Hard Drive Tools For Easy Diagnosing and Maintenance

Arguably, the Hard Drive is the most important element in a personal computer since it holds, in many cases, an accumulation of information that is of real and perhaps irreplaceable value: documents, digital photos, email messages, personal and business related work and important private data.

The upside of today’s high density disks is; modern disks allows for greater storage capacities and higher access speeds. However, the downside is; with densities and capacities pushed to the extreme there is much more information to lose should the drive fail.

So what do you think the chances of a Hard Drive failing are? Surprisingly computer industry statistics seem to indicate that the real-world annualized failure rate (average percentage of disks failing per year), was much higher than the manufacturers’ estimate – an average of 3% vs. the estimated 0.5 – 0.9%.

In fact, just at the moment, I’m dealing with a failing Hard Drive on one of my home machines. This is the third Hard Drive failure I have personally had to deal with, in the last 18 months.

If you should suffer catastrophic Hard Drive failure and you are one of the few, out of the ordinary, computer users who regularly and faithfully backup, you will have a lot of work ahead of you but you will recover. If you do not have a backup plan, it’s time you though seriously about developing one.

Fortunately, today’s Hard Drives rarely fail without a warning of failure given well in advance. All modern Hard Drives are equipped with a feature known as S.M.A.R.T. that provides real-time analysis and the reporting of any developing problems and potential issues. The big question is: can you read the warnings?

The following free applications take the guesswork out of the equation, and they make it easier than ever to diagnose what’s really occurring inside the complex environment of the Hard Drive.

Disk Heal

Disk Heal is a free Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista utility that may be able to restore the condition of your Hard Drive, or a USB Flash Drive.

This application is a very useful tool that has a host of additional capabilities, including recovering hidden files and performing system tweaks; all can be accessed with just one click.

Quick facts:

Fixes disk problems

Fixes task manager inaccessibility

Fixes folder options inaccessibility

Fixes registry editor inaccessibility

Recovers hidden files and folders

Changes the default icon of any drive, external, internal, or a partition

Security and system tweaks

Download at: Download.com

Emsa Disk Check

Emsa Disk Check is a dual-purpose utility, for disk checking (prescan and full disk reading) and also benchmarking. It scans/reads the entire contents of a disk (CD, DVD or Hard Drive; or even a floppy), and it shows any read errors that may occur. In addition, it shows drive speed information, progress statistics and so on. It was designed with simplicity in mind, but ease of use for you.

Quick facts:

Useful to quickly and fully scan removable disks like CD, DVD for surface defects like disk scratch problems, bad CD-R/RW DVD-R/RW writes, etc.

Can check CD-ROM, DVD, hard disks, even floppy disks.

Useful for benchmarking a drive: CD, DVD or HDD.

Shows ‘locked’ files on disks.

Reports progress, statistics (files, folders, time elapsed, estimated time remaining).

Reports any errors encountered (error count and log entry for each).

Download at: Download.com

HDDLife

HDDLife is a real-time Hard Drive monitoring utility with alerts, malfunction protection and data loss prevention features. This hard drive inspector is an advanced proactive hard drive failure detection system that manages all of your hard drive risks. HDDLife is S.M.A.R.T. technology based. This is not a free application but it’s 14 day trial period should provide the time needed to diagnose Hard Drive issues.

Quick facts:

Uses S. M. A. R. T. technology

Displays Hard Drive temperature

Displays hard Drive free space information and control

Current version supports IDE, Serial ATA and SCSI disks with standard controllers, while external IDE RAID and SCSI RAID controllers are not supported.

Download at: Download.com

Don’t forget, that Hard Drive diagnostic software is offered free from all the major Hard Drive manufacturers. Check out their sites.

Western Digital Support

Samsung

Seagate

Please note that since Seagate purchased Maxtor, the download sites are identical.

Maxtor

Hard Drive Maintenance: Defrag and Disk Cleanup Tools

Fragmentation is caused by creating and deleting files and folders, installing new software, and downloading files from the Internet. When you delete files or folders, the first available empty spaces on the Hard Drive are filled in randomly when you create new files and folders, as you do when you save pics from your camera, install software, save emails, or create documents.

Hard Disk fragmentation makes the disk drive heads move more than necessary when reading files which can degrade performance over time, and can lead to system slowdowns, computer crashes, slow startups and shutdowns.

Auslogics Disk Defrag

The program is extremely easy to use, does not require any analysis phase and is faster than most disk defragmentation software I’ve tested in the past, and it’s free.

In my view, it’s one more maintenance process in helping me get the maximum performance out of my hardware.

Quick facts:

Improve computer performance and stability

Increase your productivity – no more waiting for files to open

Defragment disks in minutes

Disk fragmentation map and detailed fragmentation report

Download at: Download.com

CCleaner

Running a Hard Disk cleaner such as CCleaner can optimize systems by emptying the Recycle Bin, Temporary Setup Files, Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Old Chkdsk Files, Temporary Files, Temporary Offline Files, Offline Files, and more.

Quick facts:

Frees up valuable hard disk space

Advanced features to remove unused and old entries

Comprehensive backup feature

System tray icon

Privacy tool

Download at: Download.com

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

SIW – System Information for Non-Geeks

If you think developing information on your computer’s operating system and hardware is a tough task, you can relax. Guest writer, Rick Robinette, introduces you to a small, free application that makes it easy.

How would you like to know everything about your computer?  You can with SIW – System Information for Windows…

SIW is a small in size utility that is specially designed to audit your PC and display the results in a very comprehensive manner. The results can subsequently be saved to a report file in several different formats (i.e. HTML, CSV, TXT, XML).

SIW can either be installed on your PC or you can download the “standalone version” that can be installed on your flash drive. The “standalone version” is an excellent choice for diagnostic purposes; and troubleshooting other PCs.

The developer of SIW works hard to continually keep SIW  up-to-date with the current changes in hardware & software configurations.  SIW, highly recommended for the everyday user and for those you are in the spirit of helping others on their PCs.

Examples of what SIW will gather about your PC:

Software Inventory: Operating System, Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Secrets (Password Recovery).

Hardware Inventory: Motherboard, Sensors, BIOS, CPU, chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Printers.

Network Information: Network Cards, Network Shares, currently active Network Connections, Open Ports.

Network Tools: MAC Address Changer, Neighborhood Scan, Ping, Trace, Statistics

Miscellaneous Tools: Eureka! (Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks), Monitor Test, Shutdown / Restart.

Real-time monitors: CPU, Memory, Page File usage and Network Traffic.

Platform: Microsoft Windows 98 / Me / NT4 / 2000 / XP / Server 2003 / Media Center / Tablet PC / Windows 2003 Server R2 / Vista / Windows Server 2008 / Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 R2 / WinRE / Bart PE / Winternals ERD Commander

Download at: MajorGeeks

This is a guest post by Rick Robinette, who brings a background as a security/police officer professional, and as an information technology specialist to the Blogging world.

Why not pay a visit to Rick’s site at What’s On My PC. Like me, you’re sure to become a frequent visitor.

If you enjoyed this article, why not subscribe to this Blog via RSS, or email? It’s easy; just click on this link and you’ll never miss another Tech Thoughts article.

PC Fixer – Free Tools for New and Casual Computer User

Often, new and casual computer users get left behind when it comes to PC utility software. Developers of this type of application are prone to designing tools that require more than just a passing knowledge of how computer operating systems really work.

New users are very often unfamiliar with both the technology itself, and the technical terms involved in using this type of application. For many users, a simple set of tools that does not require the user to be geek inclined, is more appropriate than a suite of tools that does everything but clean the kitchen sink.

While it’s generally true that more advanced users want/need much more control than a one click system utility provides, this type of utility can be the ideal solution for a new user.

PC Fixer is a relatively simple but nonetheless, powerful set of tools for new and casual computer users that includes the following comparatively basic modules:

Install – assists in the setup/installation of applications, internet, email, printers, wireless network and more.

Fix – diagnostic applet with comprehensive solutions to common problems.

Optimize – a configuration utility with surprising functionality.

Secure – as well as the ability to remove malware, this module allows the user to configure Windows security settings.

Data Recovery – provides the user with the tools required to recover data in specific applications including MS Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook and so on.

Tune up – this feature is essentially a Registry cleaner.

Bonus – Community-based forum chock full of answers to many common PC support questions.

A sample of issues addressed by PC Fixer:

CD or DVD driver is missing.

CD burner does not work.

Printing service is disabled.

Cannot open Task Manager.

Performance tuning tips.

Security and Privacy protection.

This application is not a panacea for computer problems of course, but for less experienced Windows users, it should prove to be a valuable addition to their computer toolbox.

There is additional functionality included in this neat little application, but I’ll leave that for you to discover. Good surprises are cool, right?

Download at: Download.com

For a more robust set of system utilities checkout “Glary Utilities – Perfect Collection of Free System Tools” on this site.

Diagnose, Maintain, Clean Hard Drives With These Free Tools

Arguably, the Hard Drive is the most important element in a personal computer since it holds, in many cases, an accumulation of information that is of real and perhaps irreplaceable value: documents, digital photos, email messages, personal and business related work and important private data.

The upside of today’s high density disks is; modern disks allows for greater storage capacities and higher access speeds. The downside is however; with densities and capacities pushed to the extreme there is much more information to lose should the drive fail.

So what do you think the chances of a Hard Drive failing are? Surprisingly computer industry statistics seem to indicate that the real-world annualized failure rate (average percentage of disks failing per year), was much higher than the manufacturers’ estimate – an average of 3% vs. the estimated 0.5 – 0.9%.

In fact, just at the moment, I’m dealing with a failing Hard Drive on one of my home machines. This is the third Hard Drive failure I have personally had to deal with, in the last 18 months.

If you should suffer catastrophic Hard Drive failure and you are one of the few, out of the ordinary, computer users who regularly and faithfully backup, you will have a lot of work ahead of you but you will recover. If you do not have a backup plan, it’s time you though seriously about developing one.

Fortunately though, today’s Hard Drives rarely fail without a warning of failure given well in advance. All modern Hard Drives are equipped with a feature known as S.M.A.R.T. that provides real-time analysis and the reporting of any developing problems and potential issues. The big question is: can you read the warnings?

The following free applications take the guesswork out of the equation, and they make it easier than ever to diagnose what’s really occurring inside the complex environment of the Hard Drive.

Disk Heal

Disk Heal is a free Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista utility that may be able to restore the condition of your Hard Drive, or a USB Flash Drive.

This application is a very useful tool that has a host of additional capabilities, including recovering hidden files and performing system tweaks; all can be accessed with just one click.

Quick facts:

• Fixes disk problems
• Fixes task manager inaccessibility
• Fixes folder options inaccessibility
• Fixes registry editor inaccessibility
• Recovers hidden files and folders
• Changes the default icon of any drive, external, internal, or a partition
• Security and system tweaks

Download at: Download.com

Emsa Disk Check

Emsa Disk Check is a dual-purpose utility, for disk checking (prescan and full disk reading) and also benchmarking. It scans/reads the entire contents of a disk (CD, DVD or Hard Drive; or even a floppy), and it shows any read errors that may occur. In addition, it shows drive speed information, progress statistics and so on. It was designed with simplicity in mind, but ease of use for you.

Quick facts:

• Useful to quickly and fully scan removable disks like CD, DVD for surface defects like disk scratch problems, bad CD-R/RW DVD-R/RW writes, etc.
• Can check CD-ROM, DVD, hard disks, even floppy disks.
• Useful for benchmarking a drive: CD, DVD or HDD.
• Shows ‘locked’ files on disks.
• Reports progress, statistics (files, folders, time elapsed, estimated time remaining).
• Reports any errors encountered (error count and log entry for each).

Download at: Download.com

HDDLife

HDDLife is a real-time Hard Drive monitoring utility with alerts, malfunction protection and data loss prevention features. This hard drive inspector is an advanced proactive hard drive failure detection system that manages all of your hard drive risks. HDDLife is S.M.A.R.T. technology based. This is not a free application but it’s 14 day trial period should provide the time needed to diagnose Hard Drive issues.

Quick facts:

• Uses S. M. A. R. T. technology
• Displays Hard Drive temperature
• Displays hard Drive free space information and control
• Current version supports IDE, Serial ATA and SCSI disks with standard controllers, while external IDE RAID and SCSI RAID controllers are not supported.

Download at: Download.com

Don’t forget, that Hard Drive diagnostic software is offered free from all the major Hard Drive manufacturers. Check out their sites.

Western Digital Support

Samsung

Seagate

Please note that since Seagate purchased Maxtor, the download sites are identical.

Maxtor

Hard Drive Maintenance: Defrag and Disk Cleanup Tools

Fragmentation is caused by creating and deleting files and folders, installing new software, and downloading files from the Internet. When you delete files or folders, the first available empty spaces on the Hard Drive are filled in randomly when you create new files and folders, as you do when you save pics from your camera, install software, save emails, or create documents.

Hard Disk fragmentation makes the disk drive heads move more than necessary when reading files which can degrade performance over time, and can lead to system slowdowns, computer crashes, slow startups and shutdowns.

Auslogics Disk Defrag

The program is extremely easy to use, does not require any analysis phase and is faster than most disk defragmentation software I’ve tested in the past, and it’s free.

In my view, it’s one more maintenance process in helping me get the maximum performance out of my hardware.

Quick facts:

• Improve computer performance and stability
• Increase your productivity – no more waiting for files to open
• Defragment disks in minutes
• Disk fragmentation map and detailed fragmentation report

Download at: Download.com

CCleaner

Running a Hard Disk cleaner such as CCleaner can optimize systems by emptying the Recycle Bin, Temporary Setup Files, Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Old Chkdsk Files, Temporary Files, Temporary Offline Files, Offline Files, and more.

Quick facts:

• Frees up valuable hard disk space
• Advanced features to remove unused and old entries
• Comprehensive backup feature
• System tray icon
• Privacy tool

Download at: Download.com

PC Fixer – Free From Digital Support Technology

Often, new and casual computer users get left behind when it comes to PC utility software. Developers of this type of application are prone to designing tools that require more than just a passing knowledge of how computer operating systems really work.

New users are very often unfamiliar with both the technology itself, and the technical terms involved in using this type of application. For many users, a simple set of tools that does not require the user to be geek inclined, is more appropriate than a suite of tools that does everything but clean the kitchen sink.

While it’s generally true that more advanced users want/need much more control than a one click system utility provides, this type of utility can be the ideal solution for a new user.

PC Fixer is a relatively simple but nonetheless, powerful set of tools for new and casual computer users that includes the following comparatively basic modules:

• Install – assists in the setup/installation of applications, internet, email, printers, wireless network and more.
• Fix – diagnostic applet with comprehensive solutions to common problems.
• Optimize – a configuration utility with surprising functionality.
• Secure – as well as the ability to remove malware, this module allows the user to configure Windows security settings.
• Data Recovery – provides the user with the tools required to recover data in specific applications including MS Word, Excel, Access, and Outlook and so on.
• Tune up – this feature is essentially a Registry cleaner.

A valuable resource for less experienced users is the community-based forum chock full of answers to many common PC support questions.

A sample of issues addressed by PC Fixer:

• CD or DVD driver is missing.
• CD burner does not work.
• Printing service is disabled.
• Cannot open Task Manager.
• Performance tuning tips.
• Security and Privacy protection.

This application is not a panacea for computer problems of course, but for less experienced Windows users, it should prove to a valuable addition to their computer toolbox.

There is additional functionality ncluded in this neat little application, but I’ll leave that for you to discover. Good surprises are cool, right?

Download at: Download.com

For a more robust set of system utilities checkout “Glary Utilities – Perfect Collection of Free System Tools” on this site.

Renovate Your Computer With 10 Free System Tools

In the article immediately before this article “Spring Clean Your Computer – Step by Step Guide”, I posed the question as to how many of us are concerned with keeping our computers physically clean.

As well as keeping your machine physically clean, it is always good practice to keep your computer’s operating and subsystems clean so that you can get maximum performance from your machine.

With that in mind, I retested some of the free system tools I’ve rated and recommended over the last year or so that will do a great job of revitalizing your system. These free applications are “the best of breed”, in my view.

If you have favorites that you’d like to see added to this list, then let me know with your comments.

Click each pic for a larger view.

CCleaner

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system – allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally, it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it’s fast; normally taking less than a second to run.

Glary Utilities

Glary Utilities, a free all-in-one utility, is a terrific collection of system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC. Personal experience with this application for the last 8 months has convinced me that a typical user can really benefit by having this application on their system. With this free program you can tweak, repair, optimize and improve your system’s performance; and its ease of operation makes it ideal for less experienced users.

Evonsoft Computer Repair

According to the developers, with one click, Evonsoft Computer Repair will scan your computer and provide a list of the errors found by the application. You will then have the choice of cleaning each item individually, or allow the application to repair the errors automatically.

In my own testing, I found that the application was extremely fast and that it worked as advertised. I did find however, that the lack of a clear explanation left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. I suspect that more advanced users might also feel the same way.

On the other hand, this lack of explanation might be the very feature that the new user will find most appealing about this application. Most new computer users, in my experience, don’t want to know the details; they just want the job done.

WinPatrol

Do you want to get a better understanding of what programs are being added to your computer? Then WinPatrol is the program for you. With WinPatrol, in your system tray, you can monitor system areas that are often changed by malicious programs. You can monitor your startup programs and services, cookies and current tasks. Should you need to, WinPatrol allows you to terminate processes and enable, or disable, startup programs. There are additional features that make WinPatrol a very powerful addition to your security applications.

Revo Uninstaller

Revo Uninstaller is a superior program to uninstall programs from your computer. This free program with its advanced and fast algorithm scans before, and after you uninstall an application. After the program’s regular uninstaller runs, you can remove additional unnecessary files, folders and registry keys that are usually left over (those “orphaned” registry entries we talked about earlier), on your computer. This feature is a definite plus.

Autoruns

This free utility has the most comprehensive knowledge of auto-starting locations of any startup monitor, in my view, and shows you what programs are configured to run during system boot up or login, and the order Windows processes them. These programs will include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You can configure Autoruns to show additional locations, including Explorer shell extensions, toolbars, browser helper objects, Winlogon notifications, auto-start services, and more. Autoruns goes considerably beyond the MSConfig utility bundled with Windows.

Regseeker

The longer you use Windows, the more cluttered your registry can become, especially if you regularly install and uninstall software. Many applications, on being uninstalled, leave behind “orphan” registry entries. They don’t remove all traces of themselves; causing problems such as sluggish performance, system lockups, or a bloated registry that takes longer to load on startup. With the click of a button, Regseeker will scan your registry for these fragmented files, and safely remove them.

Wise Registry Cleaner

Wise Registry Cleaner is a free, non aggressive application that, as one of my friends says, hits a home run in the safety department. As it searches the Registry for obsolete/redundant registry keys, it differentiates between those that are “safe to fix”, and those that are “not fully safe to fix”. To provide the greatest safety factor for those who are uncomfortable, or unfamiliar, with cleaning the Registry, the application’s default removal setting is “safe to fix”.

Fresh UI

One of the oldest and most well established free Windows tweaking applications, Freshdevices’ Fresh UI is a powerful tool that allows you to configure and optimize your version of Windows.

This small (1.24 MB) program has a clean, easy to understand interface that gives you access to hundreds of system settings, some of which are hidden, and others that are just hard to find. The interface is organized by section for easy navigation, and it is complete with detailed descriptions for easy reference.

Auslogics Disk Defrag

The program is extremely easy to use, does not require any analysis phase and is faster than most disk defragmentation software I’ve tested in the past, and it’s free. In my view, it’s one more maintenance process in helping me get the maximum performance out of my hardware.

Run 57 Free PC Repair Apps From Your Flash Drive

Are you a computer tech wannabe? Are you the goto guy for your neighbors, club, or social circle when computers are on the fritz?

If you answered “yes”, then the Australian website Technibble has a great free offer you should consider.

Technibble describes itself as “a resource for computer technicians who are looking to start their own computer business or improve their existing one. Technibble also provides an amazing place for technicians to help other technicians via our forums”.

The site has compiled an impressive array of free geeky tools for diagnosing and repairing Windows computers in a second release of its Computer Repair Utility Kit. The kit contains 57 top-quality applications to help you analyze a problem computer and (hopefully), restore the machine to operating condition.

While it’s true that you can download each of these free tools individually, this all-in-one kit is a definite time saver.

From the Technibble site:

The first version of Technibbles Computer Repair Utility Kit was so popular, we’ve created a second version. For those of you who don’t know, the Computer Repair Utility Kit is a combination of computer repair tools in one easy to use pack.

The Computer Repair Utility Kit allows you to run all of the repair tools from your portable drive (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive, IPod etc.) and comes with an easy to use, right-click menu. A must in any computer technicians kit.

The Computer Repair Utility Kit runs off a menu system called PStart and contains the following applications:

File Management

• CCleaner – Cleans up Windows systems. Clears temporary internet files, cookies, history etc..
• JkDefragGUI – An advanced defragging tool far superior to the built in Windows one
• DriveimageXML – Hard drive imaging tool. Allows you to get a single file out of a whole image too
• Explore2fs – Allows you to explore hard drives with Linux file systems
• Double Killer – Finds duplicate files and deletes them
• Deep Burner – CD/DVD Burning software
• 7-Zip Portable – Archive creating and extraction tool. Can handle most compression formats
• PC-Decrapifier – Cleans out the crap that comes installed on new brand name computers (Norton trials, toolbars etc.)

Information

• Process Explorer – Allows you to view system processes
• System Information – View lots of information about a system (specs, passwords, temperatures etc.)
• ProduKey – View software cdkeys and serials
• Autoruns – Autostart program viewer
• HWMonitor – View hardware information
• GPU-Z – Show video card information (chipset, bios version, shaders, memory size etc.)
• Wireless Key View – Shows saved wireless network keys
• TreeSize Free – Show how much space each folder on a system uses
• Game Key Revealer – View CDKeys and Serials for popular games
• USBDView – Allows you to list and manage USB devices (including devices that arent currently plugged in)
• TrID – Identifies file types for extension-less files
• Codec Installer – Finds and analyzes video codecs
• Unknown Devices – Tells you what a “Unknown Device” in system properties actually is
• GSpot – Video analyizer

Repair Tools

• Norton Removal Tool – Removes Symantec products
• McAfee Removal Tool – Removes McAfee products
• LSPFix – Fixes broken Winsock entries
• Dial-a-Fix – Repair Windows files and registries

Recovery

• Recuva – Recovers deleted files
• Restoration – Recovers deleted files
• Photorec – Recover deleted/damaged files from Flash memory (like digital cameras)
• DBXTract – Recover emails from damaged DBX files (like Outlook Express)

Network Tools

• Wireshark – View network packets
• Network Scanner – Scans the network for devices
• Putty – SSH/Telnet/RLogin client
• Network Stumbler – Wireless Network Scanner

Virus and Malware Removal Tools

• Clamwin Antivirus – Virus scanner/remover
• Rootkit Revealer – Detects rootkits on a system
• Combofix – Malware finder and remover
• SmitFraudFix – Malware finder and remover
• RogueFix – Malware finder and remover
• Hijack This! – Malware remover
• SUPERAntiSpyware – Malware scanner and remover
• Malwarebytes – Malware scanner and remover

Miscelanious

• Mozilla Firefox – Web browser
• JavaRa – Find and remove old Java versions
• Monitor Tester – Test monitors from problems
• Dead Pixel Tester – Finds and fixes dead pixels on LCDs
• ChkFlsh – Check flash drives for errors or test their real size (as fake ones appear on eBay)
• Double Driver – Driver backup tool
• SumatraPDF – Lightweight PDF viewer
• Revo Uninstaller – Advanced application uninstaller

Tweaks

• TweakUI – Windows XP tweaking tool
• VistaTweaker – Vista tweaking tool

Scripts

• Quickly Make a System Restore Point – Makes restore point
• Reset Network – Releases/Renews IP and flushes DNS
• Clear Printer Spooler – Clears stuck print jobs from spooler
• Stop Automatic Updates – Stops “Windows has installed updates, restart now” dialog temporarily
• Start Automatic Updates – Switches it back on

To start the toolkit. Extract the zip file to your portable media and run .Launcher.exe.. You can also add your own utilities to the menu by going to File > and make it so it autoruns when you insert your portable media into the system.

The download size is 88.4mb as a ZIP file and it extracts to 188mb.

Download from one of the following Mirrors:

Note: Like many mirrors these mirrors are annoying.

Deposit Files:

Rapidshare:

Badongo:

zShare:

Megaupload:

What’s On Your PC? – Find Out With Free Belarc Advisor ((Version 7.2x))

In order to effectively maintain your computer and proactively deal with problems that may occur, it is essential that you have as much information about your system as possible.

If you need help from a computer support group, from a tech support line, or from a computer knowledgeable friend, you will need to provide specific and accurate details of your computer. Without these details, it can be very difficult for even the most knowledgeable computer tech to be time efficient.

So it is important for you to create a detailed profile of your computer system before problems occur, and retain a printed copy of the report. Generally, creating such a profile can be very time intensive. But all is not lost!

Belarc Advisor is a program that automatically generates a detailed audit report of the hardware and software on your computer. It records essential information such as, operating system and processor details, the amount of RAM installed, and drive specifications.

The report also includes a comprehensive list of the software installed on your system, as well as software license numbers and product keys. In addition, it lists the status of the Microsoft hotfixes on your system. If any hotfixes need reinstalling, you will be advised of this.

Critically important is the category in which your computer is given a security rating, based on the Center for Internet Security (CIS) benchmark test which involves testing for: System Security Status, Virus Protection, and Microsoft Security Updates.

The results are displayed in a formatted HTML report. The report is clearly formatted for ease of understanding and divided into appropriate categories. Hyperlinks within the report allow you to quickly navigate to different parts of the document, find out more about a particular hotfix entry, or see where a listed software product is installed.

I have been using this program for 5+ years and find it invaluable for troubleshooting and diagnostics.

Belarc Advisor is free for personal use only.

System Requirements: Windows Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, NT 4, Me, 98, and 95.

Browser Requirements: Internet Explorer, Netscape Opera, Mozilla, and FireFox.

Download at: Download.com

To read a review of another great free computer audit application WinAudit, checkout “What’s really under the hood of that computer?” on fellow Blogger Rick Robinette’s site, What’s On My PC.

Hard Drive Problem? – Free Tools to Diagnose/Maintain/Clean

Arguably, the Hard Drive is the most important element in a personal computer because it holds, in many cases, an accumulation of information that is of real and perhaps irreplaceable value: documents, digital photos, email messages, personal and business related work and important private data.

The upside of today’s high density disks is; modern disks allows for greater storage capacities and higher access speeds. The downside is however; with densities and capacities pushed to the extreme there is much more information to lose should the drive fail.

So what do you think the chances of a Hard Drive failing are? Surprisingly computer industry statistics seem to indicate that the real-world annualized failure rate (average percentage of disks failing per year), was much higher than the manufacturers’ estimate – an average of 3% vs. the estimated 0.5 – 0.9%.

If you should suffer catastrophic Hard Drive failure and you are one of the few, out of the ordinary, computer users who regularly and faithfully backup, you will have a lot of work ahead of you but you will recover. If you do not have a backup plan, it’s time you though seriously about developing one.

Fortunately though, today’s Hard Drives rarely fail without a warning of failure given well in advance. All modern Hard Drives are equipped with a feature known as S.M.A.R.T. that provides real-time analysis and the reporting of any developing problems and potential issues. The big question is: can you read the warnings?

The following free applications take the guesswork out of the equation, and they make it easier than ever to diagnose what’s really occurring inside the complex environment of the Hard Drive.

Disk Heal

Disk Heal is a free Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista utility that may be able to restore the condition of your Hard Drive, or a USB Flash Drive.

This application is a very useful tool that has a host of additional capabilities, including recovering hidden files and performing system tweaks; all can be accessed with just one click.

Quick facts:

Fixes disk problems

Fixes task manager inaccessibility

Fixes folder options inaccessibility

Fixes registry editor inaccessibility

Recovers hidden files and folders

Changes the default icon of any drive, external, internal, or a partition

Security and system tweaks

Download at: Download.com

Emsa Disk Check

Emsa Disk Check is a dual-purpose utility, for disk checking (prescan and full disk reading) and also benchmarking. It scans/reads the entire contents of a disk (CD, DVD or Hard Drive; or even a floppy), and it shows any read errors that may occur. In addition, it shows drive speed information, progress statistics and so on. It was designed with simplicity in mind, but ease of use for you.

Quick facts:

Useful to quickly and fully scan removable disks like CD, DVD for surface defects like disk scratch problems, bad CD-R/RW DVD-R/RW writes, etc.

Can check CD-ROM, DVD, hard disks, even floppy disks.

Useful for benchmarking a drive: CD, DVD or HDD.

Shows ‘locked’ files on disks.

Reports progress, statistics (files, folders, time elapsed, estimated time remaining).

Reports any errors encountered (error count and log entry for each).

Download at: Download.com

HDDLife

HDDLife is a real-time Hard Drive monitoring utility with alerts, malfunction protection and data loss prevention features. This hard drive inspector is an advanced proactive hard drive failure detection system that manages all of your hard drive risks. HDDLife is S.M.A.R.T. technology based. This is not a free application but it’s 14 day trial period should provide the time needed to diagnose Hard Drive issues.

Quick facts:

Uses S. M. A. R. T. technology

Displays Hard Drive temperature

Displays hard Drive free space information and control

Current version supports IDE, Serial ATA and SCSI disks with standard controllers, while external IDE RAID and SCSI RAID controllers are not supported.

Download at: Download.com

Don’t forget, that Hard Drive diagnostic software is offered free from all the major Hard Drive manufacturers. Check out their sites.

Western Digital Support

Samsung

Seagate

Please note that since Seagate purchased Maxtor, the download sites are identical.

Maxtor

Hard Drive Maintenance: Defrag and Disk Cleanup Tools

Fragmentation is caused by creating and deleting files and folders, installing new software, and downloading files from the Internet. When you delete files or folders, the first available empty spaces on the Hard Drive are filled in randomly when you create new files and folders, as you do when you save pics from your camera, install software, save emails, or create documents.

Hard Disk fragmentation makes the disk drive heads move more than necessary when reading files which can degrade performance over time, and can lead to system slowdowns, computer crashes, slow startups and shutdowns.

Auslogics Disk Defrag

The program is extremely easy to use, does not require any analysis phase and is faster than most disk defragmentation software I’ve tested in the past, and it’s free.

In my view, it’s one more maintenance process in helping me get the maximum performance out of my hardware.

Quick facts:

Improve computer performance and stability

Increase your productivity – no more waiting for files to open

Defragment disks in minutes

Disk fragmentation map and detailed fragmentation report

Download at: Download.com

CCleaner

Running a Hard Disk cleaner such as CCleaner can optimize systems by emptying the Recycle Bin, Temporary Setup Files, Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet Files, Old Chkdsk Files, Temporary Files, Temporary Offline Files, Offline Files, and more.

Quick facts:

Frees up valuable hard disk space

Advanced features to remove unused and old entries

Comprehensive backup feature

System tray icon

Privacy tool

Download at: Download.com

Replace Task Manger with Free System Explorer

Windows Task Manager falls far short of providing me with the information that I really need to monitor activity such as running tasks, processes, modules, system performance, open files, and particularly open Internet connections on my computer systems.

While there are a number of free tools available, that taken together, can provide information on any of the above, my preference has always been for an all-in one application that provides me with all the information.

Recently, I came across just such a free application; one that gives me all that I need, and more; all in a small package. System Explorer, not only monitors activity as described above but in addition, with a right menu click, provides online information including virus checking for any process, driver or service, from VirusTotal or Jotti.

(Click image for larger image)

Since I am by nature a security freak when it comes to system security on the Internet, System Explorer’s ability to provide me with details on file and process via online databases, and automatic security checking of processes, modules and selected files, is a real bonus.

If you are the type of computer user whose comfort level demands full knowledge of your system’s operations then this neat little program shouldn’t disappoint.

For those users’ who like to carry diagnostic programs on a USB flash drives a portable version is also available.

(Clck image for larger image)

Fast facts:

Detailed information on Tasks, Processes, Modules, Startups, IE Add-ons, Uninstallers, Services, Drivers, Connections and Opened Files

Easy check of suspicious files via VirusTotal or Jotti

Easy search details on file/process via online databases

Security Extension for automatic check on processes, modules and selected files

Action History for monitoring processes activities

Performance graphs for monitoring usage of system resources

System Snapshots to monitor system changes

System Report builds rich text report on system

Multilanguage

Plugins Support

System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista

System Explorer is free for both personal and commercial use.

Download at: FileForum