Windows 7 is a great operating system, but it can be difficult to troubleshoot some of its features. One way to help is to use the Problem Steps Recorder. This tool can help you record specific steps that you need to take in order to solve a problem. You can then use this information when you have a problem and want to find the solution.
To start up Problem Steps Recorder type in “psr.exe” (no quotes) into the Start menu Search box.
Another helpful tip is to create a shortcut for it on their desktop using the path “C:\Windows\System32\psr.exe”. Now when a user calls for support they have a handy icon they can use to launch it.
There is nothing fancy about the interface it has basic controls for easy use. Click on the Start Record button and go through the steps to recreate where the problem is.
While recording the process you will notice a small red dot image briefly by the pointer when new shots are taken. When done with the recording just click on Stop Record and then choose location to save the output file.
The output is saved as a zipped MHTML web archive file that can be viewed in Internet Explorer. Just have the user email it to you or put on a network share.
Now you can navigate through the recording and see what the user was doing. It creates a neat file that lets you scroll through each screen shot, view the shots as a slide show, or review tech details.
Here is an example of Slide Show view in Internet Explorer.
Then toward the bottom of the document more additional technical information is shown.
Another thing to point out is that during the recording session you can hit the Add Comment button and highlight an area of the screen and leave a comment or question.
This should help you get up and running with the new screen recording feature. While this tool is not as feature rich as it could be, it is a nice addition to help troubleshoot issues with Windows 7.
