Powerful Windows Active Directory Tools

How to remotely manage your Windows XP client workstations?

How to administrate a Windows XP station remotely?

What are the prerequisites for administering a Windows XP computer?

Here're some general tips to verify for Windows XP SP2 boxes:

• Administrative rights

You must have administrative rights/privileges over your domains, workstations and servers of your network.

Read more: How to get administrative rights?

• Remote Registry service

The "RemoteRegistry" service must be up and running on the remote computer.

• Please de-activate the "Simple file sharing" option (if activated, of course).

This is in Windows Explorer / Tools / Folder options / View tab: "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)" : please, DEACTIVATE this feature and make a new try.

For more details, you can take a look at:

"Computer Management Commands Are Not Available with Simple File Sharing Enabled"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;303248

"How to disable simplified sharing and set permissions on a shared folder in Windows XP"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307874

"Description of File Sharing and Permissions in Windows XP"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304040

• You'll have to open the TCP port used by TightVNC for its communications. The default port is TCP/5900.

Here're the steps:

1- Control Panel / Windows Firewall Settings,
2- Select the "Exceptions" tab,
3- Click "Add a port",
4- Fill In "TightVNC" in the "Name" field and 5900 in the port number,
5- Keep "TCP" as the port type and click "Modify" in order to select"Only my network",
6- Click Ok twice.

• Make sure the "File and printer sharing" service is installed and bound to the NIC used to connect each computer to the LAN. NetBIOS layer must be enabled.

• Last, you'll also have to exclude "File and printer sharing" from the Firewall Settings