The Computer Corner
Microsoft adds a “Fix It” button
By Charles Miller

Some good news out of Redmond, Washington, is that Microsoft has decided to “Fix It.” In a perfect world, “fixing it” would mean completely eliminating all bugs and defects before they appear. That would be nice, but this is not a realistic or attainable goal.

When users encounter a problem with computers, the recommended troubleshooting procedure is to search on the internet to see if others have had the problem. The hope is that somebody with the same problem found a fix for it and shared that information. Such information often can be found on user forums and in “knowledge bases” maintained by companies on their websites.

It is lamentable that many companies provide these forums and knowledge bases in lieu of other technical support, such as telephone support lines. This cost-saving measure is something users usually have to reconcile themselves to when no phone support is offered.

Microsoft maintains a huge knowledge base containing thousands of articles at support.microsoft.com (no www). If you have a problem, you likely will find an article in the knowledge base listing step-by-step instructions for fixing the problem.

Last December, Microsoft quietly added a “Fix It” button to a few of these articles. When you click the button, your computer executes a script that takes control of your computer and performs the recommended steps automatically. Microsoft continues to list all the instructions for those who either do not trust the script or those who just want to be in control and do things manually.

The first “Fix It” buttons repair a few simple and common issues, such as restoring a missing Internet Explorer icon to the desktop. Don’t be too disappointed if you look for more “Fix It” options and cannot find them yet. They are still quite rare, having made their debut with only four such articles out of thousands in the knowledge base. As of this writing, there are now more than 100.

Microsoft says it is reviewing the archives to see which of its problem-solving tips can be automated. In the future it hopes to create a “Fix It” automated repair option, where possible, as a new knowledge base article is created. The depressing part is that new articles will be added because there will be new problems. Sigh!


Even if you never look in the Microsoft knowledge base for it, the “Fix It” button still might make an appearance. The error-reporting tool built into Windows is something most users have seen at one time or another. This is the dialog box that pops up saying something has gone terribly wrong with such-and-such program and it is shutting down. Until now, all users could do when a program crashed was send a report to Microsoft and hope somebody noticed.

Recent Windows updates to the error-reporting tool now check to see if there is any information on the issue. Microsoft says the next step will be offering the option to have the issue solved automatically.

At present, these changes to Windows are more vision than reality, but they demonstrate that Microsoft continues to work on improving its product.

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044 (415) 101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.