Windows Vista™ Step by Step

Getting Help from Other Windows Users

If you’ve tried to solve a problem on your own and have not been successful, you can turn to a friend or co-worker for help. Simple problems can frequently be diagnosed in a phone, e-mail, or instant messaging (IM) conversation; others are difficult for other people to identify or fix when they are not working on the affected computer. If it isn’t convenient for someone to physically work with your computer to troubleshoot the problem, you can allow him or her to take control of your computer from another Windows computer by using the Windows Remote Assistance feature. By the same means, you can offer assistance to other Windows Vista users. (If you ask for assistance from Microsoft product support staff, ...