Introduced in Windows Vista, the infamous “Windows is checking for a solution…” message that appears right after a program crashes is downright annoying.

I’m running Windows 7 now and this behavior has not changed. Admittedly, while running the Windows 7 betas this was rather useful as Microsoft kept up to date information on programs that suffered from compatibility problems and hinted at potential fixes (kudos for that). But now it just gets in the way after Firefox or other well-known program crashes, I just click on Cancel immediately after getting prompted.
Back in the Vista days I had disabled this message and now I’m getting it again after a fresh reinstall of 7, so I thought this time I would document how to turn this off. It’s actually very easy.

In Windows Vista:
Go to Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Problem Reports and Solutions
In the Problem Reports and Solutions window, click Change settings > Advanced settings > Turn off problem settings

In Windows 7:
Click on the Action Center (white flag) icon on your taskbar > Change Action Center settings > Problem reporting settings (almost at the end) > Never check for solutions

Alternatively, you can use the Windows search box by clicking start and typing “Choose how to report problems”. That will take you directly to the screen above and select your desired setting.