You’ve encountered a dreaded <Colour> Screen of Death (where Colour = Blue, Black, Yellow, Fuschia, etc.) or similar problem. After googling the error message, you come across a blog post (maybe one of mine) referring you to some Microsoft Knowledge Base Article for a hotfix. The good news is you’ve done all the legwork and you know exactly the hotfix you need. The bad news… hotfixes require you to call Microsoft Product Support (PS).

Now the folks in PS are really nice, helpful people. It’s not that I mind talking to them. It’s just that I have to go through the whole hotfix song-and-dance. Yes, I need the hotfix mentioned in KB 123456. Yes, I am experiencing the problems described in that KB article. Yes, I know that the hotfix hasn’t undergone rigorous testing in the way service packs do. Yes, I understand that the hotfix could cause unspeakable evil if used incorrectly.

No longer! You can now fill in this online form to receive the hotfix instead. Simply submit your country, the KB article number, platform (x86, x64, ia64), language, and email address. Then you’ll receive a download link via email within 8 business hours.

Let me freely admit that my main purpose for this blogpost is so that I can find the download link easily the next time I need a hotfix because Microsoft doesn’t place that link in any obvious place on the Microsoft Help and Support site. The only reason I found it is because of a link in the Daily Grind!