Hi Max,
Remote Desktop uses port 3389 to connect, while you have to permit Remote
Assistance, and even the one in Windows Live messenger, to get through the
Internet. In your Firewall, look under "Exceptions" and you'll see three
distinct srevices to enable, as follows:
-RemoteAssistance,
-Remote Assistance - Windows Messenger and Voice
-Remote Desktop.
I hope this helps

Samuel.

"Blue Max" wrote in message
news
We seriously need help making a Remote Assistance connection. We have
some senior family members who really need our constant assistance, but we
cannot connect. Here is a little background:

FIRST, the connection is being made over the internet, with an invitation
and password, not within a local network.

SECOND, we can successfully make a Remote Desktop connection to each of
the computers involved. If we can successfully configure Remote Desktop,
then why not Remote Assistance, which uses some of the same communications
protocols?

THIRD, we can succesfully communicate with Windows Live Messenger.
However, if we choose the remote assistance option with the same contact,
we cannot connect. Ironically, the connection appears solid in that one
contact successfully sends a request and the other accepts the request,
but the connection always times out or fails. The dialog suggests that
the other user may have closed the Remote Assistance session, but they
have not.

FOURTH, could this be a subtle firewall issue since we can connect in so
many other similar ways, but not with Remote Assistance? Does MSRA.exe
have to be allowed through the third-party firewalls? It seems we have
even tried this before without much success. I imagine, if we have
allowed remote assistance in the 'Remote Settings' dialog, that the
Windows firewall is properly configured to run MSRA.exe, correct?

We would really appreciate some advanced help in resolving this problem!
Remote Assistance is promoted as the friendly lifeline for even the most
novice users. Yet, as an advanced user, we have only made one or two
successful connections over the last 4 years - not a real confidence
builder. If you have any advanced knowledge on configuring Remote
Assistance, we would welcome your help!