**Announcements**

None

 
Other Information:

If you need program specific assistance other than what is listed below click here.

Received an error message?
Please DO NOT submit a bug if you receive an error message - instead click here to report the error.

Program Participation Help

In this section you will find help with programs you are participating in.   This includes how to decline participation, apply for other programs, invitationID help and how to contact the product team directly.

Program Help

I need to contact the product team for the program I am participating in.

To contact the product team regarding a program you are participating in, please click the button below.

I am having problems applying for a program.

If you run into problems applying for or nominating yourself for a program on http://connect.microsoft.com, please click here to report the problem.





I would like to participate in a program.

If you are interested in becoming a beta tester for a product, please go to http://connect.microsoft.com.  Select Connection Directory.  To begin the application process click on the Apply Now link of the product you are interested in beta testing. You may need to sign in to see if the Connection is available to apply for.

Please Note: If a program is not listed under the Program section of Connection Directory, it is currently not accepting new customers.  Please check back as new programs are frequently added.

Due to the volume of requests received, you will only be contacted if you are chosen to participate.

How do I find programs that are accepting participants?

To find programs that are accepting participants, you can browse the options listed on the Connection Directory.  On this page, you can find a list of programs that are accepting or will be accepting nominations for participation.  Signing in with your Windows LiveID will give you more options.  Find the program, and then click Apply Now to request to participate. 

What do the different statuses in the Activity section on the Your Dashboard page mean?

When a customer requests to participate in a program, his or her current participation status can differ based on the program requirements.  The following are the statuses that can be displayed on Your Dashboard:

• Invited - The user entered an invitation ID, but must complete a survey to participate in the program. You will see a Take Survey hyperlink next to your status.
• Not Accepted - The user was not approved for participation in the program.
• Participating – You are an active participant in the program.
• Pending - The program administrator must approve the customer's request to participate in the program.
• Tracking - You have added a Connection from the Connection Directory to your Dashboard.

Additionally, the actions you can take are:

• Accept - This will add you to the program.
• Decline - This will decline invitation to the program and will be removed from Your Dashboard.
• Quit - This will remove your participation from the program.
• Remove - This will remove the Connection from Your Dashboard.

I would like to be removed from a program or Microsoft Connect.

If you would like to be removed from a program you are participating in, you can click on Quit next to the program on Your Dashboard.

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Product Key Help

How do I find the product keys that are required for a downloaded product or application?

To locate the product keys that you need to activate or use downloaded products, click Product Keys in the left navigation area on the connection from which you acquired the download. A page appears that lists all of the product keys that you have requested in the past and that allows you to request new product keys if any are available.

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File Transfer Manager (FTM) and Download Help

What is Microsoft File Transfer Manager (FTM)?

Microsoft File Transfer Manager (FTM) is a client-side application whose purpose is to provide secure and guaranteed delivery when downloading or uploading large files over the Internet. Users requesting downloads from Microsoft Connect must have FTM installed.

Internet Explorer is not the Browser I am using.

You must have the Microsoft File Transfer Manager (FTM) installed in order to download files. Microsoft Internet Explorer users are automatically asked if they would like to install FTM the first time they request a download. Netscape and Firefox users must go to the Microsoft File Transfer Manager page and install FTM for their first download.

File Transfer Manager (FTM) requires Active X Controls to be enabled.

The File Transfer Manager (used for downloading and uploading files) requires an ActiveX control to be installed on your computer the first time you use it. If you are running Windows XP SP2, this download will be blocked and you will have to click on the information message just below the Address URL line to install this control before FTM will work. This control is not a security risk and will not harm your computer.

You must be the Administrator or a member of the Administrators group to install ActiveX controls. Please make sure that you are logged into your computer with administrative permissions. Some corporate networks block Active X Controls.

File Transfer Manager (FTM) will not launch.

You must have the Microsoft File Transfer Manager (FTM) installed in order to download files. Microsoft Internet Explorer users are automatically asked if they would like to install FTM the first time they request a download.

I am receiving an ASPX error message or IE6 will not launch File Transfer Manager (FTM) on a 64-bit operating system.

Currently, the Microsoft File Transfer Manager (FTM) functionality on MS Connect does not work from a 64-bit Internet Explorer browser. To work around this on an x64 machine, use the 32-bit Internet Explorer browser (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe).

File Transfer Manager (FTM) is not working and I am receiving an Active X error.

If you have downloaded an upgrade to FTM 5.0 you will need to uninstall FTM 4.0 and re-install FTM 5.0.

I’m Unable to download a single file via http://.  

The default security setting for IE is medium-high.  Check to see that it is not set to high.  If so, reset security back to the IE defaults. 

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Feedback Help

How is rating determined?

The rating system used by Connect is based on a method that incorporates both the average score a feedback item has received and the total number of ratings on that item.  Specifically, the more votes a feedback item receives, the more "reliable" we consider that average score since more people agree on it.

More votes doesn't equate to higher placement - if two feedback items have the same low score, then the feedback item which has more votes will actually be placed lower in the rankings because there is more agreement. Using these two measurements in combination for all the feedback items submitted on a connection results in a fundamentally more reliable and accurate rating system.

I am unable to access the feedback I submitted.

It is possible that you will need to be signed in to http://connect.microsoft.com/ with your Windows Live ID in order to access the feedback you have submitted.

You may not have access to view feedback if you obtained your program from a public site (a site other than MS Connect).

What do the various feedback resolutions mean?

Feedback submitted to Microsoft is resolved with one of the following resolutions:

• Fixed - The code has been changed to resolve the problem.
• Not Reproducible - Our engineers are unable to duplicate the problem, perhaps because of a previously applied fix in the code.
• By Design - The behavior reported is known and is working as intended or at least as expected.
• Won't Fix - We know that we will not be addressing the reported issue, usually because it risks breaking the code in other, more serious ways or because the effort to fix the issue is not justified for the improvement.
• Duplicate - We already have a bug or suggestion for this issue.
• Postponed - The issue will not be fixed in the upcoming release, but will be considered for future releases.
• External - The issue has been assigned to another group, but the other group's status for the issue is not available to our database.

Who can view information in feedback I've entered as Private?

For connections that have the feedback viewing feature activated, you will be able to view your own feedback. In addition, the program administrator for the connection can allow additional people to view feedback marked as private. This is normally restricted to Microsoft only, but a program administrator can choose to allow other trusted individuals, such as Microsoft MVPs, to also view feedback. For information about who has access to a connection, and to discuss any concerns, please contact the program administrator.

Who can view information in feedback I've entered as Organization Only?

If a connection has feedback viewing enabled, you can view your own feedback. If you set access restrictions to "Organization Only", other members of your organization can also view feedback. Organizations are defined within security groups by the program administrator. The program administrator may allow additional people to view feedback that is marked as private, which includes Organization Only feedback. Usually, this is restricted to Microsoft employees only, although a program administrator may include appropriately trusted individuals, such as Microsoft MVPs. Contact the program administrator for the connection to find out exactly who has access if you have a particular concern.




How do I add a Feedback item to My Watch List?

Sign in to http://connect.microsoft.com with your Windows Live ID and select your program or site link, select Feedback from the left nav bar. You will see your "Posted By Me" submitted bugs. To add one of your bugs to "My Watch List" click the bug and in the Watchlist box in the voting section click "add to my watchlist". Your bug will now appear in your Watch List.

How can I reactivate my Feedback item?

To reactivate a feedback item on Connect, the feedback owner (the person who filed the feedback item) must navigate to the detail view of the feedback item and then click on the "Edit" button. This will take the user to the original feedback form from which they can then change the status of the feedback item by selecting "Active" in the dropdown list.

If a connection has not enabled this capability, then there may not be any dropdown next to the status label or if there is a dropdown list, the only value will be “Close”.

It is important to note that only the feedback owner can perform this action and that not all connections enable this capability for their customers.

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Invitation ID Help

If you receive an error code while attempting to use an invitation ID, please include the invitation ID as well as the error code in your Contact Us submission.

What is an InvitationID?

An InvitationID is a code issued by product teams to offer participation to a program on Microsoft Connect.




How do I get an InvitationID?

InvitationIDs cannot be requested as the product teams issue them to pre-selected participants.  You can find a list of programs available to participate in by going to the Connection Directory on http://connect.microsoft.com and signing in using your Windows Live ID credentials.




I received an error message that my e-mail address is already in use.

You may have already registered your e-mail on Microsoft Connect using a different Windows Live ID account. Multiple accounts registered on http://connect.microsoft.com/ can result in confusion on where to find the connections you are participating in. Please try signing in with a different Windows Live ID account to use your invitation.

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Newsgroup Help

How can I connect to Newsgroups?

For NNTP secure newsgroups you will need a newsreader program such as Outlook Express (which supports multiple news servers and comes with several Microsoft products, including IE 4.0 or higher) or Windows Mail (if you are using Windows Vista) to participate in the newsgroups.

If you are unable to use Outlook Express or Windows Mail, you can locate other newsreaders on a site such as http://www.shareware.com/ to suit your needs.

NOTE: If you have support problems or other questions with any newsreader you obtain from http://www.shareware.com you will need to contact their manufacturer, as Microsoft neither recommends nor supports these products.

How can I configure Outlook Express to connect to a Newsgroup?

1. Open Outlook Express or Windows Mail.
2. From the ‘Tools’ menu, select ‘Accounts’.
3. Select the ‘Add’ button. Click ‘News. Follow the instructions in the Internet Connection Wizard.
4. Enter your name and e-mail address when prompted. Choose ‘Next’ after each entry.
5. On the Internet News Server Name Page, enter "betanews.microsoft.com " and check the box "My news server requires me to log on". Click ‘Next’.
6. For account name, enter Your Newsgroup ID. Then enter your password. Click ‘Next’.
7. Then click ‘Finish’.
8. Select ‘Close’ and begin downloading your newsgroups.

NOTE: When you are connected, you may need to Refresh Newsgroup Headers in order to see newer postings, including your own. Other newsreaders may have different ways of doing this.

For the latest information about Outlook Express as well as a list of Frequently Asked Questions, check out the Outlook Express Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/oe/  for Windows users and http://www.microsoft.com/mac/oe/  for Macintosh users.

I have a problem setting my newsgroup password.

It may be that your password is not strong enough. Microsoft Connect newsgroup passwords must be between 8 and 14 characters long and contain at least one upper case letter, one lower case letter, one number, and one of the following characters: ? ! * - @ # $ % ^ & + = , . ; :

I cannot see my newsgroups.

It can take up to four hours after being added to a program or setting your newsgroup password to gain access to the newsgroups.

If you have set up your newsgroup account successfully, you still may not have newsgroup access unless it has been granted to you by the product team.

The corporate firewall does not allow me to access newsgroups.

There are two ways your system administrator can assist you with getting through your corporate firewall.

• Open the Chat and News ports in the firewall. Chat requires port 6667 and News, 119.
• Install a proxy server that is able to pass protocols on ports 6667 and 119.

Another option is to use the Web view by selecting the Newsgroup link from the left nav bar for your Connection.

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Survey Help

I cannot access a survey.

Some surveys require you to be signed in to your account on http://connect.microsoft.com.  If you are signed in and still do not see the survey, it is possible you are signed in with the wrong Windows Live ID account.

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