Proxy Server 1.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

ID: Q235066


The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Proxy Server version 1.0

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

This article contains the text of the Proxy Server 1.0 FAQ document that was originally posted on the Microsoft Proxy Server "product" Web site.

After Proxy Server version 2.0 was released, the version 1.0 FAQ document was removed from that site.


MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).
NOTE: FAQ documents for version 2.0 (the current version) of Proxy Server are available at the following locations:


Listed below is the contents of the Proxy Server 1.0 FAQ:

Microsoft Proxy Server 1.0 Frequently Asked Questions


Welcome to Microsoft Proxy Server. Microsoft Proxy Server provides an easy, secure way to bring Internet access to every desktop in an organization.

Microsoft Proxy Server supports all Internet protocols, including WWW (HTTP), FTP, RealAudio (streaming audio), VDOLive (streaming video), IRC (Internet Relay Chat), and mail and news protocols. Support for Novell's IPX/SPX transport means that deployment of TCP/IP on a private network is unnecessary. Internet sites can be accessed by Web browsers running on any operating system, and by all 16-bit and 32-bit Windows Sockets applications, with no modifications to the applications.

For the latest information about Microsoft Proxy Server, browse our World Wide Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/proxy/

Contents:

Section 1.x - Issues concerning applications - Browsers, RealAudio etc.

1.00) Can't install version 1.0 because of a previous beta version
1.01) Is there a Winsock Proxy Client for Macintosh?
1.02) Does PING work through Proxy server?
1.03) Are Cascading/Hierarchical proxies supported by Proxy 1.0?
1.04) Troubleshooting IPX Winsock Proxy connectivity problems
1.04a) More Troubleshooting for IPX (Sample scenario)
1.05) How can I use caching with IPX Winsock Proxy Clients?
1.06) Proxy Auto Dial works but never hangs up when the connection is idle
1.07) General troubleshooting for Winsock Proxy Client problems:
1.08) WFW/Windows 3.1 IPX clients do not work with Proxy
1.09) MSN or other ISP doesn't work properly after installing Winsock Proxy.
1.10) Using WSP with other (third party) TCP/IP stacks
1.11) RealAudio doesn't work when set to use a proxy
1.12) Using Winsock Proxy with Local DNS domains
1.13) Can I place my SMTP (or Internet Mail connector) server behind my Proxy server?
1.14) Configuring MSN 1.x for use with Proxy server
1.15) Why does the MSN 2.0 installation change my Internet Explorer 3.x Proxy settings?
1.16) RAS Autodial does not always dial when a Proxy request is made



Section 2.x - Specific error messages or access violations

2.00) http/1.0 500 server error (-2146893048)

2.01) Proxy Setup: Setup cannot start the service W3SVC error 10058

2.02) Error: Setup could not find the IIS Virtual Root Scripts

2.04) Proxy authentication required prompt does not allow access through proxy

2.05) Winsock Proxy error: Cannot determine the control channel

2.06) Proxy server returns its own default.htm for all http requests after service starts.

2.07) Winsock Proxy service fails with Dr. Watson error when using IPX clients

2.08) bind: can't assign requested address

2.09) "Bad IP Address" Message After Installing Service Pack 2

2.10) Frequent connection timeout errors on proxy server and proxy clients

Section 3.x - Everything that doesn't fit in 1.x and 2.x

3.00) Inbound connections to servers on the Intranet

3.01) Can I map a network drive through the proxy server?

3.02) Where can I send product suggestions and feature requests for Proxy server?

3.03) Is Microsoft Proxy server a true firewall?

3.04) Finding Further Information and support


Section 1.x - Issues concerning applications - Browsers, RealAudio etc.

1.00) Can't install version 1.0 because of a previous beta version

Some registry entries or files left over from the beta version of Proxy server (formerly named Catapult) may prevent you from installing the final 1.0 version. Services may fail to start or it may not find your Internet service manager.

Removing Beta 3 - Catapult. Please use caution when editing your registry.

A. Delete the following registry entry :

"Software\Microsoft\MS Setup(ACME)\Table Files\IAS@v1.149.0.1"

B. You may have services that were left by the Catapult Beta 3 installation. Launch Control Panel / Services and look for the following services:

Remote Windows Sockets Service

Internet Access Service Administration

If they are present you should either :

1. Delete them by using some services maintenance utility such as sc.exe

2. Disable them via Control Panel/Services.

(do not attempt to delete services by deleting registry subkeys. this leads

to trouble...)

C. Delete the Catapult Beta 3 installation directory.

1.01) Is there a Winsock Proxy Client for Macintosh?

In version 1.0 of Proxy server, there is no Winsock Proxy Client for Macintosh clients. However, the Web Proxy service is CERN compliant, so most web browsers (regardless of platform) will work. Most web browsers also support Gopher and FTP as well, so Mac clients will have access to these protocols.

1.02) Does PING work through Proxy server?

No, ping uses the ICMP protocol to communicate. Proxy only supports TCP and UDP packets. Ping will resolve the DNS name but go no further as in the example below:

D:\>ping www.microsoft.com

Pinging www.microsoft.com [207.68.137.36] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 157.58.96.1: Destination net unreachable.

Reply from 157.58.96.1: Destination net unreachable.

1.03) Are Cascading/Hierarchical proxies supported by Proxy 1.0?

Proxy Hierarchies are not supported in version 1.0.



1.04) Troubleshooting IPX Winsock Proxy connectivity problems

General troubleshooting for IPX connectivity problems, check the IPX and TCP/IP (if needed) settings on the client and server.

For Windows NT (client or server) use:

ipxroute config (this command will show your IPX settings)

ipconfig /all (this command shows your TCP/IP settings)

For Windows 95 clients:

1. Go to control panel --> network.

2. Select "IPX/SPX compatible protocol" in the configuration tab.

3. Click on the "Properties..." button, and find out the values of the parameters (in the advanced tab).

The relevant parameters are Frame-Type and Network Address.

1. The frame type on the server and client should match or they should both be set to AUTO (automatic frame type detection)

2. Network Number on server - by default, this is set to 0 and should not be manually changed unless you have to match an existing network number on your LAN. Changing this setting may cause IPX connectivity problems to other IPX enabled servers on the network.

3. Test and make sure the client can connect to a share on the server with only IPX running on the client

4. Check the MSPCLNT.INI file on the Server (in the clients directory) - make sure this ini file contains 1 IPX address and make sure the IPX address is for the network card on the internal side.

If there is more than 1 IPX address in your mspclnt.ini file, one of them will likely be for the external card. Disable the IPX bindings on the external card and reinstall Proxy server so the mspclnt.ini file is set correctly.

1.04a) More Troubleshooting for IPX (Sample scenario)

If you do not have a Novell Netware server on the network (or an Windows NT server with an Internal Network number configured), IPX clients will not auto-configure their IPX settings correctly. Windows NT will not respond to the clients RIP broadcasts for the external network number. This occurs even if an EXTERNAL network number and frame type are defined on the Windows NT server.

If you have many IPX clients and you want to Auto-configure the IPX settings:

1.) Disable the IPX binding from the INTERNET network interface.

2.) Manually set the server IPX settings to:

Frame Type: 802.3 External Network Number: 00000000

Internal Network Number: 55555555 (you can use another number if you like but it must match the number in the Addr1 line in the Mspclnt.ini file)

3.) CLIENT IPX settings should be set to AUTO

(By setting the Internal Network number to something other than 00000000, Windows NT will now respond to the client auto-configuration RIP packets.)

4.) Edit the MSPCLNT.INI file on the Proxy server and add the following section. If this section already exists, replace it with the one below.

[Servers Ipx Addresses]

Addr1=55555555-000000000001

5.) On the proxy server, go to Control Panel/Network/Bindings Choose "Show Bindings for" and select "All Protocols." Under NWLink IPX/SPX Compatible Transport, you should see your network adapters listed. Select the network adapter that you have connected to the Internet and move it up to the top of the list so it is the first binding. This must be done even though IPX is disabled on this card.

6.) Reboot your Proxy server

7.) Reboot your Proxy client machine and install the Winsock Proxy client software (or if the client software is already installed, go to control panel/WSP Client and click refresh to get the new configuration file.)

8.) On the client, go to the \mspclnt directory and run CHKWSP32 /F At the end of the output, you should see "Client control Protocol Matches Server Control Protocol" This means your client is working. You should be able to use FTP, telnet etc to connect through the proxy to a server on the Internet.

Other messages that indicate a problem:

"The server is down!!!" If the obvious is not the case, start from step one and verify your settings on the client and server, also see below for another possible cause.

"Fail to Refresh configuration files. Fail to connect to server." This indicates a problem connecting to the MSPCLNT share on the proxy server. This share must be available at all times for the proxy clients to refresh the configuration files. Make sure the share is available and make sure the client has permissions to the share. If the Client is not a member of the same domain that the Proxy server belongs to or if the proxy server is a stand-alone server, you will have to:

1. Enable the Guest account on the proxy server and give it permission to the share.

OR



2. Create an account on the proxy server that matches the Username and Password of the user on the client machine.



** Also see item 1.07 for more WSP troubleshooting info

1.05) How can I use caching with IPX Winsock Proxy Clients?

Caching of HTTP content is done by the Web proxy service. The Winsock proxy service does not cache any content. Internet browsers running on IPX only must to go through both components to receive cached content.

One possible (untested) way to do it is:

On the server, have TCP/IP protocol enabled for the network interface controller (NIC) connected to the corporate LAN (Intranet).

Have a static IP address assigned to this NIC

Configure the internet browser to use a proxy and use the IP address defined in previous step (this can be done during server setup by specifying the IP in the "Proxy to be used by client" field, in the "Client Installation" dialog)

Make sure this IP is in the Local Address Table (LAT)

It is possible to use a name instead of IP address. Make sure the name can be resolved on the server to the internal IP. If the name is resolved to the external IP (The one published on the Internet) the request will not be served by the proxy.

1.06) Proxy Auto Dial works but never hangs up when the connection is idle

The Idle Timeout option in 'Dial Up Networking' must be set for the connection to hang up after being idle. Open the Dial Up Networking dialog and choose 'User Preferences' from the 'More' button. Disable "Auto Dial by Location" and set idle seconds before hanging up to the desired amount of time. Choose Logon Preferences and set the idle seconds value to the same value as user preferences.

Open Control Panel/Services and Disable the "Remote Access Autodial Manager" service.

The auto-hangup will fail if any of the following conditions are met:

1. You have a Winsock application on a client open and connected to the internet

2. You have a web proxy client (web browser) connected to a web page that has a refresh tag in it

3. The active caching of the web proxy service is updating the cache

4. Other TCP/IP traffic is hitting the modem connection from the internet.

1.07) General troubleshooting for Winsock Proxy Client problems:

For troubleshooting WSP client problems, run the WSP diagnostic utility. chkwsp16.exe (16 bit version) or chkwsp32.exe (32 bit version). Use /F flag for detailed output.

Example: chkwsp16 /F

The utility resides in the client install directory (by default c:\mspclnt)

Messages from this utility:

CHKWSP32.EXE Error: Winsock Proxy client is not installed properly.

This message will be displayed in one of two cases:

1. The Configuration location is missing (in system.ini [Microsoft Proxy Service] section, "Configuration Location" key)

2. The WinSock dll was not found or was found to be the original system dll rather then the one installed by client setup.

If the client installation was successful, the problem is likely with the dll. Check that you have only one copy of winsock.dll. It should be in the windows directory (by default, c:\windows)



1.08) WFW/Windows 3.1 IPX clients do not work with Proxy

WinSock Proxy in Microsoft Proxy Server V1.0 does not support IPX on Windows 3.x clients. This is due to lack of IPX support in the Microsoft winsock.dll for Windows 3.x. We are investigating possible solution for the next release.

1.09) MSN or other ISP doesn't work properly after installing Winsock Proxy.

The Winsock Proxy (WSP) client is set up for use with the internal network. When you connect to MSN or another Internet Service Provider, you are now on a different network, and WSP must be disabled. Open the WSP client configuration tool in Control Panel and un-check the 'Enable Winsock Proxy Client' box and press OK. Also, you must disable the proxy in your web browser's settings when connected to MSN or another ISP, and re-enable it when connected to your internal network.

1.10) Using WSP with other (third party) TCP/IP stacks

Winsock Proxy has not been tested with other non-Microsoft TCP/IP implementations. Use of a third party stack may produce unpredictable results.



1.11) RealAudio doesn't work when set to use a proxy

Winsock Proxy handles all Winsock 1.1 applications transparently. Therefore, it is not necessary to configure RealAudio to use a proxy.

Disable the proxy option in RealAudio's View->Preferences dialog.



1.12) Using Winsock Proxy with Local DNS domains

Currently, WSP remotes all DNS look-ups to the Proxy server. If you have an Internal DNS server, make sure its IP address is contained in the LAT (Local Address Table) that is configured during setup. Names that do not contain dots are considered internal names to Proxy.

See chapter 8 of the Proxy documentation "Editing the Mspclnt.ini File". The LocalDomains setting in the mspclient.ini file is used by the Winsock proxy client to distinguish between an Internet domain and a local domain. Adding this setting will force clients to query the local DNS server for hosts that are part of the local domain instead of remoting them to the Internet DNS server.

1.13) Can I place my SMTP (or Internet Mail connector) server behind my Proxy server?

Yes, you can but it will not be able to receive connections from the Internet. The Proxy server is a one way connection. Mail servers need to listen for connections from the Internet to exchange mail with other mail servers and these connections will be blocked by the proxy. There are two workarounds:

1. Install your mail server on another machine that is directly connected to the Internet. Your mail clients on the Intranet will be able to connect with POP or SMTP through the Proxy server.

5. Install your mail server on the proxy server. It will be exposed to all networks that the proxy server is connected to. Option #1 is the preferred method since it is good practice to minimize the number of services running on the proxy server. Extra services on the proxy server provide more points of access for attack from potential hackers.

1.14) Configuring MSN 1.x for use with Proxy server

Right click on the MSN Icon on your desktop. Select 'Connect using my local area network'.

Make sure the Use MSN Access Server option is NOT checked.

Set the following key to configure MSN 1.3 for LAN and to disable the MSN access server option:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MOS\ConnectionConnectProtocol 0A (10 decimal)



1.15) Why does the MSN 2.0 installation change my Internet Explorer 3.x Proxy settings?

After installing MSN 2.0, you'll notice that you're Internet Explorer 3.01 Proxy Settings (View/Options/Connection/Settings) have been altered. Click here to see what the new settings look like. These settings route all MSN links through the Winsock Proxy, rather than the Web Proxy service. This is because MSN links use an authentication scheme not supported by the web proxy service. Therefore all MSN traffic must go through the Winsock Proxy service.

Set the following client registry keys to configure Internet Explorer 3.01 proxy settings:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet SettingsProxyEnable 1

ProxyOverride *.msn.com; *.msn.net; *.manga.com; *.manga.net;;<local>

ProxyServer http://mywebproxy:80

1.16) RAS Autodial does not always dial when a Proxy request is made

When RAS delivers the disconnect event, the line may not yet be really disconnected. What the event really means is that disconnecting has started. Disconnecting can take a long time. On an unloaded server, for example, disconnecting and ISDN line can take 30 seconds. An analog modem line can take several seconds.

On a busy server, these values can be much larger. When the line is disconnecting, an attempt to dial will usually fail. Now and then it might succeed, but it is more common for it to fail.

So, we could have a case where the proxy receives the disconnect event, notes it must dial on the next connection, dials, and the dial fails because the line is still disconnecting. In this case, the proxy will not try to redial for four minutes since it thinks it got a "no answer" error (it probably got a "hardware error" error, but a "no answer" condition can produce a hardware error.)

By default, the proxy waits 4 minutes to redial, this is probably too long. Try adjusting the values below to workaround the problem:

Entries:

These are REG_DWORD values that you must add to the registry. The location is HKEYlocal machine\system\current control set\services\W3Proxy\Parameters.

BusyRetryInMinutes

NoAnswerRetryInMinutes

However, they are misnamed. The value is in seconds, not minutes. Sorry about that. The default for the first is 120 seconds, the default for the second 240 seconds. Changing one does not affect the default value of the other. So, if you want them both other than the default, you must change both.




Section 2.x - Specific error messages or access violations

2.00) http/1.0 500 server error (-2146893048)

This error is caused by a problem with Windows NT Challenge/Response authentication of Web Proxy clients. This problem is scheduled to be fixed in Internet Explorer 4.0. Currently, there are several workarounds for this problem:

#1. Make sure all clients are using Internet Explorer version 3.01 or greater. Install Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0 on the proxy server. Install the Winsock Proxy client program on the client machines. In the Internet Explorer Proxy settings (View, Options, Connection) enter the name of the proxy server for all protocols EXCEPT "Secure". This will force the browser to use the Winsock Proxy service instead of the Web Proxy service when the user attempts to connect to an SSL (secure) page. All other browser requests will use the Web Proxy service and still take advantage of caching. This scenario will allow use of Windows NT challenge for all protocols since the Winsock Proxy has its own Windows NT Challenge authentication built-in.

#2. Disable Windows NT Challenge/Response and enable Basic Authentication instead. These settings can be found in the WWW service properties.

#3. Install the Winsock Proxy Client and disable the Proxy connection settings on the Internet Explorer Clients. All clients will use the Winsock Proxy service only.

We are investigating this problem and will post more information as soon as it is available.

2.01) Proxy Setup: Setup cannot start the service W3SVC error 10058

This error occurs when the WWW service is disabled. In control panel/services make sure the World Wide Web publishing service is set to 'Automatic'.

2.02) Error: Setup could not find the IIS Virtual Root Scripts

"Setup could not find the IIS Virtual Root Scripts. Use Information Service Manager to set it correctly"

Open the Internet Service Manager and verify that you have a scripts directory defined (directories tab of the WWW service) By default, IIS installs a virtual directory called scripts. If you altered the alias name of this directory, change it back to "scripts" without the quotation marks.

2.04) Proxy authentication required prompt does not allow access through proxy

If access control is enabled on the Proxy server and Windows NT Challenge/Response (NTLM) is the only authentication method enabled on the proxy server, browsers that do not support NTLM will fail to authenticate. Currently, only Microsoft web browsers support NTLM authentication. Enable Basic authentication in the WWW service properties to allow non-NTLM browsers to authenticate and see item 2.00 for more information on NTLM authentication.

2.05) Winsock Proxy error: Cannot determine the control channel

See IPX Winsock Proxy troubleshooting (Item 1.04)

2.06) Proxy server returns its own default.htm for all http requests after service starts.

Symptoms: All client browser requests are fulfilled with the default web page from the www service on the proxy server. Stopping and restarting the web proxy service fixes the problem for a short period of time, then the problem returns. Another symptom includes the Web proxy service failing to return data to any web proxy request.

The cause of this problem has been isolated and fixed. The problem occurs in the evaluation version only. To check which version you have, open the MSPCLNT.INI file on the proxy server (usually found in the c:\msp\clients directory) and look at the build number near the top:

Build=1.0.193.3 (60 day evaluation version affected by this problem!)
Build=1.0.193.4 (corrected 60 day evaluation version)
Build=1.0.194.2 (CD version - not affected by this problem)

The CD version of Proxy 1.0 (Build=1.0.194.2) does not exhibit this behavior.

To fix, purchase and install the non-evaluation version OR download the new evaluation version of Proxy 1.0 from http://www.microsoft.com/proxy/ and install. When installing the new version, the preferred method is to "Upgrade" your current version. Uninstalling your current version is not recommended.

2.07) Winsock Proxy service fails with Dr. Watson error when using IPX clients

The Dr. Watson error message displays with a fault in the WSNotify function which stops the Winsock Proxy service. This problem has been corrected in Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 2. At the time of this writing, Service Pack 2 is not yet available. A hotfix is available from MS Product Support Services if the problem is impacting your business.

2.08) bind: can't assign requested address
When using FTP.EXE from Windows NT or Windows 95 clients, you may encounter this error. Normally, FTP should work properly with the WinSock Proxy service.

FTP connects in the following manner:
1. It creates a socket, and connects to the requested server.
2. It then calls getsockname() to get the interface that was used for the connection.
3. It then calls bind() with the IP address that was retrieved by the getsockname() call.
4. This bind() is the call that fails. The error message displayed corresponds to the WSAEADDRNOTAVAIL error code.

This can happen if the external interface of the proxy is in the LAT, thus it is considered by the proxy client to be internal. Since the local machine does not have an interface with the same IP as the external IP of the proxy, this call fails. Bottom line, make sure that the IP address of the external interface of the proxy is NOT in the LAT.

2.09) "Bad IP Address" Message After Installing Service Pack 2
You may see this error message and have connectivity problems on your proxy server if you are connected to the internet with RAS. Web browsers may also hang with the "Finding site" message for long periods of time. See the KB article Q161368 for information on fixing this problem:

http://www.microsoft.com/kb/articles/q161/3/68.htm

To search the Knowledge Base, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/kb/

2.10) Frequent connection timeout errors on proxy server and proxy clients
From KB article Q161380 - To search the Knowledge Base, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/kb/

You may receive "connection timed out" or related errors when using a
Winsock proxy or web proxy client with Microsoft Proxy server 1.0 if the
Proxy server is configured with more than one default gateway.

CAUSE
=====
The Proxy server documentation states:

"A Microsoft Proxy Server computer should have only one IP default gateway.
The IP address of the default gateway should be configured on the external
network adapter card only.

This requirement is a result of the basic architecture of TCP/IP. Only one
default gateway must be defined on a host that resides on 2 or more non-
connected networks.

If the Proxy server is configured with more than network interface, it is
connected to two networks which are by design non-connected.

A default gateway is a router that is supposed to be used for all traffic
that has no specific route. If you have two default-gateways, the proxy
server TCP/IP stack will assume that they lead to the same set of networks.
This will cause the proxy server to send Internet traffic to the internal
network, or internal traffic to the Internet.

WORKAROUND
==========
Remove the default gateway from the advanced TCP/IP settings of the
internal network interface on the proxy server and define static routes to
the internal network segments.

Since no default gateway will be defined for the internal network, you must
add static routes using the ROUTE ADD command. These routes can be made
persistent by using the -p command switch.

For additional information on adding static routes to the routing table,
see the following:

* Type ROUTE /? for additional command switches
* Q159168 Multiple Default Gateways Can Cause Connectivity Problems
* Q140859 TCP/IP Routing Basics for Windows NT



Section 3.x - Everything that doesn't fit in 1.x and 2.x

3.00) Inbound connections to servers on the Intranet
Proxy currently does not have capability to 'listen' for a connection on behalf of an internal server. In this release Proxy will only remote requests from internal clients to the Internet. For example, SMTP would be able to send mail through the Proxy server but not listen for incoming mail. This feature is planned for a future release.


3.01) Can I map a network drive through the proxy server?
Proxy 1.0 does not support Netbios due to the security implications. Microsoft networking functions such as Server manager, file and print sharing, and browsing rely on Netbios for connectivity. Therefore, the proxy server will block any of these connections.

3.02) Where can I send product suggestions and feature requests for Proxy server?
You can submit your feature requests and comments to the following web site. You can submit wishes here for other products as well.
http://www.microsoft.com/support/feedback/mswish.htm

3.03) Is Microsoft Proxy server a true firewall?
Proxy server 1.0 is not a true firewall but like a firewall, it is very secure. Proxy does not route TCP/IP packets, the network cards are actually disjointed. There are no advanced firewall features like packet filtering, alerting and inbound connection capability that most expensive firewalls contain. Proxy server can be used in addition to a firewall or it can be used in place of a firewall on smaller networks.

3.04) Finding Further Information and support

In the event you cannot install Microsoftr Proxy Server, please refer to the support offerings below. Microsoft's support offerings range from no-cost and low-cost online information services (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) to annual support plans. Please check the Technical Support section in online Help for detailed information. Microsoft support services are subject to Microsoft's then-current prices, terms, and conditions, which are subject to change without notice.

Internet services (World Wide Web and FTP sites):
=========================================

The World Wide Web site is located at http://www.microsoft.com
The FTP site is located at ftp.microsoft.com
The Newsgroup is located at msnews.microsoft.com (microsoft.public.proxy)

Other Services:
=============
The Microsoft Knowledge Base on the Internet
To search the Knowledge Base, go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/kb/
Microsoft Proxy server articles are contained in the Internet Information Server database.

The Microsoft Network (MSN) and other online services: Access the Microsoft Frequently Asked Questions, Software Library, Knowledge Base, customer-to-customer Bulletin Board Services, and other technical information on MSN and other online services. To access Microsoft services on MSN, choose Go To Other Location from the Edit menu and type MSSUPPORT.

Microsoft TechNet: CD-ROM based Microsoft TechNet is the front-line resource for fast complete answers to technical questions on Microsoft desktop and systems products. For more information or to subscribe to Microsoft TechNet, call (800) 344-2121.

Microsoft Developer Network Library (MSDN): CD-ROM based MSDN is the comprehensive source of programming information and toolkits for those who write applications for the Microsoft Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT operating systems, or use Microsoft products for development purposes. For more information or to subscribe, call (800) 759-5474.


Priority Support
==============

Microsoft Product Support Services offers priority telephone access to Microsoft support engineers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, excluding holidays.

900 Billing: In the United States, call (900) 555-2100; $195 per incident. Charges appear on your telephone bill.

Credit Card: In the United States, call (800) 936-5900, at $195 (U.S.) per incident, billed to your VISA, MasterCard, or American Express card.

In Canada, call (800) 668-7975 for more information.

For more information on Priority support offerings, including annual contracts, call Microsoft Product Support Services at (800) 936-3500.

Text Telephone

Microsoft text telephone (TT/TDD) services are available for the deaf or hard-of-hearing. In the United States, using a TT/TDD modem, dial (206) 635-4948. In Canada, using a TT/TDD modem, dial (905) 568-9641.


The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors
independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise,
regarding these products' performance or reliability.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbenv kbtool
Version : winnt:1.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: November 16, 1999
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