12. Identifying and Solving Problems

Chapter at a Glance

In this chapter, you will learn to:
	Find solutions to common problems.
	Find information through a newsgroup.
	Get help from other Windows users.
	Back up and restore files.
	Restore your operating system.
	Transfer software, settings, and files to another computer.

It's easier than ever to find and use the Windows Vista tools and features that can help you maintain your computer. However, the fact that maintenance is easy doesn't mean that you won't ever experience a problem while using your computer. One of the first things you learn about skiing is how to recover safely and gracefully from a fall; this is also a good thing to learn in computing. Knowing where to look for solutions to problems is the key to safe recovery. It is also wise to take a few precautions to help you avoid problems as much as you can.

If you do run into technical difficulty with your Windows Vista computer, your first recourse is to look in Windows Help And Support for information. For more complex problems, you might need to seek help from other computer users. And if your system has become really unstable, you might need to restore it to a point in the past where it worked reliably.

Computer problems are frustrating, but most stop short of being disasters unless they involve loss of data. Windows Vista goes to great lengths to make it easy for you to regularly back up and restore your valuable files. It also makes it easy to transfer your system setup, programs, and files to a new computer so that you can be up and running in the least possible time.

In this chapter, you will learn how to use the available free support options. For those times when nothing seems to solve an operating system problem, you will learn how to roll your system back to its state before the problem occurred. Then you will learn how to back up files stored on your computer, and how to transfer programs, settings, and files from one computer running Windows Vista to another.