Nope, that's not it at all. Rather all sorts of things have happened that have undeniably affected my life in ways that I could never have seen coming. But this blog post isn't about all that. This post is about a little trick I found to give me remote access to a network via a Linux environment in 11 easy steps...
- Have the client download the Ubuntu 32bit installation ISO and burn it to CD-R.
** you can also place this image on a USB drive w/ Win32 Disk Imager
- Insert the CD (or USB drive) into the dead machine and boot to it.
- Choose, "Try Ubuntu" when the menu appears. (This will not install Linux to the hard drive)
- Once you're booted to the desktop, have them open Firefox browser (4th icon on right side) and go to Teamviewer.com.
- Have them click the circular blue "Tux" icon on the right side of the page (or just click on the big green "Download" button).
- When the Linux download page appears, Select the 1st download in the list (Debian, Ubuntu v10.0) and choose Save File
- After the download completes, Click on the download arrow in Firefox and
click the Teamviewer file once to open in Ubuntu Software Center
- When a new window appears with a "Install" button, click it and be patient.
- Once it's completed installing, click the Red "X"
in the top left of the window.
- Have the customer click the far upper-left dock icon "Dashboard" (1st icon on the side bar) and search for "Teamviewer". Click the Teamviwer icon to open it
- After accepting the licensing agreement and closing the popup for "Check out what's possible with TeamViewer", have the client give you the number listed in "Your ID." and password.
**** This was based on Unbutu 14.04.3 and Teamviewer 10 *******
Presto! That's it. This works great and gives me remote access in most networks as long as I have a person willing to follow the steps above. Since Ubuntu gives me a complete Linux environment on the running computer without actually installing anything on the computer this is a great way to do network diagnostics as well as host troubleshooting when I can't sit down in front of the computer/network in person.
Thanks to Bryan Chandler for the original instructions that I refined for today's current offerings from Ubuntu and TeamViewer
UPDATE: Looking around the web, I found the Ubuntu Customization Kit. I wonder if I could condense all of the steps above to make a custom distro that launches TeamViewer so that all I need is the ID and password. Hmmmmm. We'll see.
UPDATE @ 2:46PM: Well given enough time I knew I could accomplish what I was really after. And it actually took less effort than I expected. Here are my notes for building the image, they are of course NOT intended to be a step by step guide.
So here's how to use this handy tool:
- Have the client/remote tech download the custom built Ubuntu-TeamViewer image and create the install media
DVD Rom ISO - burn w/ your favorite DVD burner
USB drive - create with Win32 Disk Imager - Insert the CD (or USB drive) into the dead machine and boot to it.
- Once you see the desktop, clear the two notices covering up the TeamViewer Application
- (OPTIONAL) If the computer is using wireless, establish a wireless connection by clicking in the top right portion of the desktop and follow the prompts
- Have the client/remote tech provide you with the "Your ID" and password.
