You’ve heard of Mr. Fix It before, but have you heard of Microsoft Fix It? Microsoft Fix It is s a collection of automated solutions to some of the most common software issues that Windows users run into. Users are walked through problem fixes with helpful wizards or troubleshooters get to work finding and fixing issues sometimes even before you knew you had one!

It’s not a perfect solution to all problems, but it is a blessing to IT professionals (and neighborhood teenagers) who often get called upon to solve some semi-ridiculous computer issues.

Why It’s Cool

When you purchase and install Microsoft’s Fix It Center, you create an account and a system profile. You can download the Fix It Center on multiple systems so it’s great for multi-computer families and businesses. Your secure profile will include a detailed profile for each computer that it is installed on, including hardware and software products. This profile comes in handy if need to contact the online Fix It Support Center for a little extra help. The Support Center will be able to access your computer’s profile so the conversation won’t go like this…

Support Center: And how much virtual memory do you have?
Us: Virtual… Uh… Hmm… You know, let me see if my neighbor’s kid is home. He’s really good at this stuff…

Not only will your Fix It Center profile include relevant info about your system, it will also store reports for all of the updates and fixes performed on each one your of the computers. This is the much, much cooler equivalent of your mom knowing you had your last tetanus shot in 1992.

Did we mention that it fixes stuff? Microsoft has developed a series of troubleshooters, or fixes for common problems. These troubleshooters will be downloaded automatically to your computer via the Fix It Center. You can decide whether to have your troubleshooters “find and fix” problems automatically or just “find and notify” you so you’ll be in control of what updates and fixes are made to your system.

Here are just a couple of examples of issues that the Fix It Center can handle for you:

• Printing errors
• Read/write errors involving CD/DVD drives
• Internet Explorer freezes or crashes
• System maintenance and updates
• Office Suite errors

Check It Out

Visit http://fixitcenter.support.microsoft.com/Portal/ to get started with purchasing Microsoft Fix It. You’ll need Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP Pro (Service Pack 2), Windows XP (Service Pack 3), Windows 2003 (Service Pack 2), Windows 2008, or Windows 2008 R2.