http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/max/learn3dsmax/index.html (http://www.cgarena.com/freestuff/tutorials/max/learn3dsmax/index.html)
In this tutorial you learn about the basic tools which you will use a lot compared to other tools in 3ds Max.
This is a 18 page long tutorial made for 3ds Max 9. Go to Autodesk.com and try I 30-day trial if you want...