A method and system for ranking possible causes of a component exhibiting
a certain behavior is provided. In one embodiment, a troubleshooting
system ranks candidate configuration parameters that may be causing a
software application to exhibit an undesired behavior using support
information relating to problems resulting from the settings of
configuration parameters. The support information may be collected from
problem reports generated by product support services personnel when
troubleshooting problems that users encounter with the application. The
troubleshooting system ranks the candidate configuration parameters as
likely causing the application to exhibit the undesired behavior based on
analysis of the support information.