Tag Archives: diagnostic

Lift The Hood On Your PC – Take a Peek With These 5 Free System Information Utilities

imageIf you think developing information, including diagnostics, on your computer’s operating system and hardware is a tough task, you can relax. Here are 5 small, free applications, that make it easy to probe your computer system and create a detailed profile which can include hardware, installed software – motherboard, CPU and GPU specs, remaining drive space, and your operating system security hotfixes – and a lot more.

Belarc Advisor 8.2.7.14:

Belarc Advisor is a free 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.

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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.

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.

All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server.

System Requirements: Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows support.

Download at: MajorGeeks

LookInMyPC 2.10.3.158

LookInMyPC is a free application which, like Belarc Advisor, records essential information such as, operating system and processor details, the amount of RAM installed, drive specifications and so on. But, it digs much, much, deeper.

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The following graphic shows a very small (I do mean very small) portion of a scan result, run on my test platform. The data shown here is pretty standard stuff.

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System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, 2003/8, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.

Download at: MajorGeeks

A portable version is also available.

SIW (System Info) 2011.10.29i

SIW is an advanced System Information utility that analyzes your computer and gathers detailed information about system properties and settings and displays it in a very comprehensive manner.

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The data generated is divided into major categories:

Software Information: Operating System, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Passwords Recovery, Server Configuration.

Hardware Information: Motherboard, CPU, Sensors, BIOS, 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, Broadband Speed Test

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

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

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000

Download at: MajorGeeks

Speccy 1.17.340

Speccy (from our good friends over at Piriform – the CCleaner guys), is not quite as comprehensive as the applications described previously. Even so, you can count on this free application to provide you with detailed statistics on every piece of hardware in your computer. Including CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Graphics Cards, Hard Disks, Optical Drives, Audio support. Additionally Speccy adds the temperatures of your different components, so you can easily see if there’s a problem.

Typical info screens.

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System requirements: Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista and XP (32-bit and 64-bit)

Download at: MajorGeeks

PC Wizard 2012.2.10

PC Wizard has been designed for hardware detection but, it really shines in analysis and system benchmarking. It will analyze and benchmark CPU performance, Cache performance, RAM performance, Hard Disk performance, CD/DVD-ROM performance, Removable/FLASH Media performance, Video performance, and MP3 compression performance.

Typical info screens.

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System requirements: Windows 8, Windows 7, Vista, XP (32-bit and 64-bit)

Download at: MajorGeeks

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Filed under 64 Bit Software, Computer Audit Applications, Diagnostic Software, downloads, Freeware, Geek Software and Tools

What’s INSIDE Your PC? 6 Free System Information Utilities For Non-Geeks

imageIf you think developing information on your computer’s operating system and hardware is a tough task, you can relax. Here are 6 small, free applications, that make it easy to probe your computer system and create a detailed profile which can include hardware, installed software – motherboard, CPU and GPU specs – remaining drive space, and your operating system security hotfixes.

Belarc Advisor:

Belarc Advisor is a free 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.

image

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.

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.

System Requirements: Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, NT 4, Me, 98, and 95. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows support.

Download at: Download.com

LookInMyPC:

LookInMyPC is a free application which, like Belarc Advisor, records essential information such as, operating system and processor details, the amount of RAM installed, drive specifications and so on. But, it digs much, much, deeper.

image

A number of features keeps this application a cut above the average:

The results are displayed in your Web Browser 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 search for additional information.

As well, the report can be zipped, and then forwarded as an email attachment to your favorite “tech support” person.

The following graphic shows a very small (I do mean very small) portion of a scan result, run on my test platform. The data shown here is pretty standard stuff.

image

System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, 2003/8, Vista and Windows 7.

Download at: LookInMyPC

A portable version is also available.

SIW – System Information for Windows:

SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that analyzes your computer and gathers detailed information about system properties and settings and displays it in a very comprehensive manner.

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The data generated is divided into major categories:

Software Information: Operating System, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Passwords Recovery, Server Configuration.

Hardware Information: Motherboard, CPU, Sensors, BIOS, 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, Broadband Speed Test

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

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

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2000

Download at: Download.com

Speccy v1.12:

Speccy is not quite as comprehensive as the applications described previously. Even so, you can count on this free application to provide you with detailed statistics on every piece of hardware in your computer. Including CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Graphics Cards, Hard Disks, Optical Drives, Audio support. Additionally Speccy adds the temperatures of your different components, so you can easily see if there’s a problem.

Typical info screens.

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System requirements: Windows 7, Vista and XP (32-bit and 64-bit)

Download at: Download.com

WinAudit:

I haven’t personally tested this one, but you can read a review of this free computer audit application What’s really under the hood of that computer? on fellow Blogger Rick Robinette’s site.

PC Wizard:

PC Wizard has been designed for hardware detection but, it really shines in analysis and system benchmarking. It will analyze and benchmark CPU performance, Cache performance, RAM performance, Hard Disk performance, CD/DVD-ROM performance, Removable/FLASH Media performance, Video performance, and MP3 compression performance.

System requirements: Windows 7, Vista, XP (32-bit and 64-bit)

Download at: Download.com

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Filed under 64 Bit Software, Audio Applications, Computer Tools, Diagnostic Software, Freeware, Software, System Utilities, Windows Tips and Tools

Don’t Wait Until Your Hard Drive Goes “Clunk-Clunk” – Check It Out Now With These Two Free Tools

Hard Drive DiagAll modern Hard Drives are equipped with a feature known as S.M.A.R.T. technology that provides real-time hard Drive analysis, including the ability to report on developing problems and potential issues.

The big question is: can you read the warnings S.M.A.R.T. technology provides? If you understand what – Reallocated sector count – Value 200, Threshold 140, Raw Value 0, means – you’ll have no need for either of the following free tools. But, if all that’s gobbledygook to you – you’ll find these tools a great addition to your utilities toolbox.

Your Hard Drive is the workhorse of your computer, and either on of these free tools can make it easier than ever, to diagnose what’s really happening inside it’s complex environment.

DiskCheckup:

PassMark Software, whose applications including BurnInTest 6.0 and PerformanceTest 7.0 , we’ve recommended here previously, offers a well laid out, free hard drive application, that’s worth considering.

DiskCheckup, utilizing S.M.A.R.T technology, will allow you to monitor the SMART attributes of your hard drive. Best of all, if the application detects a potential problem, you’ll get advanced warning through either a standard “warning window”, or (now this is cool), an email message.

Bonus: DiskCheckup can track changes to S.M.A.R.T attributes over time, and make a extrapolated ‘prediction’ as to the failure date of the HDD.

Setup, and application configuration are novice user simple, and the GUI presents an uncomplicated environment.

Everything you might want to know about your HDD – including drive geometry, serial number, model number, media rotation rate, and a broad list of supported features. Click on graphic to expand.

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The configuration window offers very few, but nevertheless, important choices.

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DiskCheckup provides a wealth of information on S.M.A.R.T attributes. Click on graphic to expand.

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If you’re not familiar with interpreting the data  generated by the application – you can relax.  The application includes a well laid out help file.

System requirements: Windows XP, 2003 Server, 2008 Server, Vista and Windows 7.

Download at: PassMark Software

DiskCheckup is free for personal use. Company licenses can be purchased for $15 USD per license.

HD Tune:

HD Tune is no slouch when it comes to analyzing S.M.A.R.T. information from your Hard Drive. The gathered information, which includes data on the Hard Drive’s attributes as well as the Hard Drive’s health, is presented in an easy to understand format.

HD Tune’s additional functionality includes the ability to scan for errors, and a Benchmarking utility which you can use to give your Hard Drive a workout, and then analyze the results.

Drive information screen. Click on graphic to expand.

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The HD Tune Health screen provides a no nonsense assessment of your HD’s S.M.A.R.T attributes. There’s nothing ambiguous here – it’s either OK, or not. Click on graphic to expand.

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If you’ve ever wondered just how well your hard drive performs, then you’ll appreciate the Benchmark test included in HD Tune. Here’s an example of a test I ran for this review. Click on graphic to expand.

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Checking your HD for errors is quick and painless. Click on graphic to expand.

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The available settings are minimal – as they should be. Click on graphic to expand.

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System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7.

Download at: HD Tune – (scroll down for the free version).

HD Tune is free for personal use only.

Note: Hard Drive diagnostic software is offered free from all the major Hard Drive manufacturers. Check out their sites.

Western Digital Support

Samsung

Seagate and Maxtor

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Filed under downloads, Freeware, Hard Drive Maintenance, Hard Drive Problems, Hard Drive Tools, Software, Utilities, Windows Tips and Tools

Windows Problems? Get The Answer Straight From The “Horse’s Mouth” – Windows Help Files

imageIf you have a problem with your car, it seems obvious that you’d seek out answers from your mechanic friend, and not your friend the plumber, or your friend the carpenter. In other words, you’d get the answers to your questions straight from the “horse’s mouth” – meaning, from the highest authority.

In the real world it does seem to work that way – we do go to the highest authority. In the technology world on the other hand, there seems to be a bit of a reversal in this common sense approach.

Take an issue like “my computer won’t start”, for example. Surprisingly, there are over 42 Million search results on Google for this dreaded situation.

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It’s not a scientific observation by any means, but this amazing number of search results is one indication that computer users are more prone to search out answers to technical issues, from sources other than Microsoft which, in many cases, is the highest authority for computer related issues.

It just seems practical to follow the advice on a Microsoft diagnostic page (as in the following example), which can often lead directly to a solution, rather than to search haphazardly and to trust that along the way a solution will present itself.

Screen capture from the Microsoft page.

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The diagnostic page shown above, continues with additional suggestions and recommendations.

I’ll often get questions from friends on Windows related issues, or on a specific application issue, and I’ve made it a habit to ask – “Have you checked Windows help files” or, “Have you checked the application’s help files”. It’s not unusual that I get a blank look, followed by a – huh?

This type of interaction is really a perfect opportunity to teach that Microsoft provides very substantial help files, and, that many product developers provide not only help files – but often offer troubleshooting guides, and FAQ’s, on their websites.

Piriform’s CCleaner for example (click graphic to expand).

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It’s been my experience that Microsoft help files are an underutilized resource; it shouldn’t be that way. While all Microsoft help files are not created equal, for the most part, this resource is a powerful problem solver. Likewise, specific application help files are often flush with problem resolutions.

From Microsoft – How to access Windows help.

Windows 7

On the Windows Taskbar click the Start menu (the Windows icon located on the left side).

Windows Start menu

Then select Help and Support.

Windows Start menu with Help and Support selected

The Windows Help and Support dialogue will open, providing you with additional options for solving your problem.

Windows help dialog

Windows Vista

On the Windows Taskbar click the Start menu (the Windows icon located on the left side).

Windows Start menu

Then select Help and Support.

Windows Start menu with Help and Support selected

The Windows Help and Support dialogue will open, providing you with additional options for solving your problem.

Windows help dialog

Windows Search 4.0 for Windows XP

Click in the Windows Deskbar to display the Windows Search Results window.

Windows Deskbar

Then click on the down arrow next to the Windows logo.

Windows Deskbar with down arrow selected

Point to Help, then click on Search Help to open the Help window.

Help menu with Windows Search Help selected

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Filed under Computer Tools, Education, Help, Microsoft, Windows 7, Windows Tips and Tools, Windows Vista, Windows XP

What’s In Your PC? Take A Look With Free LookInMyPC

image Do you have a detailed profile of your computer system which includes details on hardware and installed software? What do you know about your computer’s motherboard, CPU and GPU, remaining drive space, or your operating system’s security hotfixes?

To effectively maintain your computer, and proactively deal with problems that may occur, you can make the diagnostic process much easier if you have specific and accurate details of your computer.

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. Normally, creating such a profile can be very time intensive. But there are time saving solutions.

One such solution is LookInMyPC – a free 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, drive specifications, and much, much, more.

You may get one or more security warnings (as illustrated below), during the install, since this applications digs deep into the system.

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The graphic below indicates just how deep this application digs.

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The following graphic shows a very small (I do mean very small) portion of a scan result, run on my test platform. The data shown here is pretty standard stuff.

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But, in this portion of the report, the data shown is more complex and could be helpful (along with a huge amount of additional available data), in system diagnostics.

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A number of features keeps this application a cut above the average:

The results are displayed in your Web Browser 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 search for additional information.

As well, the report can be zipped, and then forwarded as an email attachment to your favorite “tech support” person.

System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, 2003/8, Vista and Windows 7.

Download at: LookInMyPC

A portable version is also available.

I have been using this program for some time, and find it invaluable for troubleshooting, and diagnostics.

If you found this article useful, 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.

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Filed under Computer Audit Applications, Diagnostic Software, downloads, Freeware, Geek Software and Tools, Portable Applications, Software, USB, Utilities

Profile Your Computer System With Free Belarc Advisor Version 8.1

image Do you have a detailed profile of your computer system including hardware and installed software? What do you know about your computer’s motherboard, CPU and GPU, remaining drive space, or your operating system security hotfixes?

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. Normally, creating such a profile can be very time intensive. But there are time saving solutions.

Belarc Advisor (last updated September 16), is a free 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, drive specifications, and much, much more.

The following screen capture shows only a very small portion of the audit report.

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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.

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.

System Requirements: Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, NT 4, Me, 98, and 95. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows support.

Browser Requirements: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, and many others.

Download at: Download.com

Belarc Advisor is free for personal use only.

Additional free computer audit applications include:

SIW – System Information for Windows…

Speccy

WinAudit

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Filed under 64 Bit Software, Computer Audit Applications, downloads, Freeware, Reports, Software, Utilities, Windows 7, Windows Tips and Tools, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Free LookInMyPC – Probe Your PC’s Secrets

image Do you have a detailed profile of your computer system which includes details on hardware and installed software? What do you know about your computer’s motherboard, CPU and GPU, remaining drive space, or your operating system’s security hotfixes?

To effectively maintain your computer, and proactively deal with problems that may occur, you can make the diagnostic process much easier if you have specific and accurate details of your computer.

Creating a detailed profile of your computer system before problems occur, and retaining a printed copy of the report, will put you one step ahead. Normally, creating such a profile can be very time intensive. But, there are solutions.

One such solution is LookInMyPC – a free 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, drive specifications, and much, much, more.

The graphic below indicates just how deep this application digs.

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The following graphic shows a very small portion of a scan result, run on my test platform.

Look in My PC

The report is generated in your Web Browser, nicely formatted and easy to read.

Two features make this application a cut above the average:

Many of the items in the report are hyperlinked making it easy to search for additional information.

The report can be zipped, and then forwarded as an email attachment to your favorite “tech support” person.

System requirements: Windows 2000, XP, 2003/8, Vista and Windows 7 – (A regular reader reports that this app is compatible with Win 7 x64).

Download at: LookInMyPC

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Filed under Computer Audit Applications, Computer Maintenance, computer repair, Diagnostic Software, downloads, Freeware, Geek Software and Tools, Software, System Utilities, Utilities, Windows 7, Windows Tips and Tools, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Probe Your PC’s Secrets With Free Belarc Advisor

image Do you have a detailed profile of your computer system including hardware and installed software? What do you know about your computer’s motherboard, CPU and GPU, remaining drive space, or your operating system security hotfixes?

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. Normally, creating such a profile can be very time intensive. But all is not lost!

Belarc Advisor is a free 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.

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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.

System Requirements: Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, 2000, NT 4, Me, 98, and 95. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows support. Note: I have not tested this on Win 7 x64.

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

Download at: Download.com

Belarc Advisor is free for personal use only.

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

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.

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Filed under Computer Audit Applications, Computer Maintenance, Diagnostic Software, Freeware, Geek Software and Tools, Security Rating Applications, Software, System Utilities, Utilities, Windows Tips and Tools

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

belarc-logo 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.

belarcadvisor_01large

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.

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Filed under Computer Audit Applications, Diagnostic Software, Freeware, Security Rating Applications, Software, System Security, Windows Tips and Tools

Free Wise Registry Cleaner – Safe for New Users

A packed, cluttered registry can often be one of the major causes of computer slowdown, and in some cases, computer malfunction. As well, a messy registry can cause programs to stop working properly, and it can lead to frustration while you wait for the operating system to load, often at a snails pace.

Even with a new/newer computer, the loading of the operating system and application software can, over time, create redundant errors and leave unnecessary entries in the registry. This is where a Registry cleaner can prove its value.

If you’re a relatively new computer user it’s important that you choose a Registry cleaner which will clean your Registry easily, thoroughly, and most importantly for you as a new user, safely.

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”.

In testing I found it was not particularly fast; certainly not as fast as my personal favorite registry cleaner for experienced users, RegSeeker. I did however find it to be very thorough in that it found 74 issues on my test platform; 55 entries in the category “safe to fix” and 19 entries in the “not fully safe” to remove category.

To clean your registry, just launch the program, click on “Scan” and the program will find, and then give you the option of removing, unneeded registry entries. By removing any unnecessary registry entries you will have taken an important first step toward optimizing your computer.

Despite the fact Wise Registry Cleaner has an automatic registry backup feature, I strongly recommend that you analyze the search results very carefully, and then ensure that you have used the backup feature before deleting any registry entries.

System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Download at: Download.com

9 Comments

Filed under Cleaning Your Computer, Freeware, Geek Software and Tools, Registry Cleaners, Software, Utilities, Windows Tips and Tools