Windows 7 / Networking

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Interoperability with Remote Assistance in Windows XP

Remote Assistance in Windows 7 is backward-compatible with Remote Assistance in Windows XP, with the following limitations:

• Offer RA from Windows 7 to Windows XP is supported, but Offer RA from Windows XP to Windows 7 is not supported. This means that enterprises who want to implement Offer RA as a support solution for their Help Desk departments should ensure that computers used by support personnel who will help users running Windows 7 are themselves running Windows 7 (and not Windows XP).
• NAT traversal using Teredo and IPv6 is supported on Windows 7 to Windows 7 Remote Assistance only, and not on Windows 7 to Windows XP.
• Voice support for Remote Assistance in Windows XP is not supported by Remote Assistance in Windows 7, and any attempt by a User on a Windows XP computer to use this feature during a Remote Assistance session with a Helper on a Windows 7 computer will cause a notification message regarding this limitation to appear.
• The MAILTO method of soliciting assistance that is supported by Remote Assistance in Windows XP is not supported by Remote Assistance in Windows 7.
• Windows Messenger (which shipped with Windows XP) does not ship with Windows 7. Users of Remote Assistance with Windows Messenger in Windows XP will need to migrate to an IM application such as Windows Live Messenger that supports Windows 7 Remote Assistance.
• Offer RA via Windows Live Messenger is supported in Windows 7 but not in Windows XP.
• Windows XP does not support the new Easy Connect method for soliciting Remote Assistance found in Windows 7. This means that a User on a Windows XP computer cannot use Easy Connect to solicit Remote Assistance from a Helper on a Windows 7 computer, and a User on a Windows 7 computer cannot use Easy Connect to solicit Remote Assistance from a Helper on a Windows XP computer. A Windows 7 user cannot transfer a file with a Windows Vista user during a Remote Assistance session.