Windows Vista: The Complete Reference (Complete Reference Series)

Microsoft provides a wealth of support information about Windows Vista, including Windows Help and Support, the Microsoft web site, and company-sponsored and hosted web logs.

The Windows Help and Support Center

The Help and Support Center is a set of online and offline help content about Windows and the programs and accessories that come with it. The pages appear in a special Internet Explorer window. Other programs you install may also come with their own online help.

To see the Help and Support Center window (shown in Figure 38-3), choose Start Help And Support. The Windows Help and Support Center has a browser-like interface consistent with Windows Vista.

Figure 38-3: Windows Vista Help and Support.

When the Help and Support Center window first appears, you can see browser-like controls including a Home button, Print button, Browse Help button, Ask Someone Or Expand Your Search button, and an Options drop-down list. The Windows Help and Support window is subdivided into the following sections:

• Find Answers The Windows Help and Support Center offers help content for a wide range of users, including Windows Basics (for novice users), Maintenance (for advice on how to best maintain your Windows Vista PC), Windows Online Help (a web site with dedicated Windows Vista help content), Table Of Contents (links to a range of Windows Vista help content), Troubleshooting (help for troubleshooting Windows Vista), and What's New (information about all the new Windows Vista features).

• Ask Someone As user assistance has become interactive, Windows Vista enables you to get help from other users via Remote Assistance, online communities where you post questions for other Windows Vista users, and an online contact option for Microsoft Support.

• Information from Microsoft With Windows Vista being such a big departure from previous versions, Windows Help and Support includes information about your file and folder locations, older program compatibility, and how to move your files and settings from your old PC.

You must be connected to the Internet to use the web-based resources accessible via Windows Help and Support.

Microsoft Vista Support Sites

Microsoft maintains a number of useful web sites with information about Windows Vista:

• Microsoft Product Support Services web site, at http://www.support.microsoft.com Site with support information for all Microsoft products (see Figure 36-4). Use the searchable Knowledge Base to find articles about problems and solutions, known bugs, and overviews of how products work. You can also get to this page by clicking the Support link on the Windows Update web page. The Knowledge Base is a huge searchable database on articles, including bugs and fixes, about all Microsoft products. To search, type the product name and some keywords into the Search The Knowledge Base box (for example, "Windows Vista CD burning"). Each article has an article number consisting of the letter Q followed by a six-digit number; if you know the article number, search for it.

• Windows Vista home page, at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista A good resource for general announcements and information about Windows Vista. You can also check the general Windows site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows.

• MSDN Vista site, at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/ This resource serves as the central online resource for Windows Vista technical references, downloads, and support.

• Microsoft TechNet, at http://www.microsoft.com/technet Free technical support site with background articles for corporate IT (information technology) professionals.

• Internet Explorer home page, at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie Each component included with Windows has its own page at the Microsoft web site. The Internet Explorer 7 Home Page introduces the new features in Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.

Figure 38-4: The Microsoft Help and Support web site, where you can search the Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB).

Microsoft-Sponsored Windows Vista Blogs

Microsoft has embraced blogging as a conduit for its program managers and development teams to develop online dialogues with its customers. The Microsoft Windows Vista Team publishes the following blogs:

• Windows Vista Team Blog, at http://www.windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/default.aspx This blog's mission is to provide "information on Windows Vista and associated products and technologies that you cannot otherwise get anywhere else."

• Windows Vista Security, at http://www.blogs.msdn.com/windowsvistasecurity While this blog was just getting started at time of press, this blog has the potential to serve as an ideal dialogue vehicle about Microsoft Windows Vista security.

Related Microsoft Technology Blogs

As you upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista, the following Microsoft blogs should make good reading:

• lEBlog, at http://www.blogs.msdn.com/ie/ The Microsoft Internet Explorer team uses this blog as a platform to highlight the technology developments in the new Internet Explorer 7 , a significant Microsoft Explorer upgrade.

• Microsoft Team RSS Blog, at http://www.blogs.msdn.com/rssteam/ Reallyl Simple Syndication (RSS) is an integral part of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 , and the Microsoft Team RSS members detail their RSS development and support efforts on this blog.

• UACBlog, at http://www.blogs.msdn.com/uac/ The Microsoft Windows Vista User Account Control (UAC) Team offers insight into Windows Vista UAC security via this blog.