Microsoft is testing a new free “Fix it Center” – designed to prevent, or detect and repair, basic PC problems. The Fix It Center is an online and PC-based tool which could help Windows users prolong the life of their system.

A fair amount of diagnostics are already built into Windows 7, the free Fix it Center aims to expand on these and also bring similar capabilities to earlier versions of Windows, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista. The service, currently in beta consists of both a Windows download and an online service

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Microsoft officially ended support to Windows Vista Release to Manufacturing (RTM) on Tuesday, the 13 April 2010, to continue to receive security updates or to get assistance from Microsoft you will need to install the latest Service Pack (SP1 or SP2) or migrate to Windows 7

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Some users have reported that Microsoft’s recent security updates have crippled their Windows XP computers with the notorious Blue Screen of Death

The patch, part of Februarys update and listed under MS10-015 , dealt with a problem caused by the switchover from 16-bit to 32-bit systems back in 1993. A 16-bit emulator introduced with Windows 3.1 and present ever since turns out to run the risk of running a bogus application which allows access to the system’s kernel.

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Microsoft is now providing an online resource called the Microsoft Automated Troubleshooting Services designed to diagnose and repair Windows operating systems, including Windows Vista SP2 and Windows XP SP3. Both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 include the automated troubleshooting services by default.

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The European Union have finally agreed to a settlement in the row over bundling Internet Explorer with Windows.

The settlement announced on the Microsoft Press Pass Website confirms that new Windows machines sold from March will contain a set-up screen listing the five major web browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome, and Opera (with another seven available by scrolling horizontally), with users picking as many or as few as they like to install.

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Since the release of Windows 7 market shares of both Windows XP and Windows Vista have started falling, with more users deciding to upgrade to Microsoft’s latest Operating System.

Although Windows 7 grabbed over 5% of the OS market, according to Net Applications, Windows XP is still the most used platform worldwide with a share of over 69%, with Vista at 18.55%.

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Microsoft has confirmed that a bug in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and the release candidates of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, could be used to hijack computers.

The vulnerability is in a Microsoft-made network file, and print-sharing protocol called the Server Message Block (SMB) 2, that ships with Windows. The SANS Internet Storm Center has published a short diary entry about the flaw.

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Numerous readers of the popular Windows Secrets newsletter have reported that they have watched their computers install updates from the 9 June set of security patches as they have rebooted or when they have turned on their machines even though they have set options in Windows Update (WU), the operating system’s default update service, to require their okay before installing patches, or before downloading and installing updates.

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