance
http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxprmass.htm

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

http://www.scscc.com/smnr/Remote%20Assistance4.pdf

Remote Desktop

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en;315328

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/remoteintro.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/getstarted/russel_may18.mspx

It sounds as if XP Home Edition would be fine for you. The only
reason you might want to consider getting Pro would be if you
anticipate having to do any of the following sometime in the
future:
1. Connect from a remote location to your home PC.
2. Offer Remote Assistance to other XP users because they can't
figure out how to initiate the invitation.
3. Increase file security using features such as Encryption and
NTFS permissions.

Nepatsfan


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