You may not be able to use Remote Assistance to connect to a client computer after you install Windows XP SP2 on a computer that has the Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI) installed

After you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) on a computer that has the Multilingual User Interface Pack (MUI) installed, you may not be able to use Remote Assistance to connect to a client computer.

This problem occurs because the Setup program cannot correctly configure the Distributed COM (DCOM) Launch and Access permissions for Microsoft Help and Support services. The Setup program cannot correctly configure these permissions if the computer was set to a non-English language when you installed Windows XP SP2.

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You do not have to restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The P1 version of this P2 has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Installation information

After you install this hotfix, you must run certain commands at a command prompt. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2. At the command prompt, type cd %Windir%\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\Binaries, and then press ENTER.
   
   Note In this command, %Windir% represents the drive where Windows XP is installed.
3. Type Helpsvc /regserver, and then press ENTER.
4. Type Helpsvc /RAUninstall, and then press ENTER.
5. Type Helpsvc /RAInstall, and then press ENTER.

To work around this problem, install Windows XP Service Pack 2 by using a user account that has the language setting as English.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about the standard terminology that is used describe Microsoft software updates, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: