Microsoft offers to just 'Fix it'

When people encounter a problem with their PC, they often go to the Web and do a search to see if others have had the problem. If they are lucky, someone has found a fix and listed the steps on either a support document or within a user forum.

Now, they may have an even better option.

Over the past six weeks, Microsoft has quietly added a "Fix it" button to a few of the thousands of help documents on its Web site. When clicked, the computer then takes all the recommended steps automatically.

An example of the "Fix it" button that has started showing up in some Microsoft help documents, offering users a one-click solution.

(Credit: CNET News)

"If we know what those 15 steps are why shouldn't we just script it," said Lori Brownell, Microsoft's general manager of product quality and online support

The "Fix it" option is still fairly rare, showing up in around 100 different help documents. The effort is growing rapidly, though, up from just four such fixes when the program quietly began in December.

Microsoft continues to offer users the option of doing things on their own if they either don't trust Microsoft or just like being in control.

"We're not trying to hide anything," she said.

The first fixes included a number of common issues, including restoring a missing Internet Explorer icon to the desktop, how to enable the DVD library in Vista's Windows Media Center as well as what to do when encountering the error message in Street & Trips 2008 that "Construction information for routes could not be downloaded"

For now, Microsoft is having to go back and search its archives to see which of its problem solving tips can be automated. Eventually, it hopes to create the automated fixes at the same time the help articles are created.

Where it can, Microsoft is also adding the "Fix it" option into the error reporting tool built into Windows. Initially, all users could do when a program crashed was send a report to Microsoft. More recently, the system has started checking to see if there is any information on the issue. Next up, said Brownell, is offering the option to have the issue solved automatically.

Long term, the company has even broader hopes.

While it would like to just eliminate bugs and glitches, Brownell said that is not an attainable goal.

"We'd love for our customers to never have problems," she said. "We'll never ship bug-free software as hard as we try."

Instead, she said she is aiming for a day when Microsoft's products themselves will be able to spot problems and proactively offer fixes. As an example, she noted that in Exchange, it's a pretty safe bet that once one gets low on disk space, bad things will happen. Making sure that users take action before problems occur is an example where the company is headed.

Another example, she said, would be for Microsoft to be able to notify users if they are running two drivers that others have found to conflict with one another. Assuming the appropriate privacy safeguards were in place, Brownell said it would be great for the user to be alerted and offered a fix before a problem occurred.

That proactive world is still largely a vision rather than a reality. That said, Brownell said that the company is putting in place some of the plumbing necessary to make such things possible.

With Windows 7, Microsoft has added an "action center" that Brownell said offers the underlying capability needed to serve up fixes within the operating system. She said that she would expect some opportunities for that over the life of the product, though the current beta version of Windows 7 has few examples of that.

Personally, I'd just like to see the "Fix it" button extended to other areas of my life. I'd really like one that would make travel plans, fill out my expense reports and hire a plumber. That would make me (and my partner) much happier.

For what would you like to see a "fix it" button?

AUDIO

Fixing it with a single button
CNET News reporter Ina Fried tells editor Leslie Katz about Microsoft's Fix it button.
Download mp3 (1.29MB)

[3rdalbum]

Great idea! But if the Microsoft website can run scripts on your computer, who wants to bet that the malware writers will be able to leverage this as well? Or does it use our troubled friend ActiveX?

I wouldn't mind seeing this sort of function in the Ubuntu wiki; I did propose it about a year ago but nobody seems to remember these days. A lot of the time you can download a script that will "Fix it" but you need to give it execute permission and drag it into a terminal window; it's not quite as immediate as the Microsoft solution.

[Imalittleteapot]

Nothing a digital signature or two couldn't fix. Besides if Windows is really that insecure and there's so many ways to get into it then who cares if the hackers use this way instead of some other way? One more hole ain't gonna hurt anyone. Well, unless the others were plugged of course. Hmmm, don't know really where I was going with that.

[Seaspray0]

Actually, you can do something to improve the security. IE allows you to set security based on 4 zones: internet, intranet, trusted, and restricted. Just set the security level for the internet zone to a very high setting, then add sites like microsoft to your trusted sites (which will allow them to do the things you want them to do). You can also set security to allow cookies from some sites while maintaining a higher level of security for the rest of the internet. I'd like to see that feature added to other browsers.

[pentest]

Digital signatures can be spoofed.

[viper396]

Before you start making random assumptions or speculating on malicious possibilities why don't you test it? The "Fix it" button in fact prompts you to download a .exe or .msi file which you then run to actually fix whatever the problem is. Nothing actually runs locally until you choose it to. This is pretty much no different then you manually downloading any other file off of the internet.

The only problem I see would be if someone spoofed a Microsoft site and masqueraded a "fix" as a help document. But then again that could be done with any site, not just Microsoft's, so let's not pretend that only Microsoft could have such a problem.

[Brian]

So when the virus is being attacked by Norton, you will get a popup allowing you to click "Fix It" to disable Norton.

[ppgreat]

Easily fixed. Just stop using IE altogether.

[mjconver]

Fix it? How about find it? Hundreds and hundreds of times over the years I've gone to their tech site when I press the ClickHere from an event log, and get a "no help can be found for your problem" screen. Next step is to flip over to Google, and find the solution in seconds. Do you think I trust their scripts when I can't even trust them to know what the problem is? No way, no how

[Super2online]

I understand your concern, but trusting fixes out in the wild have done just as much harm to computers as th few legitimate fixes you do find. I trust Microsoft to do the testing to ensure the fix doesn't create other problems then I do the "hack" you find on Google. And even if Microsofts fix creates another problem, they are obligated to fix that as well. What obligation does your "fix" from Google give you? Nothing!

[Penguinisto]

Just one thing: Google isn't the product vendor, so googling for a solution is a known quality (that is, you already know that odds are good, but not gauranteed). MSFT OTOH is the product vendot, and therefore one would suspect that they would have at least some responsibility behind that "fix it" button they intend to erect...

[Kosher0]

This is sad and 100% true. I've tried using live search for about 5 seconds to search for things totally related to my Microsoft software issues and couldn't find a trace of a solution. I hop over to google and it's the solution is the first link. It's not about who owns the software. Super2online, are you joking? I have found almost every fix to every problem I have ever encountered with the assistance of google and the online collective intelligence of the blogger community. It's like a giant brain. Microsoft's search services are like a child compared to Google's wise old man.

[Jonathan]

www.eventid.net

[Super2online]

System crash reports are already being sent to Microsoft. They should be able to compare that report to a database of reports and when the symptoms match exactly to known fixes, a fix should be offfered in the dialog box after the report is sent. Where they don't match exactly, links should be sent back that state we have found a few possible fixes that you may want to consider.

It seems to me that lots of lessons could be learned from virus detection software that currently actively seek out problems and offer to fix them immediately when detected.

Also it would be a good idea that the system detect files that have accidently been deleted and prompt the user immediately to insert their system disk to install the file(s).

[kennethpdavis]

I guess that readable, usable documentation remains pretty much out of the question.

[giant_david]

What a bad idea!
How about giving root access to a website? It is like calling an unknown person in the street to go home fix the plumbing. Just hope he's not the new park maniac psychopathic.
There is always a trade-off between security and convenience. In this questionable convenience there is surely security risk.

[rcardona2k]

Most users will roll the dice and click: sure, why not? I can't wait for the reports of Fix It turning into a nightmare of Broke It!

[eyepoker]

Microsoft should also say that the software created by any program on the planet will never be bug-free - not all issues lie with microsoft. Also, i'd like to see a fix it button that prevents you from constantly referring to your "partner" and thus reminding us of your sexual ambiguity. Its enough that we have to see your photo, or have to listen to you in videos. Talk about creepy.

[jspencer09]

I agree wholeheartedly about the first sentence in your comment. But I take issue with everything stated after that. Is that a personal attack on Ina? Uncalled for, unnecessary and completely irrevelant to the original article. Judge her on the merits (or lack thereof) of the article if you must, but how in the world does her sexual orientation (whatever it may be) have any bearing on the premise of the article??

[rapier1]

It's unfortunate that you feel this way about Ina. Personally, I'm just happy that this sort of troglodyte attitude is no longer seen as acceptable.

[Super2online]

If you find someone so offensive, why do you read what she has to say? It seems to me the offensive one is you!

[Vegaman_Dan]

Eyepoker: That was totally over the line and uncalled for. Please keep such hateful and abusive comments to yourself in the future.

[hunkyboi69]

Oh dear, looks like we have ourselves a bigot. How boring.

I'm suprised that such a stone age bigot like that even knows what a computer is.
Surely in the age that 'eyepoker' is living in where he believes that that kind of public display of bigotry is acceptable they haven't been invented yet?

[rnaoncfixd]

I find it interesting what people consider freedom of speech.

[piknikbar]

Have you given a thought to how Ina (who is probably by now used to this treatment) would feel about your comments? This is the first time in two years I have bothered to post a reply on CNet. As a heterosexual male with a heterosexual wife, I find your comments incredibly offensive to the human species (and all species!). You know, the creepy ones are are actually those bigots who harbor these thoughts (like those KKK racists who were outed in the BORAT movie!). YOU PEOPLE are the scary ones and you don't even understand why you're in the wrong (evil). THAT is creepy!!!

[topgunb2]

Your eyes and brain should definitely be poked for posting such an irrelevant and ridiculous comment.

Ina has been posting great stuff about win7, and if you don't like her post then comment on that, her personal life is none of your business.

[Renegade Knight]

@rapier1

Relpacing one trogladite attitude with another isn't any more of a solution than the orginal.
Read the other posts that slam this person more than the OP did Ina. You might, if you are wise, see what I mean.

[atlanta_guy_1]

Your PC'ers really have become quite unsophisticated. Lighten up a little and consider some context. For everyone taking such offense at this comment, remember this is Cnet.. technology oriented, read by lots of men. I'd wager quite a number of us have felt the 'creepiness' factor here and just not had the backbone to say anything. Eyepoker, you da' man and media outlets shouldn't forget their audiences.

So based on the barage of 'chivalrous' attacks here, I would assume you all would reject and fight against say.. "Pat" from Saturday Night Live? You must find that just barbaric and mean-spirited, correct? Vegaman_Dan, can you really defend yourself calling this "hateful and abusive"? I mean, you've gotta be transgendered yourself to believe that. well, ok you're a man, then you have to be plump and sensitive and bored with life to feel that way.

[alpha_computer]

What a great idea. I could see this as a good option for new computer users as long as it is not abused by Microsoft.

[Dalkorian]

ROFLMAO!

Naw, M$ wouldn't ever abuse something like this. Never. Wouldn't happen. That would be like shoving out untested beta kill switches to their users as "critical security updates".

Oh, wait ...

[zizzybaloobah]

There's a Fix It for 'restoring a missing Internet Explorer icon to the desktop'? Why would anyone *want* to do that, lol.

[kboateng]

Because 80% of the computing world still uses IE, lol.

[ppgreat]

Proving once again that at least 80% of the world is mediocre. lol

[kcotham]

You mean they are going to put Mac OS X on your computer at the push of a button?! Because that would be the only "fix" that would last. Note to anyone out there with half of a mind of their own, either buy a Macintosh, or wipe the hard drive of the computer they have, and put Linux or UNIX on it.

[sythara]

When OS X will fully support DirectX then you will have the right to speak like that.

But if everything supported DirectX, Ubuntu would be a much better option because its free and less buggy then OS X.

[Penguinisto]

"When OS X will fully support DirectX"

So why should Apple (or anyone for that matter) be obligated to support a proprietary, closed, non-standard, and expensive library like DirectX, when they already have and use superior libraries such as OGL, SDL, Core Graphics, and a whole host of others?

[Seaspray0]

@penguin. Apple and linux don't have to support direct X. It's not a requirement. If you don't want to be able to run all the apps and games that are written to use direct X, then don't worry about it. All those programmers could have chosen other libraries such as OGL, SDL, Core Graphics and a whole host of others, but they didn't. They chose to make their programs run with direct X. You should go troll their websites with your moaning and groaning rather than continue to bore us with your BS and lies.

[OlsonBW]

DirectX is a security nightmare. There is no way I would want that on my Mac or Linux machine. I do everything I can at work to convince them to use something else.

[Grifter02]

Note to people suggesting Macs as an alternative to Windows: unless you're sending a few thousand dollars along with that suggestion, don't bother!

I have nothing against Macs, but I can't afford them! Maybe if they were a reasonable price many more people would switch over. Until then, I'll keep using my $500 Windows PC that is just as powerful as your $1500 Mac. Sure, I might have a few problems here and there, but it's worth the price of admission for me.

[Grifter02]

@ OlsenBW

Ummm.... DirectX is a graphics engine for games. How is it a "security nightmare" and why are you playing games at work?

[pentest]

It is a security nightmare because it has lots of places to exploit it.

You don't think games can be used as an attack vector?

[Penguinisto]

"Apple and linux don't have to support direct X."

Tell your fellow cheerleader that... ;)

"All those programmers could have chosen..."

Clue: They already did. The best-selling PC games out there are more often than not very compatible with non-DX engines. ;)

As for the rest, it must suck to be so bitter and devoid of legitimate debate that you have to resort to the same tired old ad-hominem...

[tcr071]

Why would I want a dumbed down operating system in a really pretty dress?

[gofalcons]

pen, you are an ass, what arguement, its easy try 8-10% market share....you spend all day trolling this site for any article that mentions microsoft, yet you make a living on microsoft products dont you....wanna know why, apples suck in the work place, admit it, theres no arguement.....arguing how great apple may be, even if your points are valid all lose out in the end. just accept it, microsoft is everywhere, and even if they do go away, it wont be in your lifetime.......

[gsekse]

It's probably too late for me, I use MS products at work and my wife's system runs Vista, but since I learned Linux and have learned to copy and paste the list of instructions to fix issues. I would just rather stay with Linux. Microsoft forced me to re-install my OS TOO many times, as a method of repair. They just took too long to figure out how completely annoying this is. Even when Linux has errors and issues, 90% of the time the system still functions and I can get things done and leave "fixing" until I have time. Even now I get some errors on shutdown, due to a version upgrade in ubuntu. (It asked me a question during upgrade that I didn't understand, I answered wrong...) I have run for months this way, and will probably do a fresh install at my leisure. Best of all, I won't have to type in a license or argue with anyone about doing a new install. I used Microsoft only until XP, by that time I was fed up with MS handing me the same crappy software over and over. So I stopped learning XP, install ubuntu and when I had to learn things I kept saying, "well, at least I'm learning a system I can maintain." This has been true, Linux can be confusing, it can glitch, but overall, it is WAY better than any Microsoft product I have used. To be fair, my wife's Vista unit has run with little problem, but then my wife's demands on a computer are very minimal.

Maybe I will see MS come up with some product to bring me back, but observing it's SLOW ponderous movement in the market, I doubt this. I look a MS as equal to IBM back in the day. While IBM still survives, it will never be able to break into the computer business. Google is demonstrating everyday, what happens when you fast track innovation in software. Microsoft must be able to compete with Google's level of software activity if it hopes to survive in the software market. Presently, MS is at the bottom of this. If their slow production would produce a better product, I could see it, but it doesn't.

[rapier1]

I've pretty significant demands on my vista system. While it is not my primary development platform it is a requirement that the webapps I write work correctly under windows. So Apache, Qt, MySQL, php, perl, mingw all live and work rather well on my Vista box. Its been very stable and I've rarely run into a crash. While it hasn't had the same up time as my linux box - both of them generally only need to be rebooted when being updated. OS X has been similarly stable - but I often find myself rebooting it more often as it tends to get sluggish if its been up for more than a week or so.

[rubenerd]

rapier1 this isn't meant to be an attack, just an observation. Seems to be silly to be using Apache, Qt, MySQL, php, perl etc on Windows, why not make the switch to the OS they were all originally designed for and work best on? Why spend money on a slower, more bloated system?

[OlsonBW]

Rapier1 - One of the things I love about Mac OS X is that I have four Macs. Even the oldest one (an 800mhz G4 iMac "lamp" from 2000) runs for months without ever needing to be rebooted. It's from going to the console and running "uptime" and see that it has been running for more than six months without a reboot. The only reboots I do are for updates that require a reboot. It doesn't happen that often.
Note that this computer is still used a lot as well as our newer Macs. We still import and edit video on it and burn DVDs as well as creating editing docs, webpages (iWeb), surfing the net and all that. Rebooting it doesn't make it any faster than closing all apps and opening them back up again. Windows requires a reboot at every drop of the hat anytime someone sneezes.
My job at work is as a Computer Systems Analyst. I work on Windows computers all day long. I get my work done on my Mac. Which ironically, I also use to remote into Windows PCs and fix them.

[LuvThatCO2]

rubenerd, read his second sentence.

[pentest]

There is no reason the back end of a web server needs to be run on Windows, especially Apache.

It is not like you need to run the web server on Windows to make sure pages render and work correctly in Windows browsers.

[Grifter02]

@ OlsonBW
One of the things you love about Mac OS X is that you have four of them? That doesn't even make sense!

And I reboot my Windows PC once in a blue moon, I don't even remember the last time I rebooted it, and my resources are running at about 10% used right now, so it's certainly not running sluggish. I download torrents, convert videos, play games, create documents, create graphics with Photoshop, you name it.

Don't bash Windows just because it's cool to do so. Learn how to use it and you don't have any problems.

[rapier1]

@rubenerd,

I'd love to be able to dictate what my clients were running as their base OS but I can't. I will *suggest* to them that linux may be a better option for hosting this web application (its actually an intranet app) but I can't force them to follow my advice. Rather than lose the sales I made the application and the the support environment relatively OS agnostic. All in all its easier to tell customers "What I have will run in the OS of your choice" rather than dictating things to them.

Performance and reliability across all of the supported platforms is generally equivalent.

@OlsonBW,
I'm a research programmer for a federally funded supercomputing center and I own a medical software company. I've got 20 years in the game with 10 years as a sysadmin. I supported macs for 7 of those sysadmin years and have been using one of several macs on a daily basis for 5 years. My experiences are my experiences. I'm thinking I use my system in a dramatically different way than you do yours.

[homercles82]

"Microsoft forced me"

I love it when people play this card

[Motyoj]

That's exactly why I switched from using Windows after 13 years and learned to use Linux. When the machine finally got so old, I replaced it with an iMac because I still have access to thousands of open source programs that are free. Re-installing Windows is a nightmare I've had too many times and I was fairly good at fixing problems. Problem was, even if there wasn't a "problem", the computer got slower and slower over time. The other two options for consumers don't do that near the way Windows does. I'm not any sort of fanboy or telling anyone they should switch but I want a computer that works for me, not the other way around.

[tcr071]

You obviously aren't very smart with computers if you resorted to re-installed your OS to fix computer problems.

I used XP for 6 years and not ONCE did I have to re-install the OS to fix a problem. Not once.

I have been using Vista for two years now and not ONCE have had to re-install the OS. Not once.

Don't bash a product because you are an idiot. Well too late I guess.

[KevinJmp]

I support Ina's right to do her job without suffering personal attacks. I believe the editor has the right to remove this offensive diatribe.

[EcuadorHomesOnline]

My inclination is that they will only be able to do the easy stuff ... which are also the easy things for most "do it yourself" users. Should be useful for the typical grandma, though. I don't think they'll be able to fix the really difficult problems - which usually aren't MS issues anyway (drivers, games, plugins, etc) - and as others have pointed out, there's a good chance their "fix" will actually make the problem worse.

[Penguinisto]

Let's see here: The world's worst troubleshooting tools, the world's most opaque (to the uninitiated) knowledge base, and now they want to combine the two in order to troubleshoot and "fix" your computer.

Oh, boy... this oughta be good.

(/me stocks up on popcorn...)

Seriously - when you have to use Google to search Microsoft's KB in the first place? I'm prepared to be pleasantly disabused of the suspicion, but I'm thinking that this plan of theirs is gonna get real ugly, real fast...

/P

[Seaspray0]

Perhaps you would like to compare their knowledge base with linux's knowledge base... which exists where? Scattered all over the internet, fragmented, and incomplete. And no, using google is not a requirement; you don't HAVE to use it. You can find the same microsoft KB article by searching from microsoft's website.

Seriously - you are an idiot.

[OlsonBW]

"Seriously - you are an idiot."

Seriously, you DO get better results using Google Search than Microsoft's search. I find the right answer faster.

[Penguinisto]

"Perhaps you would like to compare their knowledge base with linux's knowledge base... which exists where?"

Hit the site where you got the distro. Look on the machine itself (the internal help system is far more extensive). Go to http://www.linuxquestions.org . The choices are endless, and are overall far more complete than anything you can get for Windows.

"You can find the same microsoft KB article by searching from microsoft's website. "

Sure - because every user knows up-front that a bad (insert item here) driver = "kb329856", and then enjoy playing musical links until they reach enough dead ends to give up and just google for the solution. ;)

"Seriously - you are an idiot."

Seriously: ad hominem = you lose. Thanks for playing.

[viper396]

@Penguinisto February 5, 2009 12:09 PM PST

Half the problem with locating any type of information is knowing what words or phrases to query on. It doesn't matter whether you running Linux, Windows, or OSX. Your assumption that someone who was completely lost would have an easier time searching a Linux website for technical jargon that he may not know anything about is laughable at best.

Yes, you live and breath computers and Linux, good for you. But stop with your arrogant assumption that everyone else does too. Your misleading and wholly one-sided arguments really won't help to sway anyone to Linux and it's apparent that you're only here to feed your smug ego.

[gofalcons]

blah blah blah, shut up pen.....talkin smack before youve even used the product, just like all your smack about vista when you dont use it, and all your smack about windows 7 even though its still in beta.

[CNET editor's note: Prohibited personal attack removed.]

[Renegade Knight]

Google is as much my friend with a new MacBook as it ever has been with my Windows machines. "Just Fix It" sounds like something the Apple guys should have thought of. Yeah, I know the fans won't think Apple has anything that needs fixed but I live in the real world, though I haven't yet given up home of spotting a mermaid.

[Penguinisto]

@viper396: I (partially) agree when it comes to searches. OTOH, it doesn't take a degree in differential calculus to type the quoted error message into Google, does it?

Incidentally, linuxquestions.org is specifically built to help out newbies. ;)

And... oh, hey look - it's that "gofalcons" sockpuppet account again!

[Haralambos Mavromatidis]

For those concerned or not trusting there should be an option to download a script (VB or PowerShell) and not only an MSI for the FixIt action. I would prefer both myself as business environments would benefit via adding checks and fixes to logon script parsing and also application deployments via the MSI files.

Security would be a concern unless the MS support site starts using certificates across the board - the casual home user of a PC (and their willingness to click on most anything, download an attachment and run it from someone that they do not know while trying to collect money from a lost relative overseas) will be the target of fake sites looking to expoit the FixIt method.

[knowles2]

As long as the fix it button explains what is doing and their a undo the fix button, if the fix happens to cause more problems and it actually fixes. Then it is potentially an interesting tool to be used by users. But it better be able to do more complicated stuff than just placing a short cut for internet explorer onto the desk top.

[mssoot]

This is a great idea. I cant believe it took this long to finally come up with this. This is one place MS can use their size for a good thing. I love it

[pentest]

From my experience, people rarely describe the problem accurately the first time, and even the second time. This could lead people down the wrong path and perhaps break something else.

[MrRetardo]

My experience is the same.

[talgambit]

What's Microsoft trying to do. They're kidding themselves. Yes, Windows has a lot of tools to fix common problems of theirs, but what about the hardware? No thanks, but I will stick to traditional troubleshooting methods and use Microsoft Technet as well.

I just find if you let the software completely fix the problems, what's to happen if the software fails and you have to troubleshoot at the command line. Can it fix that?

[MrRetardo]

Totally agree

[The_happy_switcher]

Apparently imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery. Thanks app(i)erocks1963 for making everyone on this board think you are me.

[Dalkorian]

I'm jealous - no one ever tries to imitate me!
;-)

[pentest]

Sock puppetry is the sincerest form of flattery on the web.