Some of us are just naturally good at following directions. We like approaching tasks such as cooking with a well written-out recipe, then following a meticulous process of measuring, pouring, whisking, and what have you. It can be very rewarding having a goal, knowing just how to get there, and then tackling the steps one-by-one.

Even for someone like this, fixing up a computer can be a daunting task. Despite manufacturers posting step-by-step guides for fixing common problems, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and lost. You may know exactly what "measure 1 tsp." means and what it should look like when you get it right, but few of us are comfortable with instructions like "expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER" and know how to judge if we're following such steps correctly. If that sounds like you, you might want to check out Microsoft's latest advancement in its support system, the "Fix it" button.

Microsoft starting adding the feature to some of the pages in its Help and Support knowledge base. Clicking on the button starts the download of a small application that automates the steps you'd normally take to fix the problem manually. If you somehow lose the Internet Explorer icon from your desktop, for example, the Fix it app will put it back where it used be.

Right now the pages that feature Fix it buttons are for relatively simple help topics. That makes sense, though, as we'd never expect a program on autopilot to be able resolve complicated system problems, maybe with malware and corrupted files. The kind of things that it fixes are things you could resolve simply enough yourself if you're really comfortable fiddling with Windows administrative tools and doing a lot of registry editing. For the rest of us, though, this is a welcome advancement.

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