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| Agent Ransack - weblink, 5 stars
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I searched high and low for a good file search program and here is my pick. Agent Ransack puts Windows default search to shame. It's faster. It can do so much more, such as "regular expressions".
Quote from the website
Agent Ransack is a free tool for finding files and information on your hard drive fast and efficiently. When searching the contents of files Agent Ransack displays the text found so you can quickly browse the results without having to separately open each file!
Agent Ransack provides compelling advantages over similar search tools:
- Regular expressions that allow complex rule based searches.
- Immediate contents results view.
- Various wizards to walk the user through the searching process.
| | | 4/26/2004 at 2:02 am - email it |
| Autoruns - weblink, 5 stars
 Autoruns.exe - system startup viewer/controller |
Sysinternals' autoruns.exe is a killer little utility for controlling and tweaking those programs that like to start up when the computer boots. I was expecially impressed with the amount of information it displays on Microsoft Installed Components. All you have to do is right click on a HKey listing and you will be able to do four things: Delete the entry, Copy to Clipboard, Jump to Registry entry, or Display file properties. The jump to registry is really cool. No more searching the registry to find an entry when you want to tweak it or back it up. Best of all the program is only 40k in size and no installation needed. A few seconds of download then unzip it and you've got a real startup killer app.
Quote from the website http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/autoruns.shtml
... shows you what programs are configured to run during system bootup or login. These programs include ones in your startup folder, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. You'll probably be surprised at how many executables are launched automatically. | | | 6/27/2004 at 11:50 pm - email it |
| Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit - weblink, 5 stars
Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit |
This program is a must if you need to tell someone about problems your PC is having. Most of the online help services will ask you for a detailed list of the components and software that makes up your PC. Belarc has been around for a long time and I think it just keeps improving. There are a couple other programs like this one that are free, but I think this one is the most used.
Website - Quote from the website
The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed profile of your installed software and hardware, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser. All of your PC profile information is kept private on your PC and is not sent to any web server. | | | 1/19/2005 at 11:57 pm - email it |
| CCleaner - weblink, 4 stars
CCleaner - system optimisation tool |
This tool is a very powerfull system cleaner. It has many categories of cleaning it does and you will have to fairly computer savy in order to use it properly. For the average user, a tool like Easy Cleaner or RegSeeker may be better.
Quote from the website http://www.spazmatic.net/partners/ccleaner/
CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimisation tool. That removes unused and temporary files from your system - allowing it to run faster, more efficiently and giving you more hard disk space. The best part is that it's fast! (normally taking less that a second to run) and Free. :)
Cleans the following:
Internet Explorer Cache, History, Cookies, Index.dat.
Recycle Bin, Temporary files and Log files.
Recently opened URLs and files.
Third-party application temp files and recent file lists (MRUs).
Including: Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, Office XP, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and more...
Advanced Registry scanner and cleaner to remove unused and old entries.
Including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more...
Backup for registry clean.
This software is completely Freeware and contains no Spyware or Adware. | | | 6/15/2004 at 10:49 pm - email it |
| Clean Ram - weblink, 5 stars
Clean Ram |
It just ain't fair ... I'm cruising along doing my thing and suddenly all my apps start screwing up ... Why? I keep running out of memory. You'd think 384MB would be enough for a Windows ME system. I've found out the problem is really a combination of problems caused mostly by "memory leaks". This application sometimes helps me get around that.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
Clean Ram designed to clean up your PC memory from unnecessary memory allocation. This will improve overall performance of your computer. Loading and running any applications (word processor, spreadsheet, graphics editor, web browser, etc.) will be smoother and faster than before. You will be surprised to see faster response of your computer. | | | 9/27/2004 at 9:24 pm - email it |
| ClipPath - weblink, 5 stars
ClipPath - explorer menu extension |
Many times when I am uploading files to a website they want me to browse to the file and choose it. Most of the time I've got the file's folder open and can see it. I often wished I could just drag and drop it onto the webpage to give them the path to it. Since I've gotten ClipPath I can just right click on the file and get it's path and then I can paste that path to the file into the address window in my browser. It saves me time there and any other situation when I need to know the path to a file on my PC.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
As a Programmer, we are often required to set the path or classpath Environment variables. But Windows Operating does not allow us to copy the full path of a file or a folder,say, c:temptry.java to clipboard so that we can paste the same anywhere we require. Clip Path utility tries to solve these problems. It is a windows Shell Extension Program. Once installed, you can copy full path of a file or folder to clipboard. | | | 9/15/2004 at 1:03 am - email it |
| Cryptext - weblink, 5 stars
Cryptext - file encryption utility |
If you occasionally need to keep information hidden and safe, you might want to try out this little gem. It sits in your file context menu so that when you right click on a file or folder you just choose "encrypt" to lock the file. It will ask you for a password and quickly encrypt the file so that virtually nobody can get into it without the password. Decryption or unlocking is done the same way by right clicking on an encrypted file and choosing "decrypt".
Quote from the website http://www.pcug.org.au/~njpayne/
How secure is a 160-bit key? ... make your passwords fairly long and choose them carefully (don't use names or words that appear in a dictionary). We can make a small calculation on what is needed to break a 160-bit key with a brute-force attack. With 160 bits in the key there are 2160 possible keys. It therefore takes, on the average, half that many attempts to find the correct key (2159 or approximately 1048 attempts). We can also make a few over-the-top assumptions about the resources dedicated to breaking the key:
- there are one billion computers in the world (there are actually far fewer)
- every computer is completely devoted full-time to breaking your key (!)
- each computer can test one billion keys per second (!!)
With this amount of computing power devoted to the task it will take about 1013 years to find the key. That's about 1000 times the age of the universe. | | | 6/15/2004 at 10:51 pm - email it |
| CutePDF Writer - weblink, 5 stars
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I used to use another printer driver to print to PDF but it was very difficult to set up. This one was a breeze! It works so easy too. Say you want to send a friend a MSWord document but he doesn't have MSWord and can't read the file you send him. Just print the file normally but pick the CutePDF printer and you have a nice pdf file to send him. Almost everyone has a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader and can open PDF files.
Quote from the website
Portable Document Format (PDF) is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms around the world. CutePDF Writer (formerly CutePDF Printer) is the free version of commercial PDF creation software. CutePDF Writer installs itself as a "printer subsystem". This enables virtually any Windows applications (must be able to print) to create professional quality PDF documents - with just a push of a button!
FREE for personal and commercial use! No watermarks! No Popup Web Ads! | | | 4/26/2004 at 1:25 am - email it |
| DELETE DOCTOR - weblink, 5 stars
DELETE DOCTOR - Delete Files that are hard to delete |
Here's an easy way to get around that "Access Denied" message windows gives you when it doesn't want you to delete some file that's being used.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
Delete files that are difficult to delete, such as some files left by viruses and trojans, or files with corrupted file names. This program can also delete files like the "index.dat" files, which store Internet history, by scheduling them for deletion upon system restart. Select a file to delete from the built-in file browser or drag a file to the application's icon or window from Window's Explorer. | | | 12/24/2004 at 11:13 am - email it |
| Doc Memory - diagnose memory chips - weblink, 5 stars
Doc Memory - free tool to help diagnose PC ram chip memory |
One of the fellows in our PC help group has problems with a PC crashing and displaying memory parity errors. Me2 always seems to know what to do when most of us are at a loss.
Use DocMemory to check for RAM failures. Run the program to create a boot disk. Click OK and click Make Boot-Disk, then scroll down and accept the agreement. Insert a blank 1.44 MB floppy and click OK. Boot the system from the floppy drive to test the system memory.
Vanguard Microelectronics Limited (VML) was formed in 1996 specifically to act as the European representatives for Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Vanguard, or VIS as it is most commonly known, is Taiwan's largest and most successful DRAM memory manufacturer. VML is Vanguards most successful sales rep, world wide, since 1995 we have sold in excess of $200m of DRAM and memory products on VIS behalf. | | | 11/13/2004 at 10:01 pm - email it |
| DriverFiles.net - download device drivers for the PC - weblink, 5 stars
DriverFiles.net - download device drivers for the PC |
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I hate it when you get to a website to download drivers or dll's and they want you to sign up or pay them. This website does not make you do anything.
On DriverFiles.net we aim to aid you in your search for the device driver you need. This we do completely free, we don't require registration and you don't have to pay an annual fee to be able to download our drivers (most other driver resource sites do).
| | | 9/6/2004 at 12:41 pm - email it |
| EndItAll - weblink, 5 stars
EndItAll - process killer |
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I don't know how many times I've heard people say they can run scandisk or defrag because it keeps stopping and telling them it's restarting because there were other processes running that changed the file system. I've given this one a trial run or two and I'm guessing it will solve this problem for the majority of users.
EndItAll 2 lists all the programs running on your system, and lets you decide which ones to close down. The processes necessary for basic system operation are protected from termination. From the remaining processes, you can choose which to close, which to kill (close down forcibly), and which to protect. Once you know which files you want to shut down, you can configure EndItAll for automatic action via script or batch file. This is useful for backups and defrags during off-hours. Options let you block power management and the screen saver during operation. Version 2 is a major update to EndItAll, which was originally published on the PC Magazine Extra Web site. | | | 8/14/2004 at 3:18 pm - email it |
| Everest Home Edition - weblink, 5 stars
Everest Home Edition - what's in your PC? |
This is probably the best of the free PC analysis tools like Belarc Avisor and PC Wizard. You can get reports in many formats that tell you all the hardware and software components in you PC. This program was formerly known as AIDA32.
Website - Quote from the website
EVEREST Home Edition is a freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. It offers the world's most accurate system information and diagnostics capabilities, including online features, memory benchmarks, hardware monitoring, and low-level hardware information. | | | 1/8/2005 at 2:00 am - email it |
| Everest Home Edition - PC Hardware and Software reports - weblink, 5 stars
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Thanks to Me2, an associate of mine at Computer Help Club, I recently reaquainted myself with this great system utility. You can quickly browse or generate reports that tell you what is installed on your computer. It can detect software and hardware and the reports link you to the web for each item so you can quickly get more information about them.
Quote from the website - http://www.lavalys.com/index.php?page=products_index
Our freeware system information, system diagnostics and benchmarking solution for home PC users, based on the award-winning EVEREST Technology. It offers the world's most accurate system information and diagnostics capabilities, including memory benchmarks, hardware monitoring, and low-level hardware information. | | | 4/22/2004 at 1:13 am - email it |
| File Association Editor - weblink, 5 stars
File Association Editor |
Have you ever installed a new program and suddenly it decides it wants to open files you normally expect to open in another program? If you have some idea of how file extensions and file associations work, this tool is for you. It makes changing associations so much easier. If you want to learn more about file extensions and associations check here: http://familyinternet.about.com/cs/computinghelp/a/aafileextension.htm
Quote from the website http://www.angelfire.com/biz/rhaminisys/fileasoc.html
FileAsoc is a program for examining and editing the Registry settings which tell Windows how to open files depending on the extension name. You can easily
- add new Explorer right mouse click menu items,
- change the Icon shown by Explorer,
- repair corrupted file associations, such as damage caused by installing and removing software,
- create new associations.
| | | 8/14/2004 at 3:36 pm - email it |
| FreeRAM XP Pro 1.4 - memory optimizer - weblink, 4 stars
FreeRAM XP Pro 1.4 - memory optimizer |
Jean in Montana wrote to me: Clif have you ever tried Free Ram XP Pro? It is a fabulous little program for instant ram freeing. I first got it when I was on dial-up, even now on DSL I wouldn't go without it.
Jean is a security analyst (ASAP 2004) and assistant manager at Windows XP Central on MSN. She also teaches classes for the local Adult Community Education (ACE) program on "Net Nasties". Thanks for the tip Jean.
Website - Download - Freeware
Quote from the website - Freeware application to free and optimize your computer's RAM (Random Access Memory), resulting in an increase in system performance and productivity. Automatically configures itself for ease of use and also features advanced options and customizability. FreeRAM XP Pro has been designed to be easy to use yet highly customizable by computer novices and experts alike. | | | 2/15/2005 at 8:55 pm - email it |
| Hex Editor - Free Binary File Editing - weblink, 4 stars
Hex Editor - Free Binary File Editing |
Alexander Bessonov has done a great job on this program. I have never seen a hex editor with an MDI (multiple document interface). In the past, I have always used the XVI32 hex editor and this editor competes well against it. I think the ability to have more than one file open will really come in handy. The program installed easily but the installer pops up their website page when it finishes. I think they could do without that. The interface will be immediately familiar to anyone who has used hex editors. Lately it seems that I'm seeing more and more high quality freeware from Russia. Hexedit is an excellent program and a prime example of Russian generosity. Thanks to Vasiliy Vasilyev for recommending this freeware. Be sure to check out the home page at their website for more freeware programs.
Caution: It's a good idea to make backup copies of any file you intend to change with a hex editor. Any hex editing tool can foul up your programs or Windows OS if you don't know what you are doing.
Quote from the website -
---- Features ----
* Loads files up to 2 GB in a couple of seconds!
* Multi-document, multi-window interface. You can open as many files as you want, as well as open as many windows per file as you want. Later you can use Copy(Cut)/Paste operations between opened files.
* Autorestore feature that helps you restore opened files after system failure.
* Powerful Find feature.
* Drag&drop and other shell integration features.
* Goto (or jump) feature that allows you to move to any absolute or relative location in the file.
* Fill feature that can fill tens of Megabytes with undo support!
* Full Undo support. (The only limit is your hard disk free space).
* Expanding (inserting several parts) files, deleting parts of files etc. with full undo support. | | | 2/15/2005 at 8:57 pm - email it |
| Itty Bitty Process Manager - view and show others running processes on your pc - weblink, 5 stars
Itty Bitty Process Manager - view and show others running processes on your pc |
Many of you might be familiar with using CTRL-ALT-DEL to bring up the Windows Task Manager so you can see what programs are running on your PC. This program does the same thing but it also allows you to copy the list of running programs into the Windows Clipboard or save it to a text file. That makes it easy for you to show others what you have running. You can just copy and paste the list into a chat room, a forum, a blog, or an email.
Website - Download - Freeware
Quote from the website - Itty Bitty Process Manager (IBProcMan): A standalone version of the little process manager included in HijackThis (Misc Tools section). Shows full paths to processes, optionally shows DLLs loaded by processes. Can save the process list (and dll list) to file, as well as copy it to the clipboard. Compatible with at least Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP and newer.
Very useful for cleaning up systems infected with trojans or viruses that kill antivirus and antispyware programs. | | | 1/23/2005 at 10:40 pm - email it |
| JustZipit - weblink, 4 stars
JustZIPit - Free WinZip Replacement |
I really like the idea of a non-do-it-all zip utility. This zip tool does 99% of what you need to do with a zip file. If you need to unzip a file, just double click it and it creates a new folder with the same name and even opens it up for you to see inside. Need to zip up a bunch of files? Just select them then right click and choose Create a Zip file.
Quote from the website http://free-backup-software.net/
JustZIPit is a tiny freeware ZIP program (a free WinZip alternative) which simplifies ZIP compression to the bare bone! Discarding all clunky gadgets and wizards, JustZIPit ZIPs and Unzips with just one click from your context menu. No more interface nonsense -- JustZIPit and go! Hey, WinZip is a great program - with over 100 pages of in the user manual, it provides both function and entertainment. But if you just want to ZIP and Unzip, you'll love our free WinZip alternative "JustZIPit"! | | | 5/24/2004 at 6:10 pm - email it |
| Kill all processes - using a call to a system dll - weblink, 5 stars
Kill all processes - using a call to a system dll |
I saw a neat tip in the Langa List newsletter. Just cut and paste the text below into a new shortcut. Name the shortcut anything you like. If you double click on it, it will kill all the PC's processes except for Explorer. This might come in handy just before you run a scandisk/chkdisk or defrag. Those sometimes get hung up when other things are running.
Website - Tip
C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx -1 | | | 1/23/2005 at 10:48 pm - email it |
| Linux Live CD List - weblink, 5 stars
Linux Live CD List - try Linux without an install |
I've tried one or two of these CD's in the past. It's amazing to me that you can burn a CD that has an entire operating system on it and it runs shortly after you boot up.
Website - Quote from Infopackets Gazette
Comprehensive, easy-to-search list of approximately 200 Linux-based Live CDs. These are CDs you can burn, and then boot and run Linux from them, even though you have Windows as your main OS. | | | 12/24/2004 at 11:26 am - email it |
| Look@win - Installation + System change detection - weblink, 4 stars
Look@Win - Installation + System change detection (Win9x, ME only) |
I tried out this program briefly and I like the way it works. Basically it is used to track the changes a program makes when you install it. For example, I want to install Kazaa, but I suspect it may have spyware in it. (Darned right it does). First I run LookatWin and it does it's thing, and even backs up the registry. Next I run the installation file for Kazaa. After Kazaa is installed, I run LookatWin once again. LookatWin compares the before and after runs and tells you what has changed. What registry keys have changed? What changes were made to the win.ini file? What dll's and exe's were installed? After LookatWin shows you the changes, you can always look in the log files it makes to really get a close look at the changes. This is a great little piece of freeware but if you need a little more from a install detector, try Total Uninstall. By the way I really like the website that hosts this file. They have a few other freeware proggies you might like.
Quote from the website http://digilander.libero.it/zancart/look-win/index.htm
This program is intended to track changes made to the system by setup programs. If you perform the installation of a program, you won't know if the setup will copy some files(i.e. DLL, VBX ) to your Windows (Tm) or Windows\system directory. The amount of space required by Windows directories will enlarge, and if a specific uninstall program is not provided, you won't know what files could be safely deleted from Windows. Running Look@win 3.53, after a program installation setup, will compare the actual status of Windows system with the recorded previous one, detecting changes. Inizialization files and Registry file control provides a sort of anti-virus function,too: if any difference will be detected, the new lines in .ini files or Windows Registry will be displayed, thus alerting for changes made by viral programs in order perform malicious actions at system startup. Moreover detection of size changes of executable files in Windows directories adds possibilities of early discovering a viral attack to your system. | | | 5/14/2004 at 12:07 am - email it |
| Memtest86 - A Stand-alone Memory Diagnostic - weblink, 5 stars
Memtest86 - A Stand-alone Memory Diagnostic |
Here's a great tool when you think your system memory (ram) might be going bad. I used the floppy disk installer tool but there's a CD based installer there also.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
Memtest86 is thorough, stand alone memory test for x86 architecture computers. BIOS based memory tests are a quick, cursory check and often miss many of the failures that are detected by Memtest86. | | | 12/14/2004 at 12:46 am - email it |
| Microsoft's secret Zip Utilities - weblink, 5 stars
Microsoft's secret zip utilities - Tip by Me2 |
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Windows ME and XP have the ability to open, create, and password-protect ZIP files (which Microsoft calls "compressed folders", for reasons only they and God know).
Windows NT, 95, 98, and 2000, however, do not include any way to handle ZIP files. By applying an obscure Windows 98 update, you can integrate ZIP capabilities into these older versions of Windows.
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-- Installation --
Download the Q329048 update from Microsoft. To do this, visit Microsoft's download page, then select the correct language and click Download Now.
Click OK at the download dialog. Click the down-arrowhead to the right of Save in, click the C: drive icon, and click Save. When the download completes, click Start and Run, then type
c:329048usa8 /q:u /n:v
and press Enter to install. If prompted to restart the computer, click No. Click Start, Run, type
regsvr32 zipfldr.dll
and press Enter, then click OK to dismiss the 'success' dialog. Done! (Note: The correct ZIP file icon will be used after the computer is restarted.)
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-- Usage --
To create a new ZIP file, right-click a clear spot on the Desktop or in a folder, point to New, and click Compressed Folder. Rename the file as needed, but do not change or remove the .zip extension.
To open a ZIP file, double-click it (for Explorer view, right-click and click Explore).
You can double-click to open most documents, and some programs, without copying them from the ZIP file. Programs which need to access other files will not work properly if launched directly from the ZIP file.
To copy the entire contents of a ZIP file to a folder, right-click the file and click Extract, then follow the prompts.
Copying specific files is done using typical Windows methods (click&drag, copy&paste, etc.). Adding files to a ZIP file is similarly done.
If you have files which you want to keep private, you can add them to a password-protected ZIP file. To do this, right-click a ZIP file (containing at least one item), then click Encrypt. Enter the password twice and click OK. To remove the password protection, right-click the file and click Decrypt, then enter the password and click OK.
An encrypted file can be opened to view the names of the files within, but opening or copying files will prompt for the password.
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-- Removal --
Click Start, Run, type regsvr32 -U zipfldr.dll and press Enter, then click OK to dismiss the 'success' dialog. If you like, you may delete the Dzip32.dll, Dunzip32.dll, and Zipfldr.dll files after restarting the computer. If you leave them (they're only 330 KB), you can reenable the utilities anytime with regsvr32 zipfldr.dll.
Quote from Me2
If there's enough call for it, I'll assemble an installer for the package (quickly and easily done), and repost the tip.
Glad you liked it Clif. | | | 6/20/2004 at 11:36 am - email it |
| Mouse Emulator - weblink, 5 stars
Mouse Emulator - keyboard mouse |
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Mouse Emulator is only a 10k zip file. No installation needed. Could be a real life saver when needed.
Is your mouse broken, or did you just forget it? Or maybe you are having USB driver problems, and your mouse isn't working. With Mouse Emulator, you can still use your computer.
The program recognizes the following keys: (NumLock must be ON!)
Keypad 1 - Left mouse button
Keypad 2 - Right mouse button
Keypad 3 - Middle mouse button
Keypad 4, 5, 6, 8 - Moves the mouse left, down, right and/or up respectively.
Keypad 7 - Mousewheel up (Scroll)
Keypad 9 - Mousewheel down (Scroll)
Keypad / - Toggle Left mouse button (Useful for RSI users)
Keypad * - Toggle Right mouse button (Useful for RSI users)
Keypad - - Toggle Middle mouse button (Useful for RSI users)
Ctrl + Keypad 0 - Enable/Disable Mouse Emulator | | | 10/24/2004 at 10:00 pm - email it |
| Moveit - move installed applications to another hard drive - weblink, 4 stars
Moveit - move installed applications to another hard drive |
This program seems to work. I tried it out on an installed program I have. It was a program I wasn't planning on keeping, so I wasn't worried about losing it or messing it up. Moveit gave me an error message and said it couldn't move my files for me but I just skipped the error message and continued. Moveit scans all the registry looking for references to the program you want to move. It changes the registry entries so that you can run the program from the hard drive you've chosen. It took a long time for it to scan the registry. When Moveit was done I just copied the program I wanted to move to the area on the other hard drive where I wanted it to run. It's not trouble free but it did work.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the readme file - Having a lot of programs on your hard drive is a usual thing today, but someday such users certainly will face such problem as moving registered program from one place to another. It is a problem, because almost every program stores some data into registry (such as used file paths, for example), and you can't just move program folder from where it is to another location, because in 90% cases application will not run correctly anymore. So was before. Today MoveIT! will help you to solve this problem | | | 1/23/2005 at 10:42 pm - email it |
| NTest - the Nokia monitor test - weblink, 5 stars
NTest - the Nokia monitor test |
This program will help you adjust your pc's monitor so that you can see all that you can see. Just download it and unzip it to a folder, then run the install.exe program.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
This Windows program will guide you in setting the parameters, controls and adjustments of the monitor. It will also guide you on how to measure picture quality. | | | 12/14/2004 at 12:47 am - email it |
| Obfusticated Email Link Creator - weblink, 4 stars
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Obfusticated Email Link Creator is a great little utility for webmasters who don't want to get any more spam in their email than necessary.
Quote from the website
What OELC will do is munge your email address for use in web pages so spammers will have a harder time grabbing your email. ...
Usage is simple, enter the email address you want to obscure then enter some text you want the link to say and select a format option, click create it and OELC will create html code for the link and copy it to the clipboard for you to paste in the HTML code of your webpage. | | | 4/6/2004 at 9:58 pm - email it |
| Partition Logic - freeware hard disk partition tool - weblink, 4 stars
Partition Logic - freeware hard disk partition tool |
I created a floppy boot disk with the Partition Logic disk image. When I booted it I was greeted with a slick looking GUI and tons of options. I didn't have the time or need to test it out thoroughly but it sure looks like I've got a great tool for my hard drive the next time I need to slice it up into partitions. If you are not familiar with hard disk partitions, check out Bootdisk.com for older PC's and Microsoft for WinXP.
Quote from the website
Partition Logic is a free hard disk partitioning and data management tool. It can create, delete, format, and move partitions and modify their attributes. It can copy entire hard disks from one to another.
Partition Logic is free software, based on the Visopsys operating system. It boots from a CD or floppy disk and runs as a standalone system, independent of your regular operating system. It is intended to become a free alternative to such commercial programs as Partition Magic, Drive Image, and Norton Ghost...
A bootable .iso CD image file includes the full Partition Logic distribution, including source code. You can burn the ISO file to a CD using your favourite burning application. A bootable floppy disk .img file includes a minimal distribution, and should be written directly to a 1.44 Mb floppy disk. [ Windows users will need a program such as RawWrite (203K) to create the disk. Linux/UNIX users can use the built-in 'cat' or 'dd' commands ] | | | 2/15/2005 at 9:00 pm - email it |
| PC Wizard - what's in your PC? - weblink, 4 stars
PC Wizard - what's in your PC? |
Nice little utility like Belarc Advisor and Everest Home Edition. This program gives you detailed reports on all the hardware and drivers in your PC. It's able to generate reports in several formats so you can send it by email or post it in help forums.
Website - Freeware
Quote from the website - PC WIZARD 2004 is a powerful utility designed especially for detection of hardware, but also some more analysis. It's able to identify a large scale of system components and supports the latest technologies and standards. This tool is periodically updated (usually once per month) in order to provide most accurate results. PC WIZARD 2004 is also an utility designed to analyze and benchmark your computer system. It can analyze and benchmark many kinds of hardware, such as CPU performance, Cache performance, RAM performance, Hard Disk performance, CD/DVD-ROM performance, Removable/FLASH Media performance. | | | 1/23/2005 at 10:43 pm - email it |
| Power Toys for WindowsXP - Microsoft - weblink, 5 stars
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Great utilities. It's hard for me to fault the people at Microsoft sometimes. Little utilities like these make them seem a lot friendlier. I've used these lots in the past on Win95, Win98, and Millenium. I'm sure they work the same way in WinXP.
Quote from the website (review suggested by Me2)
Open Command Window Here
This PowerToy adds an "Open Command Window Here" context menu option on file system folders, giving you a quick way to open a command window (cmd.exe) pointing at the selected folder. Alt-Tab Replacement
With this PowerToy, in addition to seeing the icon of the application window you are switching to, you will also see a preview of the page. This helps particularly when multiple sessions of an application are open. Tweak UI
This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.
Version 2.10 requires Windows XP Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2003. Power Calculator
With this PowerToy you can graph and evaluate functions as well as perform many different types of conversions. Image Resizer
This PowerToy enables you to resize one or many image files with a right-click. CD Slide Show Generator
With this PowerToy you can view images burned to a CD as a slide show. The Generator works downlevel on Windows 9x machines as well. Virtual Desktop Manager
Manage up to four desktops from the Windows taskbar with this PowerToy. Taskbar Magnifier
Use this PowerToy to magnify part of the screen from the taskbar. Webcam Timershot
This PowerToy lets you take pictures at specified time intervals from a Webcam connected to your computer and save them to a location that you designate. | | | 3/28/2004 at 5:23 pm - email it |
| RAM Medic - weblink, 4 stars
RAM Medic Free - ram memory optimizer |
To be truthfull, I've always believed that these memory utilities were a waste of time. Now I'm not so sure. This seems to help prevent my system from crashing unexpectedly and I usually expect to crash after awhile. I have WinME and apparently IE6 has a bad memory leak. After I've surfed awhile I sometimes run out of memory and things go crazy. While running this program it doesn't happen without a warning at least. I don't buy into all the claims but this program may stay awhile till I get my system back on track.
Quote from the website http://www.iomatic.com/products/product.asp?ProductID=rammedic
Whether you have an older machine with a small amount of RAM, or a new faster machine with loads of it, RAM Medic will help your computer run at its best | | | 7/7/2004 at 12:01 am - email it |
| Rampage - ram management tool - weblink, 4 stars
Rampage - ram management tool |
|
Yet another memory freeing tool. I like this one better than CleanRam.
Quote from the website
Features:
Frees memory automatically, on demand, or after an application finishes running
Very low active memory footprint, and very low resource and CPU usage
Can run "hidden", which further reduces memory and resource usage
Can be run from a batch file, or via a shortcut, to free memory on a "once off" basis
Easy to install, configure and automate | | | 2/15/2005 at 9:01 pm - email it |
| RegCool - Windows Registry Editor - weblink, 5 stars
|
|
I have been looking for a good registry editor for sometime now. RegCool certainly does what I need it to do. My only concerns with it are that it takes a second or two to load the registry lists when you change hives or folders. It doesn't provide an "undo" but anyone familiar with editing registry entries is aware that you can "export" entries and Regcool does provide that feature. I like the interface much better than Regedit's and it does offer a much better search window. The address bar feature is something that I haven't seen anywhere else and it looks like it may be very useful for pasting in locations from tips and tricks I see at other websites.
Quote from the website:
RegCool is a full-featured Registry editor and manager. It allows you to cut, copy, paste, move, delete, and rename keys and values. It offers an explorer style; interface remote Registry editing; .reg and hive (Regedit and RegEdt32 compatible) file editing; import, export, backup, and restore functionality; and flexible property pages for setting keys and values. An addressbar allows you to access registry keys and values quicly. Especially practical is the option to compare various registries | | | 5/8/2004 at 4:52 pm - email it |
| Registrar Lite - weblink, 5 stars
Registrar Lite - registry editor |
|
An excellent registry tool. If you like to get your hands dirty with a little registry hacking, this editor has the features you will need. I really like the ability to copy a registry key from a text file or web page, and paste it into Registrar Lite to help me find the key in my registry.
Registrar Lite is a powerful and flexible freeware registry editor. It offers an explorer style interface which supports the clipboard and allows you to drag and drop registry keys and values.
It offers background search and replace, a bookmark editor which allows you to add descriptions to registry keys as well as advanced registry value data editors which support all existing registry data types. | | | 10/24/2004 at 10:08 pm - email it |
| RegmagiK - a registry editor for advanced users - weblink, 5 stars
RegmagiK - a registry editor for advanced users |
I received an "alert" from TightwadTech in December 2004 and I found a cool new program I could get for free. A free activation code was offered for a limited time and I tried it out. It's a great program and it's better than the one I was using. It's smaller and easily installed. I especially liked the ability to create shortcuts that jump right to a registry key. If any of you want to try out this software, Boris (the author) has offered everyone who reads my newsletter a chance at a free activation. You have to run the software and press F1 to see the serial number. Send an email to Boris with the serial number. Mention Xanga in your e-mail and get a free activation code. For those of you who aren't sure what a registry editor is, you can read about the Windows registry here.
Website - RegisterWare (Free promotional offer)
Quote from the website
RegmagiK is a Windows Registry editor for advanced users. Familiar regedit.exe user interface with unique enhancements like explorer shortcuts, fast search, and address bar with autocomplete make it the tool of choice for system administrators, software developers, QA and technical support professionals. It was tested on Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP, and Windows Server 2003. | | | 2/15/2005 at 9:02 pm - email it |
| RegmagiK - a registry editor for advanced users (special offer) - weblink, 5 stars
RegmagiK - a registry editor for advanced users (special offer) |
Earlier this week I received an "alert" from TightwadTech and I found a cool new program I could get for free. A free activation code was offered for a limited time and I tried it out. It's a great program and it's better than the one I'm using now. It's smaller and easily installed. I especially like links on desktop that jump right to the registry key. If any of you want to try out this software, Boris (the author) has offered everyone who reads my newsletter a chance at a free activation. Send an email to Boris with the serial number. You have to run the software and press F1 to see the serial number. Mention Xanga in your e-mail and get free activation.. For those of you who aren't sure what a registry editor is, you can read about the Windows registry here.
RegmagiK is a Windows Registry editor for advanced users. Familiar regedit.exe user interface with unique enhancements like explorer shortcuts, fast search, and address bar with autocomplete make it the tool of choice for system administrators, software developers, QA and technical support professionals. It was tested on Windows 98, NT, 2000, XP, and Windows Server 2003. | | | 12/14/2004 at 12:50 am - email it |
| RegShell GUI to RegSvr32 - weblink, 5 stars
RegShell Graphical Interface to RegSvr32 |
Here's a neat little utility for those of you who occasionally have to fix broken installs or help others with problems. Normally a person has to enter into the DOS command line to register or unregister dll's. This tool does it from a nice GUI.
Quote from the website http://www.freevbcode.com/ShowCode.Asp?ID=1422
This program allows to register/unregister DLLs using RegSvr32 tool which is included with Windows. This program is very easy even for beginners. Additionally, it shows a way to find windowssystem directory location properly. A handy utility that will help you avoid the inconvenience of running regsvr32 from the start menu all the time. | | | 6/15/2004 at 11:05 pm - email it |
| Review - weblink, 5 stars
Microsoft's 'Secret' Zip Utilities |
Me2 at CHC came up with this cool hack for Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000. If you can't download his batch files at CHC then you can make them by cutting and pasting into Notepad as told to below. If you want to download those files you will have to join up as a member.
Quote from Me2 at CHC
Windows ME and XP have the ability to open, create, and password-protect ZIP files (which Microsoft calls "compressed folders", for reasons only they and God know).
Windows NT, 95, 98, and 2000, however, do not include any way to handle ZIP files. By applying an obscure Windows 98 update, you can integrate ZIP capabilities into these older versions of Windows.
If you can't download the batch files at CHC, cut and paste this section in small print directly below, into Notepad and save it as 2N.bat for Windows 2000 or NT.
@ Echo Install Microsoft Zip utility
@ Echo Windows 2000
@ Echo Courtesy groups.msn.com/ComputerHelpClub
@ Echo.
MD %windir%\Temp\329048
Copy 329048*.exe %windir%\Temp\329048
CD %windir%\Temp\329048
Ren 329048*.exe 329048.exe
Start "" /wait 329048 /q:a /c /t:%windir%\Temp\329048
Copy dunzip32.dll ..\..\System32
Copy dzip32.dll ..\..\System32
Copy zipfldr.dll ..\..\System32
..\..\System32\Regsvr32 /s %windir%\System32\zipfldr.dll
CD ..
RD /s /q 329048
@ Echo.
@ Echo Zip utility install complete
If you can't download the batch files at CHC, cut and paste this section in small print directly below, into Notepad and save it as 9X.bat for Windows 95 or 98.
@ Echo Install Microsoft Zip utility
@ Echo Windows 95, 98, 98se
@ Echo Courtesy groups.msn.com/ComputerHelpClub
@ Echo.
MD %windir%\Temp\329048
Copy 329048*.exe %windir%\Temp\329048
CD %windir%\Temp\329048
Ren 329048*.exe 329048.exe
Start /wait 329048.exe /q:a /c /t:%windir%\Temp\329048
Copy dunzip32.dll ..\..\System
Copy dzip32.dll ..\..\System
Copy zipfldr.dll ..\..\System
..\..\System\Regsvr32 /s %windir%\System\zipfldr.dll
CD ..
Deltree /Y 329048
@ Echo.
@ Echo Zip utility install complete | | | 10/11/2004 at 8:52 pm - email it |
| Startup Control Panel - weblink, 5 stars
|
An easy way to control what programs start when your computer boots.
Quote from the website
Startup Control Panel is a nifty control panel applet that allows you to easily configure which programs run when your computer starts. It's simple to use and, like all my programs, is very small and won't burden your system. A valuable tool for system administrators! | | | 4/6/2004 at 10:08 pm - email it |
| subfolder - weblink, 5 stars
subfolder - create new file folders faster |
This utility has been helping people since the Windows 95 days. It reduces the number of mouse clicks it takes to make folders on the hard drives.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
SubFolders allows you to create a subfolder within another folder by right-clicking the parent folder and selecting SubFolder. This method has several advantages: It is quicker than the usual File->New->Folder - The program is faster than Windows95's built-in method - If you have a selection of files you won't lose the selection when you create the folder. You can select your files then create a new directory for them then move them there. | | | 10/24/2004 at 10:05 pm - email it |
| TaskMan - weblink, 4 stars
TaskMan - General purpose task manager |
I tried out this one because it's so very small. It's only 10k in size. It's small but it controls your runaway appps in a big way. It lists all running threads or shows the exe's that are running. It doesn't wait to kill something you don't want running. Just double click and the locked up app is a dead app. It also has a nice reboot button.
Quote from the website http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Network/4414/
This is a powerful task killer. TaskMan is better that Windows' TaskManager because it has two killing methods, one based on the executables which are running and the other on the windows (visible and invisible) that are active. Now more powerful on locked apps. | | | 6/4/2004 at 12:35 am - email it |
| Taskmanager.exe - a good replacement for Taskmon in Win9x - weblink, 5 stars
Taskmanager.exe - a good replacement for Taskmon in Win9x |
|
I like this task manager because it shows me all the file locations. It also does a good job of killing the processes you don't want running.
Windows 9x/ME doesn't really have one so I wrote one. Also, the NT Task
Manager doesn't let me terminate anything I want. I don't like training
wheels on my utilities. I thought it would be a good to know where the
file associated with the process is located on the hard drive.
TaskManager can also be used to grant additional privledges to other running
processes.
| | | 11/13/2004 at 10:11 pm - email it |
| TextCalc 1.0 - Combination Text Editor / Calculator - weblink, 4 stars
|
|
TextCalc is a really unique little utility that allows you to create a text document and do math in it as well. I don't have any use for it but I have not seen any other utilities quite like this one. The download is small all you have to do is unzip it and run it.
Quote from the website
TextCalc is a combination of an expression calculator and a text editor. Being both, it has several advantages over conventional calculators.
1) You can evaluate expressions like 9*4-2+95-12 just the way you write them on paper.
2) You can put comments besides your answer
and expressions.
3) You can save, reload, edit and print your results and expressions.
4) You do not need to write your answer down on a paper
before computing another expression, as you can leave
the previous result in the editor.
5) You can open an existing text data file and perform calculations on it.
6) You can apply an expression to many numbers at one go. For example, you can change the list 1 2 3 4 5 to 2 4 6 8 10 by multiplying each number by 2.
7) You can sum, average, convert into hex etc. a list of
numbers easily.
The editor is capable of parsing numbers and strings enclosed in double quotes " ". Numbers will be colored blue and strings will be colored red. This makes it ideal for editing files containing numeric data. | | | 5/8/2004 at 4:50 pm - email it |
| Total Uninstall - weblink, 5 stars
Total Uninstall - keep you system clean |
This utility is simply a "must have" for anyone who likes to download and install new applications.
Quote from the website http://www.martau.com/
Total Uninstall can help you to monitor any changes that were made to your system during installation of a new software product.
It allow you to perform a complete uninstall without having to rely on the supplied uninstall program which may leave files or changes behind.
To use it, you simply launch the installation program from the Total Uninstall interface and select the system areas to be monitored. The program will then create a snapshot of your system before it installs the new software and an additional snapshot after install completes. It then compares the two snapshots and displays all changes in a graphical tree view, marking all values and/or files that have been added or changed. Total Uninstall will save these changes and if you decide to uninstall the application, it will reverse the changes to the previous state. | | | 8/14/2004 at 3:14 pm - email it |
| TweakNow RegCleaner - weblink, 5 stars
TweakNow RegCleaner - clean up your pc |
|
In the past, I've tried and used several freeware registry cleaners with mostly good results. This one seems to be a little different. After I run the scan it seems to bring up a list of the ones it thinks could be problems. This is good, but I'm used to seeing a lot more entries listed by the others. I think this utility would be good to run after a scan from your regular registry cleaner to make sure everything is looking good.
... after installing and uninstalling a lot number of applications, your Windows registry will contain a large number of obsolete entries. This will significantly increase the registry size and thus will slowdown your computer, because Windows will need more time to load, search, and read data from registry.
To keep your computer in top performance, it is recommended to periodically clean your Windows registry. | | | 12/24/2004 at 11:23 am - email it |
| Unknown Devices @ Halfdone.com - weblink, 5 stars
| |
Yesterday I found a neat little utility called Unknown Devices. It goes thru all your hardware devices and helps you identify the ones that are listed as unknown by your operating system. Many of you I am sure, have seen the little yellow question marks in the device manager. This utility helped me identify and update the driver files for an old 56k modem I have. As a bonus, look at the information he has about the guy who ripped off this program and even turned it into a trojan at one point. It's all on the Unknown Devices page. I hope Catfish (the author) continues his good works despite the evil doers on the web. | | | 3/7/2004 at 11:39 pm - email it |
| WCPUID.exe - weblink, 5 stars
WCPUID.exe - PC processor and chipset identifier |
Some programs try to do everything and end up being good at nothing and become bloatware instead. WCPUID is just the opposite. It stayed small but does a terrific job identifying more than most people ever need to know about the brains of their PC.
Quote from the website http://www.h-oda.com/
WCPUID/XCPUID is the program that displays the CPU information of your personal computer.
Shows Frequency, Multiplier, Chipset Info. etc ... | | | 7/6/2004 at 11:58 pm - email it |
| WinDriversBackup v1.09 - weblink, 5 stars
WinDriversBackup v1.09 - backup all your system drivers |
Many people find that when they re-install Windows some things won't work right. Often they are missing important drivers. This utility promises to solve that problem but you must run it on a known good install before you re-install. I had tough time finding a trusted source for this download because this is the last known freeware version of this program. Once you download the installer save back a copy somewhere you won't lose it. Running WDB is very easy. Choose where you want to put the backups, then choose either Microsoft or all drivers and then click the Backup button. After WDB has done it's job you can find all the backed up drivers listed in folders with the driver names and re-installing a driver is simply a matter of locating the right one and double clicking the INF file.
Website - Download - Quote from the website
WinDriversBackup is a handy tool for backing up your Windows system driver files. Use this program to find and identify all drivers or optionally limit it to non-Microsoft drivers and then copy them to a backup directory of your choice. You can choose to copy all or only selected drivers. | | | 1/8/2005 at 2:09 am - email it |
| Winret - weblink, 5 stars
Winret - Backup and restore for Windows, Outlook, and IE. |
I had used a couple of other utilities to back up my email and IE favorites. I think they'll end up in the trash can. This one application does all that plus offers some Windows tweaks I've never seen before. For example, how would you like to turn Internet Explorer into a WYSIWYG webpage editor? You've just got to check this program out.
Quote from the website http://winret.sourceforge.net/
WinRet is a program for tuning Windows and Internet Explorer, also this program backs up and restores system Registry, program Settings and Preferences, Shortcuts, Favorites, Drivers, Internet Explorer Settings, History, Cookies and typed Urls and much more. For your convenience the program supports automatic backup/restore mode. | | | 8/14/2004 at 3:15 pm - email it |
| Winret - Backup and restore for Windows, Outlook, and IE - weblink, 5 stars
Winret - Backup and restore for Windows, Outlook, and IE. |
I had used a couple of other utilities to back up my email and IE favorites. I think they'll end up in the trash can. This one application does all that plus offers some Windows tweaks I've never seen before. For example, how would you like to turn Internet Explorer into a WYSIWYG webpage editor? You've just got to check this program out.
Website - freeware
WinRet is a program for tuning Windows and Internet Explorer, also this program backs up and restores system Registry, program Settings and Preferences, Shortcuts, Favorites, Drivers, Internet Explorer Settings, History, Cookies and typed Urls and much more. For your convenience the program supports automatic backup/restore mode. | | | 2/9/2005 at 1:27 am - email it |
| WinXPatch v0.1 - tweak XP till you're blue in the face - weblink, 5 stars
WinXPatch v0.1 - tweak XP till you're blue in the face |
Here is a great little tool for you serious tweakers out there. I haven't tried this one but it looks really cool. The author took all the XP tweaks in the "Windows Registry Guide 2003" and put them in this easy to use tool. If you really want to be safe you should download the Guide along with this program so that you know exactly what you are fooling around with. The WinXPatch download is a compressed "rar" file, so if you are not familiar with rar's (they are just like zips) then download an archiving tool that can uncompress rar files. I recommend 7-zip for jobs like that.
Website - Download - ScreenShot - Quote from the website
This version has more than 100 registry and services configurations! This is Windows XP Professional and Home patch, it can patch any thing in registry and services. This is the WinXPatch v3.0 (programmed by me in 2002), I reprogrammed and released under new fresh version 0.1 It's easy to use, check and uncheck buttons. It has all the 'Windows Registry Guide 2003' configurations for Windows XP. But instead duing it manually every single setting, this patch will do it for you. 1st select (check) what you want to patch. 2nd click patch. | | | 12/4/2004 at 5:20 pm - email it |
| X-Setup Pro - weblink, 5 stars
X-Setup Pro - Registry Tweaker |
This is a super way to tweak Windows and make it your own. X-Setup Pro is free for home users. If you are not familiar with registry settings you'll have to be really careful with this program. Read the warnings and make sure you understand what you are changing. Always backup your registry before making changes.
Quote from the website http://www.x-setup.net/product/features.asp?lang=EN
X-Setup Pro is the most complete "hacker" ever available: nearly 1,700 hidden functions can be controlled with some simple button clicks (e.g. Windows, Internet Explorer, Instant Messaging, Office, Explorer appearance, Server options, Network settings, Security...) | | | 8/14/2004 at 3:38 pm - email it |
| XPlite - trim the fat out of XP - weblink, 5 stars
XPlite - trim the fat out of XP |
Microsoft Windows is well known for being an operating system that tries to be everything for everyone. That means there are lots of extra's that most of us will never need. Over the years some people have learned how to trim Windows down to make it more stable and more secure. There are also Lite versions for Windows 98 here. The trial versions are free and do not expire.
Website - Quote from the website
This TRIAL version of XPlite Professional and 2000lite Professional is a single program that works on BOTH Windows XP and Windows 2000! That's right - one program for BOTH operating systems. Even better, the trial program is entirely self-contained. There is no bulky installation program and no un-installation program. They are not needed. Just place the program where YOU want it. An uninstall button on the about tab will remove the program entirely from your system.
The LitePC free TRIAL is yours to keep!
- Copy the TRIAL to your Windows XP or Windows 2000 desktop
- Double click on the program icon to start
- Accept the License
- Add and Remove Windows Components
Yes it really is that easy! | | | 11/20/2004 at 2:32 pm - email it |
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