Here's a small tutorial to view a normalmapped character in 3D Studio Max 7 using a directx shader.
First step: download the reatime datas. You will get an .obj mesh, a .max scene and a normalmap in .bmp, to avoid compression artifacts, and a very small square we'll use as diffuse.
Now you need to download a directX shader. It's a very nice shader displaying smooth volumes, and you can assign a secular map too.
Before all, you have to be sure you have directX 9 display set.
For that, when you open 3D studio max, in the customize panel, go in the preference tab. In the viewports tab, click "choose driver" and select DirectX 9.0 (you need to have it installed on your pc, but most actual games need it, you must already have it). You might need to restart max to enable it.
In the material editor (press M), beside the name of the the material, you have the type. Click on Standard to open the material browser, and pick "directX9" shader.
Beside the reload button, you have to select our new directX shader and fill the empty slots with our normalmap and diffuse map. You can adjust all the other setting to your preferences (diffus, specualr etc..).
You should get this result :
Enjoy ;)