Customizing Automated Help and Support
Windows 8 provides many controls that allow you to customize the way Automated
Help and Support works. At a basic level, you can control which types
of notification messages are displayed in Action Center. To fine-tune
the feature, you can control the ways problem reporting and
troubleshooting work.
Each user who logs on to a computer has separate notification
settings. To specify the types of notifications that are displayed in Action Center, follow these steps:
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In Action Center, tap or click Change Action Center Settings in the left pane.
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On the Change Action Center Settings page, shown in Figure 5,
select the check boxes for the types of notifications you want the user
to see, and clear the check boxes for the types of notifications you
don’t need the user to see.
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By default, usage information is sent to Microsoft as part of the Customer
Experience Improvement Program. If you don’t want to participate in
this program, tap or click Customer Experience Improvement Program
Settings, tap or click No, I Don’t Want To Participate In The Program,
and then tap or click Save Changes.
-
Tap or click OK.
In a standard configuration, each user who logs on to a computer has
separate problem reporting settings. However, administrators also can
specify that all users have the same reporting settings. To customize
the way problem reporting works for the currently logged-on user or for
all users, follow these steps:
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In Action Center, tap or click Change Action Center Settings in the left pane.
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On the Change Action Center Settings page, under Related Settings, tap or click Problem Reporting Settings.
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You see the current configuration of problem reporting for the
logged-on user. If you are able to modify the settings, the computer is
configured so that each user can choose his or her problem report
settings. If the settings are unavailable, the computer is configured
so that all users have the same problem report settings.
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If the computer has per-user problem report settings, select the
problem report settings you want to use for the currently logged-on
user, and then tap or click OK to save the settings. The options are:
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Automatically Check For Solutions
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Automatically Check For Solutions And Send Additional Report Data, If Needed
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Each Time A Problem Occurs, Ask Me Before Checking For Solutions
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Never Check For Solutions
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If the computer has per-computer problem report settings, tap or
click Change Report Settings For All Users. Next, select the problem
report settings you want to use for all users, and then tap or click OK
to save the settings. The options are:
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Automatically Check For Solutions
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Automatically Check For Solutions And Send Additional Report Data, If Needed
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Each Time A Problem Occurs, Ask Me Before Checking For Solutions
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Never Check For Solutions
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Allow Each User To Choose Settings
When problem reporting is enabled, you can exclude programs from problem reporting. To do this, follow these steps:
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In Action Center, tap or click Change Action Center Settings in the left pane.
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On the Change Action Center Settings page, under Related Settings,
tap or click Problem Reporting Settings. Next, tap or click Select
Programs To Exclude From Reporting.
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On the Advanced Problem Reporting Settings page, you see a list of
any programs that are currently excluded. You can now do the following:
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Add programs to exclude them from reporting. Tap or click Add, use
the dialog box provided to navigate to and select the executable (.exe)
file for the program, and then tap or click Open.
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Remove programs to stop excluding them from reporting. Tap or click
the program in the list provided, and then tap or click Remove.
Each user who logs on to a computer has separate Windows SmartScreen settings. To configure how maintenance works, follow these steps:
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In Action Center, tap or click Change Windows SmartScreen Settings in the left pane.
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In the Windows SmartScreen dialog box, specify how you want smart
screening to work. By default, Windows displays a prompt asking for
administrator approval before running an unrecognized app from the
Internet. If you don’t want to require administrator approval, you can
display a warning instead or turn smart screening off completely.
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Tap or click OK.
Each user who logs on to a computer has separate Automatic
Maintenance settings. To configure how maintenance works, follow these
steps:
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In Action Center, tap or click the Maintenance heading, and then scroll down.
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Below the list of current problems, you’ll see an area labeled Automatic Maintenance. Tap or click Change Maintenance Settings.
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On the Automatic Maintenance page, shown in Figure 6, you’ll see the current settings for maintenance.
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Use the Run Maintenance Tasks Daily At selection list to set the desired start time for daily maintenance.
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To allow Windows to wake the computer from sleep mode to run maintenance, select the check box provided.
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Tap or click OK to save your settings.
Automatic Maintenance is built on the Windows Diagnostics framework.
By default, Windows periodically performs routine maintenance at 3:00
A.M. if the computer is running on AC power and the operating system is
idle. Otherwise, maintenance will start the next time the computer is
running on AC power and the operating system is idle. Because
maintenance runs only when the operating system is idle, maintenance is
allowed to run in the background for up to three days. This allows
Windows to complete complex maintenance tasks.
In Action Center,
the Maintenance pane shows the status of Automatic Maintenance and
provides management options as well. The status information shows the
last run date and specifies whether any corrective action is needed. If
maintenance is running, you’ll see a status of maintenance in progress.
If there’s a problem with maintenance, you’ll see that as well. Tap or
click Start Maintenance to start maintenance manually.
Automatic Maintenance operates as a scheduled task. In Task
Scheduler, you’ll find this task in the scheduler library under
Microsoft\Windows\Diagnosis, and you can get detailed run details by
reviewing the information provided on the task’s History tab.
Each user who logs on to a computer has separate troubleshooting
settings. To configure how troubleshooting works, follow these steps:
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In Action Center, tap or click the Maintenance heading, and then scroll down.
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Below the list of current problems, tap or click Troubleshooting. In
the left pane of the Troubleshooting dialog box, tap or click Change
Settings.
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On the Change Settings page, shown in Figure 7, you’ll see the current settings for troubleshooting. By default, Windows periodically checks for routine maintenance
issues and displays reminders when the System Maintenance
troubleshooter can resolve problems. For example, the troubleshooter
might notify the user that there are unused files and shortcuts that
can be cleaned up.
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By default, when the user starts a troubleshooter, troubleshooting
begins automatically. If you’d rather have the user confirm that she
wants to start troubleshooting, clear the Allow Troubleshooting To
Begin Immediately When Started check box.
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Tap or click OK to save your settings.
Troubleshooters help to automatically identify and resolve problems with the operating system. Automated
troubleshooting relies on Windows PowerShell and related system
services. So long as Windows PowerShell is installed (it is installed
by default) and the required services are available, automated troubleshooting will work.
Standard troubleshooters include the following:
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DirectAccess troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer using DirectAccess to connect to a workplace
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Hardware And Devices troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from properly using a device
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Homegroup troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from viewing computers or shared files in a homegroup
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Incoming Connections troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that block incoming connections
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Internet Connections troubleshooter Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from connecting to the Internet and accessing the web
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Internet Explorer Performance troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that are impacting the overall performance of Internet Explorer
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Internet Explorer Safety troubleshooter
Identifies issues
with settings that could compromise the security of the computer and
the safety of the user when browsing the web
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Network Adapter troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems related to Ethernet, wireless, and other network adapters
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Playing Audio troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from playing audio
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Power troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems fix a computer’s power settings
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Printer troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from using a printer
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Program Compatibility troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent older programs from running on the computer
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Recording Audio troubleshooter
Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from recording audio
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Search And Indexing
Diagnoses and resolves problems with the search and indexing features of Windows.
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Shared Folders
Diagnoses and resolves problems with accessing shared files and folders on other computers.
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System Maintenance troubleshooter
Performs routine maintenance if the user does not
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Windows Update troubleshooter Diagnoses and resolves problems that prevent the computer from using Windows Update
Tip
In Group Policy, administrators configure Access-Denied Assistance policies to help
users determine whom to contact if they have trouble accessing files
and to display custom access-denied error messages. Use Enable
Access-Denied Assistance On Client For All File Types to enable
access-denied assistance for all file types. Configure how
access-denied assistance works using Customize Message For
Access-Denied Errors. These policies are found in the Administrative
Templates policies for Computer Configuration under
System\Access-Denied Assistance.
In Action Center, you can access any of the available troubleshooters by scrolling down and then tapping or clicking Troubleshooting. As shown in Figure 8, troubleshooters are organized by category. These categories include the following:
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Programs For troubleshooting compatibility issues with applications designed for earlier versions of Windows.
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Hardware And Sound
For troubleshooting issues with hardware devices, audio recording, and audio playback.
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Network And Internet
For troubleshooting issues with connecting to networks and accessing shared folders on other computers.
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System And Security
For troubleshooting issues with Windows Update, power usage, and performance. Tap or click Run Maintenance Tasks to clean up unused files and shortcuts and perform other routine maintenance tasks.
Table 1 lists Administrative Templates policies for managing Action Center and related features. In Group Policy, you can configure how automated
troubleshooting and diagnostics work by using the Administrative
Templates policies for Computer Configuration under
System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics.
Table 1. Policies for Managing Action Center and Related Features
|
POLICY NAME |
DESCRIPTION |
ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES LOCATION |
|---|
|
Turn Off Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program |
If this policy is enabled, users are opted out of the program. If this policy is disabled, users are opted into the program. |
Computer Configuration under System\Internet Communication Management\Internet Communication Settings |
|
Detect Application Failures Caused By Deprecated COM Objects |
If you enable or do not configure this policy, Windows will detect
programs trying to create deprecated COM objects and notify users. |
Computer Configuration under System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics |
|
Detect Application Failures Caused By Deprecated Windows DLLs |
If you enable or do not configure this policy, Windows will detect programs trying to use deprecated dynamic link libraries (DLLs) and notify users. |
Computer Configuration under System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics |
|
Detect Compatibility Issues For Applications And Drives |
If you enable or do not configure this policy, Windows will detect
installation failures, run-time failures and drivers blocked because of
compatibility issues and notify users. |
Computer Configuration under System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics |
|
Notify Blocked Drivers |
If this policy is enabled or not configured, Windows will notify users about drivers blocked due to compatibility problems. |
Computer Configuration under System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Application Compatibility Diagnostics |
|
Troubleshooting: Allow Users To Access And Run Troubleshooting Wizards |
If you enable or don’t configure this policy, users can access and run the troubleshooting tools in Action Center. |
Computer Configuration under System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Scripted Diagnostics |
|
Troubleshooting: Allow Users To Access Online Troubleshooting Content On Microsoft Servers From The Troubleshooting Control Panel |
If you enable or don’t configure this policy, users who are
connected to the Internet can access and search for troubleshooting
content. Users can access this content by tapping or clicking Yes when
prompted in Action Center to get the most up-to-date troubleshooting
content. |
Computer Configuration under System\Troubleshooting And Diagnostics\Scripted Diagnostics |
|
Turn Off Application Compatibility Engine |
If this policy is enabled, Windows does not check the compatibility database prior to starting applications. |
Computer Configuration under Windows Components\Application Compatibility |
|
Turn Off Access To The Solutions To Performance Problems Section |
If this policy is enabled, users won’t be able to access solutions
to performance problems. Otherwise, users can access solutions. |
User and Computer Configuration under System\Performance Control Panel |
|
Turn Off Program Compatibility Assistant |
If this policy is enabled, Windows does not monitor user-initiated programs for known compatibility issues at run time. |
User and Computer Configuration under Windows Components\Application Compatibility |
|
Configure Report Queue |
If this policy is enabled and configured, allows an administrator to
configure queuing and notification related to error reporting. |
User and Computer Configuration under Windows Components\Windows Error Reporting\Advanced Error Reporting Settings |
|
Disable Windows Error Reporting |
If this policy is enabled, Windows Error Reporting will not send any
information to Microsoft. Otherwise, Windows Error Reporting will send
information. |
User and Computer Configuration under Windows Components\Windows Error Reporting |
|
Remove The Action Center Icon |
If you enable this policy, the Action Center icon is not displayed
in the notification area of the taskbar, although this doesn’t prevent
users from accessing Action Center through Control Panel. Otherwise,
the Action Center icon is displayed. |
User Configuration under Start Menu And Taskbar |
