Free Online Fix it Solutions from Microsoft

July 2nd, 2011 Tags: computer repair
Posted in Computer Repair

Many times when dealing with spyware infections, you have to go beyond the spyware removal phase of running your spyware protection programs to disinfect your computer.  Just as a dentist needs to remove the decayed area of a tooth with a cavity, and leaving behind an even bigger hole in your tooth before he fills it, so it goes with spyware removal. After recovering from an infection, you still might have to deal with misconfiguration, and missing or corrupt files that might affect certain programs or peripherals, or even the Windows operating system itself.

With antivirus and antispyware programs, they have one very specific purpose in mind, to detect and remove viruses and spyware. While they might return a computer back to normal operation after removing an infection where no damage has occurred, they typically don’t fix the various types of problems caused by misconfiguration, and missing & corrupt files. Also, they certainly do not detect and repair any problems with hardware.

So now you have a virus and spyware free computer, but:

• Windows is unstable
• You have internet issues
• Can’t play videos or music
• Your computer won’t work with your Xbox
• Microsoft Office is acting up
• Something is wrong that you can’t even describe yet
• All of the above and more……………..

How Can an Average Computer User Fix These Problems Themselves?

DON’T fall for one of those Free diagnosis programs you hear on Radio and TV such as Ascentive and CyberDefender products from the following websites below. They are very ineffective, employ scareware type tactics, and in my opinion are borderline scams.

• MaxMySpeed.com
• MyCleanPc.com
• DoubleMySpeed.com
• FinallyFast.com (read this to see what I mean)
• or anything similar sounding without checking them out first

DO check out the free “Microsoft Fix it Solution Center“. They have nearly 500 different “fixes” for all sorts of problems. Some fixes are very specific while others will fix a range of issues for that category. The best part is that they are all pretty much automated solutions where all you have to do is download and run the fix if you select “Fix it for me” or follow the manual instructions if you select “Let me fix it myself”.

Screenshots

Below is a screenshot of the “Microsoft Fix it Solution Center” home page. Just select the problem area and what you are trying to do to display the available options. Then select the option that best fits your problem and open it to read more about the specifics it can fix. Use discretion when running fixes, I wouldn’t blindly run a fix for a problem I’m not having, or you just might get one.

http://support.microsoft.com/fixit

Some fixes need to be downloaded to your computer when you click “Run Now” before you can actually run it. But if you are downloading the fix for another computer, particularly one that can’t access the internet, click “Download” for an advanced version of the fix.

It should go without saying that you should always have your important data backed-up before attempting any repairs. I would also create a manual System Restore point as well, in case something went wrong and you want to revert the system to how it was just before the repair attempt.

Anyway, read through the fixes you are considering thoroughly, even if they don’t address your specific problem, you will have learned something and might just get a lead to a fix that will do the job.