Microsoft is offering free technical support to all Windows Vista SP1 users experiencing any problems with the update released last week.

The policy is spelled out on a Microsoft Support Page providing a means of contacting Microsoft through email, personal chat, and phone support lines. Our sibling publication Computerworld broke the story.

Normally, free support is limited to those who bought a retail copy of Windows. Those who bought a PC with Windows preinstalled would typically be redirected to their PC manufacturer. However, for Vista SP1, Microsoft is letting everyone in on the free support. As Microsoft Windows team member Brandon LeBlanc states on the Vista blog, "We are offering free-of-charge support to anyone who is having issues installing Windows Vista SP1."

As if I wasn't already wary of upgrading to Vista SP1 from reports of it blocking antivirus software and its driver incompatibilities, now apparently those problems are common enough that Microsoft needs to offer free support to everyone. It's a nice gesture after the fact to provide the support for free, but I would much rather Microsoft make the effort to eliminate the problems in the first place.