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BOOT CAMP 443 (26/09/06)
Ten
Top Freeware programs, part 2
In an ideal
world this weeks selection of freeware programs wouldn’t be necessary as they
are concerned with PC maintenance, diagnosis and repair, but as we all know
computers are not perfect, and nor are the people who use them…
Unfortunately
PC crashes are inevitable and a good many faults can be put down to user error
and not abiding by the old maxim RTFM… When your PC goes wrong -- and it will
-- and even if it’s not your doing, if you have the right tools and utilities
to hand there’s often quite a lot you can do to identify the cause of the
problem. You may even be able to fix it yourself, or at least give the repair
person some useful clues.
Several of
this week’s programs can also help prevent problems occurring in the first
place, by keeping your PC’s filing systems in good order or by identifying
faults in their early stages, so one way or another there’s something for
everyone.
Just a quick
reminder; you use these programs entirely at your own risk and any technical
queries should be directed to the authors, rather than us. If you find any of
these programs useful then please pay the licence fee or make a donation, it’s
only polite, and if you have any problems with the links you will find all of
the programs listed at: www.pctoptips.co.uk/software.html
CPU-Z. This is a totally non-invasive
motherboard, memory and CPU analyser tool that can be run from a floppy disc or
USB drive. It will tell you, or an expert who needs to know, almost everything
about the most critical components in your computer, from the make and speed of
your memory modules to the number of pins on your CPU chip. www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
HDCleaner. I’m always a little wary of
programs that purport to ‘clean’ a computer’s hard drive, not least because it
can be extremely difficult to differentiate between important system files and
junk, but HD Cleaner is highly configurable, and politely asks you before it
deletes anything, so the chances of zapping something important are small. It
has a number of more specialised cleaning tools and a built in file ‘shredder’,
which makes sure that deleted files cannot be recovered. http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/hdcleaner_e.htm
HD Tune. This sophisticated tool will
provide you with a detailed analysis of your hard disc drive’s performance,
current state of health and even its temperature. Armed with is information you
can identify potential problems that could eventually lead to a catastrophic
crash and loss of data. http://www.hdtune.com/
Knoppix. Knoppix is a compact version of
the Linux operating system. It boots from a CD-ROM, which means that even if
Windows is damaged beyond repair and refuses to boot, Knoppix can almost
certainly help. It will let you access all of the files on your hard disc drive
using a suite of applications that includes an MS compatible word processor,
spreadsheet and picture viewer and editor. It also has the facility to print
documents and rescue files by copying them to other media. www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html
NT Registry Optimiser. The
Registry is the beating heart of Windows and over time the many files it
contains become disorganised. NT Registry Optimiser ‘defrags’ the Registry,
removing ‘slack’ space left behind by deleted files, which can help to improve
performance and reliability. http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
RegSeeker. RegSeeker will remove redundant
files from your PC’s Registry that can slow it down and increase the chances of
a crash. It is simple to use, and safe, thanks to a built-in backup facility
that can undo any changes that may have caused problems. www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
SiSoft SANDRA Lite. Sandra
or System ANalyser Diagnostic and Reporting Assistant tells you, or an
engineer, everything they need to know about your PC’s hardware, software and
peripheral devices. Sandra also contains numerous tools and Benchmarking
utilities, to log changes to your PC’s performance and alert you to possible
problems. www.sisoftware.co.uk/
WinDirStat. What’s on your hard drive and
how much space it is taking up? WinDirStat shows exactly what’s there with an
easy to understand, colour coded graphical ‘snapshot’ of your drive’s contents.
As an added bonus it includes a number of tools to help you manage your files
and folders. http://windirstat.sourceforge.net/
Tweak UI (XP). An
absolutely invaluable collection of specialised tools and utilities to help you
eliminate many annoyances and irritants, and configure and control the bits of
Windows that are not usually accessible from the Control Panel and setup menus.
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/
powertoys/xppowertoys.msp
Windows Memory Diagnostic. A
powerful diagnostic tool that runs a series of detailed checks on your
computer’s memory modules; better suited to more advanced Windows users.
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
NEXT WEEK – Ten Top Freeware
programs, part 3
JARGON FILTER
LINUX
Family
of freely distributed ‘Open Source’ computer operating systems used in a wide
variety of applications from simple desktop workstation to high-end server
REGISTRY
A large,
constantly changing collection of Windows system files containing configuration
information for both the PC and programs stored on the hard disc
RTFM
Read The
Flipping Manual (or something very similar...)
TOP TIP
Of course
the worst might never happen but if it did how well prepared are you? If you
haven’t backed up all of your important files and folders you could be in
trouble. Windows XP has it’s own built-in backup facility (see Boot Camp 376),
and considering it’s a freebie it’s not too bad at all. There are also plenty
of paid-for backup programs on the market, and most of them are also very good,
but here’s a freeware program that’s well worth investigating, especially if
you want to do something tricky, like saving your backups to a drive on another
networked PC. Karen’s Replicator also happens to
be very easy to setup and use, it’s flexible too with plenty of configuration
options and it can handle just about any backup task, from single folders to
entire drives, with all data or incremental backups carried out at scheduled
intervals, from minutes to months.
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© R. Maybury 2006, 2009
Part 1, 3
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