What is a Microsoft easy fix solution?


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"Microsoft easy fix" was also known as Microsoft Fix it. Microsoft easy fix solutions can help diagnose and resolve issues for Microsoft products or third-party software that affects Microsoft products. Microsoft easy fix solutions are usually found in Knowledge Base articles or other Microsoft support content. Clicking the Download button will download a Microsoft easy fix solution that can help you deal with software issues automatically.

A Microsoft easy fix package can be one of the following file types based on the technology that is used to create the easy fix package:
  • .msi
  • .diagcab
Note .diagcab solutions are for Windows 7 and later versions of Windows only. Windows Vista and Windows XP cannot run .diagcab solutions.

MSI solutions are created by using the Windows Install platform. An .msi package contains a single fix that addresses a single problem of your software. .diagcab solutions are created by using the Windows Troubleshooting Platform. A .diagcab package may contain a single fix or multiple fixes to address a single issue or a series of issues in a complex scenario. 

Note Microsoft easy fix solutions are not substitutes for Microsoft hotfixes, security updates, or product updates, but may be used as a temporary stop-gap until the regular product response is ready.

How to run a Microsoft easy fix solution

All easy fix solutions start with the same process.
  1. To run an easy fix solution, click the Download button or the "Fix this problem" link in the KB article that hosts the solution.
  2. A File Download dialog box will appear in your browser. Here are some examples of the different download dialog boxes on some popular browsers:
    • For Internet Explorer 11, the download tooltip is shown at the bottom of the web browser.
      Internet Explorer Easy fix download tooltip 
    • For Google Chrome version 33, the download tooltip is shown at the bottom of the web browser.

      Google Chrome Easy fix download tooltip

       
    • For Mozilla Firefox 28.0, the Save File dialog box appears in the web browser.

      Easy fix Save File dialog box

       

    Download the file and then run it on your computer. For example, in the Internet Explorer 11 example mentioned previously, click Run on the download prompt at the bottom of the browser.

    Some packages may require you to log on to Windows as an administrator. You may be prompted to provide credentials when you run the package.

    User Account Control dialog box

     

    Follow the prompts in the easy fix solution to complete the troubleshooting process. The exact prompts may differ, depending on which kind of easy fix package you downloaded and the individual easy fix solution itself.

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