- PowerToys (an essential collection
of utilities), Kernel Toys (a favorite among system gurus), service packs,
updates, resource kits, administrative tools, and Win 95/98 shareware: Go
to
www.microsoft.com/windows95
and click Downloads.
- Internet Explorer software,
service packs, and add-ons: Go to
www.microsoft.com/ie/download or
www.microsoft.com/ie/download/windows.htm.
- Service
packs for Internet Explorer 3.x or 4.x, Exchange Server, Office 97, and Windows
NT 4.0: Go to
support.microsoft.com/support/downloads.
- Items you
were unable to locate elsewhere: Try going to
www.microsoft.com/msdownload.
- Drivers, FAQs, and subject-specific
support newsgroups: Go to
support.microsoft.com/support. On your first visit, you'll
be asked for your name and e-mail address. Don't forget to click each of the
four check boxes that begin "I do not wish to receive unsolicited...." You
can search the site in either of two ways: Basic and Advanced. Head to the
Advanced search, type your question in natural language (for example, How
can I hide the Start button?), and the search engine will return what it considers
likely answers. Unfortunately, I have yet to obtain the information I was
searching for by this means. Similarly, I've never found any driver or other
free Microsoft software by typing its file name. So here are a few tips
for increasing your chances of getting the desired
results:
In step 1, select All Products
to broaden your search. In step 2, check the Keywords option. In step 3, if
you're looking for a product, type its name in quotes; if you want a specific
feature, type it in quotes; use an operative (and or or) between search terms.
For example, if you type "Outlook Express" and address, you'll get a list
of technical documents discussing Outlook Express's address book. In my experience,
this works much better than selecting Outlook Express in step 1 and then typing
the keywords address book. Under More Options, select
Full text. Select "Titles with excerpts" to get a better idea of what an article
is about.
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