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support

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help

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Microsoft help

Bugs and suggestions

Support Overview

Microsoft Support is aimed at helping you find an answer to your question or problem. The support is created by Microsoft, and comes from the community. Many issues are available or can be answered over time, or you can opt to get more directed assistance for a fee.

Search for help 

There are many different types of existing help, including documentation, Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles, and forums: all are provided at no cost.

View developer documentation
Developer documentation is a good initial place to start so you can determine if a specific question or issue has already been addressed.

Search the Knowledge Base
The KB provides detailed help on specific topics from Microsoft that were created in response to specific developer issues.

Search the forums
The forums contain thousands of existing questions and responses to developer issues, supplied by both Microsoft and the community.

Ask for community help 

Use the forums to get help from the community at no cost. Because the forums are monitored and maintained by the general community, the time it takes to get a response to your question is unknown. If timeliness of response to your questions isn't critical, posting to a forum is a good approach.

Sign in with your Windows Live ID and ask a question

Pay for Microsoft help 

With this option, you can talk directly to a support engineer. This option is good if you or your company needs a fast response, or if you are blocked from making progress. There is a cost associated with this option, but you get to see the costs and the time-to-respond before placing the request. MSDN Subscribers may be eligible to up to four free support engineer calls each year, based on the level of your subscription.

Pay for help from a Microsoft Support Engineer

Bugs and suggestions 

Support isn't all one way: we need your support too! If you have feedback about a product and want to log a bug or a suggestion, or if you have feedback about MSDN, we'd love to hear from you.

Provide feedback about MSDN

File a bug or suggestion for Microsoft products or services

Additional Support Options

MSDN Subscriber Support
As an MSDN subscriber, you may be eligible for up to four technical support incidents. Find out more.

Premier Support
Learn about how to get the best support available.

Hotfixes
Hotfixes are problem-specific patches that are provided by Microsoft. Hotfixes are typically described in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Virus and Security-Related Support
Check to see if you qualify for virus or security-related support at no cost.

International Support
Find support if you live outside the United States and Canada.

Support Lifecycle
Determine whether your older product is still supported, as well as how long any product will be supported.