Simulate Remote Desktop In Xp Home

[CyberSlug]

[i'd thought of this idea a while back, and don't think I ever posted it.... so here it is]

XP Home doesn't have allow incoming Remote Desktop connections, but you can use Remote Assistance for a simlar effect. (Just a proof-of-concept.... there are better programs like VNC out there.)

You might even like this technique for XP Pro because, unlike RDP, Remote Assistance doesn't lock the workstation when you connect You can also scale the screen to fit within the window and send files.

MANUAL CONFIG PART ON THE XP HOME MACHINE

1) Enable Remote Assistance: Run control sysdm.cpl and click on the Remote tab. Checkbox....and Advance button.... Max invitation duration is 30 days.

2) Run "rcimlby.exe -LaunchRA" and go thru the steps to create an RAInvitation.msrcincident file.

3) Somehow transfer the RAInvitation file to the client machine.

4) Run the following script

; This code originally started as as just four lines!
HotKeySet("^!q", "Disconnect")

Opt("WinTitleMatchMode", 3);exact

Global $connected = 0;status flag
While 1
    
    sleep(2000)
    If WinExists("Remote Assistance") And $connected = 0 Then
        $connected = 1
        WinActivate("Remote Assistance")
        WinWaitActive("Remote Assistance")
        Send("!y");Alt+y to choose Yes button
        WinSetState("Remote Assistance", "", @SW_MINIMIZE)
    ElseIf Not WinExists("Remote Assistance") And $connected = 1 Then
        $connected = 0
    ElseIf WinExists("Remote Assistance -- Web Page Dialog") And Not WinExists("Save As") Then
        Send("!y");Web Page Dialog appears when attempting to gain full control
; but it also occurs if the remote controller tries to send a file
    EndIf
WEnd

Func Disconnect()
    WinActivate("Remote Assistance")
    WinWaitActive("Remote Assistance")
    Send("!d");Alt+D to choose Disconnect button
    WinClose("Remote Assistance")
    $connected = 0
EndFunc

FROM THE XP CLIENT MACHINE (PRO OR HOME)

1) Launch the RAInvitation file. (Note that the "Help and Support" service must be running in case you are one of those people who disables such services like I do)

2) The connection starts in view-only mode, but you can switch to take control.

3) Don't hit the Esc key at the moment, because that causes a web page dialog to appear and switches you to view-only....

You might want t to tweak the code to check the dimensions of the "Web Page Dialog" windows in order to determine which ones they are since AutoIt doesn't read the text. (Well, I haven't tried DaleHohm's IE Automation UDFs....) Because of these popup windows, I use the Ctrl+Alt+Q hotkey for disconnecting rather than other metods.

Edited April 8, 2006 by CyberSlug

[Pa Callender]

Sorry, but Remote Desktop is a Terminal Server based system (it does do the processing, but is not remote control, 'cos if someone does connect to it, they don't see the desktop of whoever is logged on) and Remote Assistance, however similar it may seem, does use some form of TS, but it is remote control (i.e. if the user logged on has AU3Info.exe open, you'll get it too). Oh, and XP Home does have TS, but it is only for connecting to the same machine (client = server). This version of TS comes in the form of Fast User Switching.

It's been a long time since I've been a know-it-all.