Reliable CD-Bootable XP compatible with Teamviewer, Crossloop, etc

[imjonah]

I would like to be able to offer remote repair as an option for people whose PC can not log on to Internet.

I am still in testing phase, I had been using the boot-able CD you can download at Reimage,com, it is a plain jane PE version of XP but has given me Internet access on every machine I booted using it. I have been successful in the past of going to the Teamviewer site once I have the browser up and running and installing their client program. For who knows what reason I can no longer get the Teamviewer client to install anymore or the crossloop one for that matter.

I also have had good luck using the Ultimate Boot CD for windows to give me a working browser. There is a version of Crossloop right on the CD. Unfortunately I can not get it to work as a client.(Strangely it works fine if I want to use it to control another computer). Trying to install Teamviewer or Crossloop from the browser fails also.
At least three other Winbuilder PE downloads I tried were worse and didn't even create a usable internet connection.

________________________________________________________

What I am looking for shouldn't be that hard or rare. I want to boot from a CD (and/or USB drive) a light/tiny version of XP that will automatically configure itself to provide a working Internet connection
and
will allow the use of Teamviewer, Crossloop or some other easy to use remote control software.


NOTE: I want to avoid Linux boot disks, and the various user unfriendly versions of VNC.

 

[thor999]

You know, I haven't researched it much yet, but I believe you can setup a remote "boot" for any PC on the net w/ a USB flash drive in Linux; a longshot yes but it may just be a solution to your problem; I do know that I can do that very thing w/ diskless pc's on my HOME network, so should be possible! Sorry, but I think Linux is the way to go here... Also, check into this, supposedly it will give you multiple linux and windows pe boot environments: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?noref=1&showtopic=9169

 

[iladelf]

Let me see, Johah, if I understand what you're wanting to create: some sort of bootable CD that you can leave with your clients/customers, so that IN THE EVENT of their computer not being able to see the internet from Safe or normal mode, you can tell them to plop in the CD, have the computer boot from it, and then access the boot CD via the working Internet through some sort of "automatic" connection to Crossloop (or some other remote viewer)? Sounds like a great idea, but to me, seems more hassle than what it's worth.

Or, are you wanting some kind of boot CD that you can use from your computer at your office that will automagically boot and find said computer (via TCP/IP), once you have their IP address?

Either way, sounds great, but a tall order, I would think. That said, the bootable CD idea would have been great for me to access my bro's computer remotely the other day. Since he had no internet access, he was out of luck for me to clear his spyware/virus issue. And if we would have done the repair via "sneakernet" (going back and forth via USB key from his known-working compuer), we would have been working on the durned thing all night.

 

[imjonah]

"Either way, sounds great, but a tall order, I would think"

"Either way, sounds great, but a tall order, I would think"
It really shouldn't be. I actually had Teamviewer working the down loadable boot disk available at reimage.com. I can also get Crossloop to work with Ultimate boot disk for windows unfortunately only as the controlling computer not the controlled computer.

 

[Omnicef]

I have been thinking about this very thing. I was thinking about using bart pe or ubcd4win with the vnc viewer plugin. I am leaning to using bart pe so that I can make the cd smaller. Anyone else do this yet?

 

[kagman]

Ok i have also been doing some research and testing on this thing for awhile. Now before I begin I ended up using gotoassist express with UBCD4w. Yes you need to pay for gotoassist but it does work with UBCD4w. Once the CD is booted, your customer can run the web browser, go to fastsupport.com, then you give them the 9 digit code and presto you are in.

Ive tested this setup and it works great. Always open to other ideas you guys might have. Oh one other thing, make sure that your UBCD4W has updated NIC drivers.

 

[imjonah]

Thanks Kagman

I too tried UBCDW, I will definitely check out the newer drivers.
I was able to get UBCDW to work with the older version of Crossloop included in the package but only with the computer, I booted with, acting as the controller not the client, which was worthless for my purposes. This led me to beleive I was close.

As far as I can see none of the common remote control vendors offer a bootable version; Which I find starnge because without that option you eliminate a large number of potential help scenarios. In fact the 2 of the last three friends/family members I tried to help remotely had computers that could not connect to the internet.
I am actually leaning in the directio of Teamviewer but this is an important enough criteria that I would buy whatever I can use with a boot CD.

 

[Xander]

Call me a cynic but I think this would be counter-productive. I can't see that it would be helpful to be outside of Windows to troubleshoot a Windows connectivity problem.

If a LiveCD can get online then all you've done is troubleshooted that it's not hardware. Can you check their TCPIP settings, check if malware has added itself as a proxy, disable/reenable/reinstall the NIC?

 

[imjonah]

I think it could help in a number of circumctances

I am assuming the computer we are trying to fix is in a distant location, so it is impractical for them to carry it in (or you pick it up)

Once I have control of their desktop, I can then run cleaners, repairers, scanners on the hard drives, I could examin various file or directories for anmolies, I could even back up locally or remotely files on their computer.

If in fact the HD is bad or the only way to get windows to boot is an repair install from XP disk then I will not be able to complete the fix it remotely.

It would be theoretically possible to transfer the iso and burn a copy of the windows XP install disk for them to use to re-install.

 

[coreyspeed]

it would be good if the customer could just put in the cd and boot it then wait for you to repair their pc, it would solve a lot of misunderstanding from the customer, and allow you to get the job done much quicker.

 

[sys-eng]

I am very interested in this too. Most of my customers are not willing to pay for remote access that they may never need, and I cannot afford to pay for it in advance.

This would be especially useful for supporting students' PC's away at college. I repaired one last week with a similar problem. Although it would connect, it was obviously infected and may have transferred personal data if connected to the Internet via Windows. I have met too many people who had their files and ID stolen because they did not disconnect an infected computer. Connecting to the Internet outside of Windows is very appealing for diagnostics.

 

[imjonah]

The following does work

If you use the older version of the Teamviewer client 4.xx and either Ultimate Boot CD for Windows or the version of Windows XP PE CD available on the www.reimage.com site you can log on remotely and help someone whose computer can not get on to the internet normlly because of HD or OS problems.

the person you are trying to help remotely can-
1. (a)make a bootable CD on another computer by going to one of the above sites or a copy at your own site
(b)you can send them a bootable CD
2.boot the computer from the CD,
3.establish a working internet connection,
4. go to the location you have the teamviewer client hosted
5. run the client and you can then control their computer remotely.

if you are hosting the ISO or sending them the disk you can make a sub-directory on the disk with the team viewer files.

The above is not the ideal solution but more a proof of concept that you can test yourselves easily.

[If you can't find a copy of the older version (4.xx) of Teamviewer send a note to imjonah@gmail.com]

 

[Xander]

Call me a cynic but I think this would be counter-productive. I can't see that it would be helpful to be outside of Windows to troubleshoot a Windows connectivity problem.

If a LiveCD can get online then all you've done is troubleshooted that it's not hardware. Can you check their TCPIP settings, check if malware has added itself as a proxy, disable/reenable/reinstall the NIC?

I'm quoting myself because no one who's interested in this has answered my questions.

If your customer can get online at all with a LiveCD, it's a Windows issue and a remote connection outside of Windows is of little use. If they can't get online, it's a hardware issue and a remote connection is of no use at all (and impossible).

 

[Larry Sabo]

If your customer can get online at all with a LiveCD, it's a Windows issue and a remote connection outside of Windows is of little use. If they can't get online, it's a hardware issue and a remote connection is of no use at all (and impossible).

Um, no. What's wrong with having them boot UBCD4Win and run registry restore (RegResWiz) to a time that predates the problem? That will fix many problems.

 

[Uf-Dah]

I'm going to agree that there is a decent value in this idea depending on your business model. We have MSP plans that this would be a huge help in diagnosing various failures from time to time. It's not something we'd use every day, but if we had it we'd probably use it more than I'd guess right now.

Would TeamViewer still nag? We have a premium TV license for 12 (going back to 8/9/10/11), hadn't thought to try a 4 or 6 level product version. Would it work smoothly or would they send a nag screen every 5 minutes or cut off? I've only used the currently supported version, maybe a portable version of last years version.

I used a remote tech a few times when I got in over my head on a larger raid recovery. He only uses Linux, dd or ddrescue (I think he used system md), he had me download a small iso that when run, automatically created an SSH tunnel back to his terminal and he had scripted most of his efforts. It was a really neat setup. He only accepted donations but always delivered way more value. I've always wanted a similar solution, he wasn't keen on training for pay and I'd prefer to use a gui with Teamviewer if possible.

 

[MDD1963]

Successfully untangling a Windows issue (one of thousands?) from outside of a non-booted Windows install...?

Short of an hopefully easily detected piece of malware, I'd suspect this would only be useful for quick recovery/retrieval of a critical file, or, at best, directing a partition replacement from a hidden backup image, etc, I have my doubts as to the feasibility of this, but, good luck!

Years back (Win98 days), I toyed with the alternative idea of a removable hard drive bay for my mother's desktop, with the idea that as soon as she botched her system (an alarmingly common occurrence as her confusion with delete vs. uninstall commonly displayed), I could have her simply swap drives and be back up and running in the amount of time it took to swap drives and reboot.

She was, and still is, any tech's nightmare!

 

[GTP]

Lol. I too toyed with hot swappable HDD's back in the good ol'e days! Trouble was that at even if they had the slightest hiccough they would swap the drive, corrupt it, then replace it with the previous drive, corrupt it further... and on we go...

 

[NviGate Systems]

Wow, someone used all their manna resurrecting this thread.

Teleflora, who run a huge network of flower deliveries actually have this for shop owners who use their Dove POS system. It's a 2 DVD system that will boot and allow a remote session to Teleflora to recover, re-install or diagnose an issue with Dove POS.