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Microsoft launches beta of Windows 'Fix It' site, service

Summary: Microsoft quietly launched this week a beta of a new Web site and service designed to help users diagnose and troubleshoot problems with their Windows PCs and servers.

Mary Jo Foley

By for All About Microsoft |

Microsoft quietly launched this week a beta of a new Web site and service designed to help users diagnose and troubleshoot problems with their Windows PCs and servers.

Fix It Center and the accompanying Fix It Online service is a new self-help diagnostic tool from Microsoft Support. The pair are meant to help users running Windows XP (with Service Pack 3 and the SP2 version of 64-bit XP Pro); Windows Vista; Windows 7, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The beta includes a software client that is installed on as many PCs as a user wants.

Here's how Microsoft's Web site describes Fix It Center:

"Fix it Center finds and fixes many common PC and device problems automatically. It also helps prevent new problems by proactively checking for known issues and installing updates. Fix it Center helps to consolidate the many steps of diagnosing and repairing a problem into an automated tool that does the work for you."

Fix It Center scans your device to diagnose and repair problems, then gives you the option to "Find and fix" or to "Find and report," according to the site. There are customized settings and options to manage multiple devices from a single view.

(I could have really used this last week, when I started getting random blue screens on my new Windows 7 laptop. It turned out to be two banks of bad RAM. Thanks to my new favorite local PC Fix It guy, Mohamed Uddin at DataVision --a Microsoft partner and authorized service center, on Fifth Avenue in New York City -- my issues were quickly resolved.)

The new Fix It Center and service build on the Fix It brand Microsoft launched last year, as News.com notes. The new service has 300 fixes already built in, with more to come.

Topics: Servers, Hardware, Microsoft, Operating Systems, Software, Windows

About

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

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8 comments
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  • Fix?

    I am missing how FixIt would have helped in your
    predicament. I have encountered several of these
    scripts over the last year and had very mixed
    results. Most are duplicated by functions found
    in lots of third party utilities that give more
    information about the problem and have a higher
    success rate. Nice idea, though.
    jscarey
    Reply Vote

  • Windows Advisor/PC Advisor

    This is the same tool previously called Windows Advisor and later Microsoft PC Advisor which is now modified and adapted as Fix It Center.
    xp-client
    Reply Vote

  • Did not work

    Gave it a try and get error messages when it starts then it says it cannot download files even though it is allowed in the firewall settings.
    Thats OK my puter works great. I will wait till the official release version comes out being that this one is just a beta.
    MoeFugger
    Reply Vote

  • Doesn't Work

    I downloaded and installed Fixit Center and then it told me I had to be logged on as an Administrator to use it. I am logged on as an Administrator - even tried tried Run As Adminstrator. Did they test this?
    jpr75_z
    Reply Vote

  • FIRST MS needs to FIX.....

    The problems they have with their users.
    EG.....
    WIN7 with NO "CLASSIC" option
    WIN7 Libraries
    WIN7 TASK BAR what happened to the old one
    WIN7 File Manager
    WIN7 Folders and raid controllers

    Just for a start.

    If they sort that lot out we might go the WIN7 way otherwise we stay with XO and VISTA.
    carlsf@...
    Reply Vote

    • Hum...

      Sorry but don't think you fix's are going to happen, XP and Vista should still be support till 2014 so your be ok there ;)

      By then Win 8 or 9 will be out then you can upgrade to 7?
      silentblue
      Reply Vote

  • RE: Microsoft launches beta of Windows 'Fix It' site, service

    Fix? Once again, Microsoft passes the responsibility of its
    design flaws to the users.

    Imagine your contractor built you a house, the foundation
    of the house is badly built, now the contractor, instead of
    fixing the foundation, he keeps giving you the 2x4s to hold
    the house up to prevent it from collapsing?

    I cannot think of another company that's as irresponsible
    as Microsoft.
    akfaka@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Microsoft launches beta of Windows 'Fix It' site, service

    Excellent website online. Quite a bit <a href="http://www.2012-nfl-jersey.com" style="text-decoration: none; color: black;">nfl jersey</a> of practical data and specifics right here. I am sending it to some close friends!
    jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812
    Reply Vote
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