Section 22.6. Problem Reports and Solutions: All Versions


22.6. Problem Reports and Solutions: All Versions

What may one day become Vista's best new troubleshooting feature is its ability to find problems with your PC automatically and then offer to fix them for you. It's like a built-in tech support staff on your PC, except that you never get put on hold.

To use the feature, choose Start Control Panel. Click "System and Maintenance," and then "Problem Reports and Solutions." The Problem Reports and Solutions window (Figure 22-10) appears.

Figure 22-10. If Windows detects crashes, freezes , or hiccups on your PC that can be solved by downloading updates or installing other fixes, it tells you here. Click the solution or update, and Windows automatically installs it .


If any fixes or updates are available, they'll be shown here. Performing the fix issimplicity itselfclick it and follow the directions.

Down the left-hand side of the screen, you'll find these links that will help you with more troubleshooting:

  • Check for new solutions checks your system to see whether there are solutions for problems you've had. During this process, your PC may send information about system crashes to Microsoft.

    The idea, of course, is that if enough thousands of people report the same problems to Microsoft's Master Glitch Database, the engineers there may be able to piece together what's going onand to work with the software companies in question to come up with a fix.

  • See problems to check lists all the errors and problems that Windows has detected but hasn't yet fixed or checked. These problems may not necessarily be current; for example, one could be a one-time instance of an application not responding.

    When you see the results, turn on the checkboxes for any that you want to find solutions for; then let Vista see if there are solutions. If it finds any, a wizard appears to help you fix the problem.

  • View problem history displays a list of program crashes, freezes, and other glitches that Windows has detected and fixed, or couldn't find a fix for but reported to Microsoft anyway. You'll see the product, program, or service that had a problem, what the problem was, the occurrence date, and the status of the problem. Double-click any for more details.


    Tip: If you want to send the details to tech support for additional help, click Copy to Clipboard. Once the text is in the Clipboard, you can paste it into a text file to send.
  • Change settings lets you change how solutions are checked and solved. Ordinarily, Windows checks for solutions on its own, but if you prefer, it will ask you for permission first when an error occurs.

  • Clear solutions and problem history clears the list of your problems. Note that this list includes problems that don't yet have solutionsand if you clear them, you may not be able to find solutions to those problems.




Windows Vista. The Missing Manual
Windows Vista: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596528272
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 284
Authors: David Pogue

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