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The Broken Design of Microsoft's "Fix it" Tool

Posted by kdawson on from the teething-problems dept.

$luggo writes "Curious about MS Fix It, I recently went hunting in the MS knowledge base for articles that provide the new EZ-button. After locating on few, I decided to click the button to download the Microsoft Installer package containing the executable and/or files that automatically enable the DVD Library feature in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate — on my XP Media Center. 'Surely, MS will use some scripting, HTTP User-Agent sniffing, or even Genuine Windows validation to verify that I am running Vista,' I thought. It did not and I canceled the download when I received the prompt to save the file. So, I wonder: is there a Fix-it for Fix it? Because I can easily imagine someone doing what I did without scrolling to the bottom of the KB article and verifying that the article applies to their OS/version. This is a great example poor design. Why not simply use the download approach that other articles / fixes / service packs use, whereby the user must select the appropriate OS?"

29 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. fail by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    did you try running it?

    1. Re:fail by blueZ3 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      I think the point is that they should catch this error as early as possible (i.e. before the download starts) rather than after you've gone to the trouble of downloading and trying to install it.

      --
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    2. Re:fail by LearnToSpell · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think the point is that they should catch this error as early as possible (i.e. before the download starts) rather than after you've gone to the trouble of downloading and trying to install it.

      Please don't. I spend 95% of my time in Gentoo, but I have my ntfs-3g drive mounted. There are plenty of occasions where I'll run into some little Windows program that looks interesting, so I'll download it straight to my "installx0r" folder on Windows. What you're proposing is that I reboot into Windows, attempt to find the site I was on, and download it then? That'll just about guarantee I never use your program.

      Now, certain sites (cnet? Nvidia? Can't remember...) will have a suggestion for versions: "oh, it looks like you're running Opera on Linux - try this file," and that can be fine as long as they have a direct chooser for some other OS if that's not what I want.

      Summary: I'm with everybody else. Non-issue; OP is an idiot. kdawson too, but we knew that already.

      --
      Haida Manga
    3. Re:fail by Locke2005 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, you should be able to download anything. If the executable does anything that is OS-specific, then it should do an OS check when it begins executing. Any doofus can use Vista to download to a network drive, then execute it on a non-Vista machine. A download check does nothing to prevent this.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    4. Re:fail by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      And it's entirely unpossible I want to download the file on my Mac, and run it on my Windows box? Maybe the problem it's freakin' solving relates to the Windows computer's network card or web browser?

      This article is retarded. Anybody who thought about this "problem" for longer than 20 milliseconds would realize that MS is doing things the right way here.

      --
      Comment of the year
  2. Maybe it does by The+Salamander · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How do you know it doesn't change that when you run it?

  3. Not post worthy... by Trracer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I haven't tried just this specific "fix", but the MSI the OP almost downloaded can check the installed OS version... so this is not news-worthy.

    --
    English is not my first language, so cut me some slack -: Om du kan lasa det har sa kan du Svenska :-
  4. What? by Reality+Master+101 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    After locating on few, I decided to click the button to download the Microsoft Installer package containing the executable and/or files that automatically enable the DVD Library feature in Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate -- on my XP Media Center. 'Surely, MS will use some scripting, HTTP User-Agent sniffing, or even Genuine Windows validation to verify that I am running Vista,' I thought. It did not and I canceled the download when I received the prompt to save the file.

    Is this guy really that big of a dumb-ass? Does he really think that Microsoft should forbid the *downloading* -- not running, downloading -- of a file because of the operating system string?

    Maybe, just maybe, I might want to download a file on a DIFFERENT computer and transfer it to my broken computer.

    How did this article make the front page?

    --
    Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
    1. Re:What? by esocid · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm also following your line of thinking. Why should it automatically detect your OS. I could be downloading from Fedora laptop to give to Win desktop b/c my network drivers are fried.
      If it really isn't for your OS version, it won't work, end of story.

      Why is this on the front page? The link isn't even the correct one...and unless I'm not reading this all correctly, it seems like someone is searching for a problem, rather than presenting an obvious one.

      --
      Absolute power corrupts absolutely. indymedia
    2. Re:What? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How did this article make the front page?

      It's simple really: MS-bashing + kdawson = front page

      Note that in this formula, facts and intelligence are strictly optional.

    3. Re:What? by spiedrazer · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Yes, this bozo is a huge dumb-ass, and so are the editors for approving this story!

      I'm 99% sure that if he had tried to run it, it would have siad "This program is intended for a different version of Windows...yada yada yada" and closed.

      Are the editors losing their minds?

      --
      Keep passing the open windows...
    4. Re:What? by DrPepper · · Score: 2, Insightful

      If even says that you might want to download it on another machine:

      "Note If you are not on the computer that has the problem, you can save the automatic fix to a flash drive or to a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem."

  5. So, um... by Minwee · · Score: 5, Insightful

    'Surely, MS will use some scripting, HTTP User-Agent sniffing, or even Genuine Windows validation to verify that I am running Vista,' I thought. It did not and I canceled the download when I received the prompt to save the file. So, I wonder: is there a Fix-it for Fix it? Because I can easily imagine someone doing what I did

    Yeah. It would be terrible if someone could do what you did: Download a patch and then throw it away. If you wanted to be scared, why not actually run it and see what happens? That's the right time for it to check your operating system.

    Here's something to think about. What if the file you were trying to download was the one you needed to fix your network connection? Wouldn't you want to do exactly what you said you did, and download it on another computer first? Or do I need to make a car analogy about how your BMW keys don't prevent you from sitting in the back of a Ford Crown Victoria?

  6. Re:User-Agent "sniffing" by CannonballHead · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It IS in the setup EXE itself. Setup executables, at least Microsoft's .msi ones, check the OS version and CPU architecture to make sure they are compatible.

  7. Here, let me put this in perspective by DaveV1.0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I tried to download a Linux program to my Windows box and it let me. This is obviously a bug in the Linux program.

    --
    There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
  8. Let me guess. Yep, kdawson. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Slashdot, I've loved you for a long time. However, over the past couple of years you've really started to veer off-course. You can find all the rants elsewhere, so I'll just get to the point: either Idle and kdawson go, or I do.

    Sincerely yours,
    Loyal Slashdot readers everywhere

  9. So basically you'r telling us by jernejk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    you had a headache (your original problem), went to a drugstore and saw an menstrual pain reliever, which neither applies to your (male) platform nor describe your symptoms on the package, you bought the menstrual pain reliever anyway and now you're ranting that clerk didn't ask you if you were buying it for yourself. With all due respect, sir, basically you're telling us you're an idiot.

  10. Oh please! The Story "Fails". by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's an "error" to be able to download an application package? Maybe users might want to download it to deploy accross a network (God forbid), and they happen to be surfing MS on XP? There could be many reasons to download it on XP. It's not a fuck-up until a Vista-only MS app installs on XP. Until then, it's just some guy downloading a file on XP.

    --
    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by Etrias · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Far be it from me to defend Microsoft here, but this tool is clearly not meant for network deployment. There are other, more robust tools for doing just that...WSUS comes to mind.

      Still, I think this is a tool bound to fail. MS has this nasty habit of changing their KB page locations, which could make it interesting. Also, is this what MS thought OneCare could be (if I'm remembering the name right)?

    2. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by Ralish · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I agree this clearly isn't a tool for network deployment, but that doesn't get past the fact that it might be downloaded on one machine for use on another. The sample KB he used was for fixing a fairly mundane problem, but there may well be other problems this tool would be used for that are more severe, severe enough that the use of a different machine to retrieve the tool may be required. Not to mention the possibility of the affected machine simply not having an active internet connection.

      As for KB articles, to my knowledge they only changed things once, when they moved to the KB naming scheme from the Q naming scheme, and that was a long time ago. They may have changed DNS addresses or something, but even when they moved to the KB system, the actual article number didn't change, just the prefix.

    3. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by afidel · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Simple scenario, your Vista machine is hosed and can't get online properly so you download the fix tool on your Mac or Linux PC. That took .1 seconds to come up with.

      --
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    4. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by tbannist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The "error" isn't that you can download the application package. The "error" is that many users are likely to mistakenly download the package when it doesn't apply to them. In this case it would be appropriate to check the system setting and say "Microsoft has detected that your current operating system is . This package is for systems , , ... . Click 'Continue' to download anyway, click 'Cancel' to return to the previous page, or click ' Version' to get this file for operating system ."

      That's the right way to do it. Check because you can, let the user override if they want to, and provide a link to what you think the proper file should be (if there is one, otherwise say it doesn't exist), and a way to return to the page they were reading.

      Why do so many people assume that things are either all right or all wrong?

      --
      Fanatically anti-fanatical
    5. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by Golddess · · Score: 3, Insightful

      There's a difference between choosing to download some package, and having a "fix it" button. "Fix it" implies that what you are being sent will work on your current system, which I believe is what TFA is trying to get at.

      --
      "I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
    6. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Please check all that apply. Each selection will open in a new tab.

      My browser doesn't have tabbing, you insensitive clod!

    7. Re:Oh please! The Story "Fails". by alphad0g · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I agree 100%. The story sucks. The author gives MS a fail because it would download? The author never installed it and then said the system was F'd up.
      Guess what, I can download a Mac binary or DMG from apple to my XP box. Where is the big story on that?
      Maybe the next story should be "I downloaded warez and got malware". Give us some more non-news news.

  11. Seize every little opportunity by Tarlus · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From TFA:

    This is a great example poor design.

    Seriously, get the fuck off of yourself. People in this community will use any, any excuse to bash Microsoft, citing "bad design" when there are... I don't know, millions of software download sites that don't check details about your computer.

    "Bad design" would be if the software itself didn't first check important details about the system before making any serious changes to it. And it appears to me that this Fix-It program was well-designed to take these things into consideration.

    Valid arguments about how MS may do something poorly is one thing. Extremely common around here. But nitpicking an "issue" as stupid and trivial as this made the main site is just pathetic.

    --
    /* No Comment */
  12. Can I have... by jason.sweet · · Score: 3, Insightful

    the last 90 seconds of my life back, please?

  13. It gets worse. by RulerOf · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Not only are you correct, but the OP is an idiot, and further, Microsoft's employees are simply not that stupid.

    I submit that we tag this article as "Troll" and force the submitter to hand over both his geek card and his right to flame Microsoft.

    --
    Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
  14. Fix your Expectations by Conficio · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Isn't this a case of Fix-Your-Expectations?

    First to say, I'm oblivious to what the Fix-It tool is.

    But I'd think I can download a fix, onto a machine that is not the target machine I want to fix. The tool itself should safely check if the fix is applicable, not the download.

    --
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