Workers' Edge

Sometimes it seems like you need to be a software engineer to understand how to keep Windows running smoothly. That's why I appreciate free utilities that collect various Windows settings and make the OS easier to customize.

Last May, I described two utilities that improve Vista's performance: Stardock's $20 Tweak Vista and Iolo Technologies' $40 System Mechanic. A week earlier, I wrote about two other Vista tweaking tools: the free Ultimate Windows Tweaker from Microsoft MVP Anand Khanse and WareSoft Software's $30 Vista Smoker Pro.

All four of these programs have their pluses and minuses, but I clearly preferred the two most expensive options. I'm still looking for a free Windows tweaking tool with the best features of the fee-based apps. I thought I found it in TweakNow PowerPack 2009, but despite some very nice touches, a couple of important features failed when I tested the beta of version 1.6.1.

Dozens of Windows tools at your fingertips
Among TweakNow PowerPack's many tools are disk and Registry cleaners, a memory optimizer, startup manager, uninstaller, and personal-information eraser. The program also makes all your system information easy to find, including your processor model and cache types and sizes, network settings, and Windows configuration.

If you're concerned about security (who isn't?), you'll find plenty of TweakNow options to your liking. For instance, you can set Windows to shut down after a set period and limit users' access to context-menu items, Control Panel applets, and Windows Explorer's Folder Options. You can also reduce the amount of time Windows waits before shutting down an unresponsive service or application, add or remove items from the Start menu and submenus, and insert a legal notice in the Welcome screen.

When you enable TweakNow PowerPack's RAM Optimizer, an icon is added to the taskbar's notification area (near the clock) that shows the percentage of memory currently in use. Hover over the icon to view your system's free RAM and the percentage of CPU cycles in use.

Mixed up UAC tweaker and an uninstaller that doesn't
There are plenty of features to like in TweakNow PowerPack—I haven't even mentioned the program's ability to brand IE's Title Bar—but ultimately the utility failed in two important areas.

First, my repeated attempts to uninstall a virtualization program came up empty. After running the TweakNow uninstaller, the program prompted me to restart to complete the process. The shutdown took several minutes, but when my test machine restarted, the virtualization program was still in place. I eventually uninstalled the program using the free Revo Uninstaller utility I described in a post last week.

The second failure was more disturbing. After I changed TweakNow PowerPack's User Account Control setting from the default Medium to Strong, I wasn't able to revert to the Medium setting. (The Strong setting requires that you enter an administrator password whenever you attempt to perform an administrator-only activity, while the Medium setting needs only a single click to continue the process.)

I was able to change the TweakNow UAC setting to Weak, which removes the UAC prompt for most administrator operations. However, each time I reverted to the Medium option, the Strong setting was selected when I restarted the PC and reopened the program. I was ultimately able to get the Medium setting back via Vista's own Security Center applet.

Even with these glitches, I can see myself coming to rely on TweakNow PowerPack for most of my Windows maintenance chores—the program's Registry Cleaner is particularly handy. After all, you can't really expect any beta to be flawless, and there's a good chance the vendor will address the program's shortcomings in future updates.

At or near the top of the list of aggravations for new PC owners is the trial version of a program that came preinstalled on the system refusing to uninstall once the trial period expires. The irritation really peaks when the product in question is from Microsoft.

Before I could install a bought-and-paid-for copy of Outlook 2007 on my laptop, I had to uninstall the trial version of Office Enterprise 2007 that was preinstalled on the machine's hard drive when I bought it several months ago. Very early in the uninstall process, an alert popped up reporting Error 1310 and instructing me to verify that I had access to a certain directory.

I decided to try the uninstall again using the free Revo Uninstaller utility. In addition to cleaning up the Registry entries, files, folders, and other refuse that the program's own uninstaller misses, Revo Uninstaller finds and deletes junk files on your PC and performs other cleanup duties.

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With every new version of Windows, Microsoft tries yet again to give us a fast, simple, and customizable way to open, save, and view the files stored on our PCs. From what I've seen of Windows 7, we can't expect any revolutionary changes to Windows Explorer and the standard folder windows and dialog boxes.

I guess I've gotten so used to the same-old Explorer views that it's a genuine eye-opener when a free program such as Code Sector's Direct Folders gives file and folder management a whole new perspective. The program adds an icon to the taskbar's notification area that lets you jump quickly to your recently opened documents, favorite folders, and just about any other location on your PC.

The program also enlarges folder windows and standard Open, Save, and other dialog boxes to let you view more items without scrolling. Above the window, Direct Folders places an information box that shows the complete folder path of the selected item along with the amount of free space on the disk. Select any part of the folder path to jump to that location. Double-click an empty area of folder windows and dialog boxes to open the Direct Folders menu.

You can customize your Direct Folders shortcuts by clicking the program's taskbar icon and selecting Configure. The Organize Favorites tab lets you change the destination of your shortcuts, the icon they use, and even give the shortcut an alternative destination that you reach by Shift-clicking it.

Other configuration options let you change the number of shortcuts the program displays on its menu, assign keyboard shortcuts for the items, change the number of recent items, resize file dialogs, and set the default view and sort option for specific folders. You can also add applications you want to track via the program and customize their recent-items lists.

The Pro version of the utility costs 14.95 euros and adds the ability to check the amount of free space on each of your PC's drives from the Save dialog, change each application's default Save folder, and automatically select the last file opened in that folder. You can also create subfolders for folders on the main Direct Folders menu.

There's nothing particularly earth-shattering in Direct Folders--just a lot of nice file and folder touches that make working in Windows a little quicker and easier. Makes you wonder why Microsoft couldn't have built some of these time-savers directly into Windows' common dialogs.

PC users don't agree on much, but they're close to unanimous in their low opinion of Vista's performance. There are plenty of manual tweaks you can make to grease Vista's skids--I ran down five of them a couple of weeks ago. You can also use one of the many Vista utilities to optimize the operating system. I described the free Ultimate Windows Tweaker and $29.95 Vista Smoker Pro in a post last week.

Two other commercial Vista system tools are Stardock's $19.95 TweakVista and System Mechanic from Iolo Technologies, which costs $39.95 for the first year as part of a limited-time promotion ($49.95 is the regular price) and $29.95 per year thereafter. Unfortunately, TweakVista does little to automate Vista system-tuning, and while System Mechanic provides a range of Vista tune-up and customization options, casual PC users may find the program's price tough to justify.

Vista tweaker's trial version is pretty worthless
Several years ago, I discovered Stardock's $19.95 WindowBlinds utility that customizes the appearance of Windows XP (there's also a version for Vista). Based on my experience with that program, I had high hopes for the company's TweakVista utility, but using TweakVista was a big letdown.

The first unpleasant surprise was that many--if not most--of the program's features are unavailable in the trial version. My impression of TweakVista didn't improve much once I got the full-function release. The program displays plenty of system information, but it lacks the one-click performance and maintenance tools found in similar utilities.

For example, the Assessment Overview screen shows the same information as Vista's Performance and Information Tools applet in Control Panel. Likewise, the start-up screen's Programs tab merely lists your start-up apps. I expected to see more information about each entry when I clicked its question-mark icon, but instead I saw a pop-up indicating that no information about the program was available.

The Profile tab on TweakVista's Services screen lets you select from a handful of preconfigured user types, including games, media center, or server. However, the various options don't give you any information about the configuration beyond one descriptive phrase.

You get more information when you mouse over the options listed under the Features tab of the Services window, but clicking the question-mark icons for the entries under the Advanced tab generated the same "no information available" pop-up as in the Startup Programs entries.

While TweakVista puts plenty of system information in one place, the shortage of information about the program's options and the lack of clearly defined one-click fixes limit the utility's usefulness. Vista Smoker Pro does a much better job in both areas for just $10 more.

A wealth of system tools at a high price
System Mechanic's lineup of performance and maintenance helpers is impressive, and the program's single-click tuneup options are real time-savers. Even with these useful tools, the program's big price tag makes it difficult to recommend for your average, everyday Vista user. Still, anyone looking for the full complement of system tools in a single package will be pleased with this utility's breadth and depth.

I started by using System Mechanic's one-click repair option, which reported that my Registry had 221 "problems." Since I had recently tuned up my test system, the high number of Registry orphans surprised me. The scan also pointed out 14 security vulnerabilities, multimegabytes of system clutter, and three unnecessary start-up items.

You get more granular control over the program's cleanup tools by choosing one of the Automated Tasks in the ActiveCare section. These include disk cleanup, Registry scrubbing, start-up optimization, disk defragging, and Internet-connection tweaks. I was particularly impressed with System Mechanic's disk defragger, which completed the defrag in just a few minutes and shows its progress in a multicolored graph.

Browsing the tools and system information offered by System Mechanic made me wish Vista had the same fast and easy-to-use system tools. As helpful and informative as the program can be, its initial license--even with the $10 discount--and the subsequent $30-per-year fee make System Mechanic an extravagance for most PC users.

Last week, I described five ways to squeeze a little more juice out of Vista by using features built into the operating system. A simpler approach that achieves the same system-tuning effects is to use a utility that lets you make the same type of Registry edits and configuration changes without having to navigate 10 rows deep into some obscure hierarchy of "keys" with undecipherable names.

I looked at a free program from Microsoft MVP Anand Khanse called Ultimate Windows Tweaker and the $29.99 Vista Smoker Pro from WareSoft Software (as close to a palindrome as company names get). The freebie acted up a bit on my 64-bit Vista machine, but it's suitable for casual system tweakers. Those who are even a little serious about fine-tuning their PCs will find Vista Smoker Pro worth the investment. A full-function, seven-day trial version is available, so you can take the program out for a spin before you buy.

(As always before making any Registry changes, make a backup of your Registry by creating a restore point. Better yet, get a copy of the free Emergency Recover Utility NT (ERUNT), which works on all versions of Windows, despite the name.)

Ultimate Windows Tweaker tries to be Tweak UI for Vista
There's a lot to like about this Vista enhancer, though the program falls short of its goal of being Tweak UI for Vista. Also, every time I used the utility to change a Vista setting, an error message popped up stating that the change couldn't be made when in fact it was in effect. To top it off, the option to Send Error Report was grayed out.

You're not likely to need all 130-plus tweaks the program packs into its 380KB executable file. Still, with just a half-dozen clicks on two or three screens you can make changes that in Vista require navigating through dozens of arcane, out-of-the-way windows and dialog boxes.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker's System Performance options let you shorten the wait for hanging apps and processes and quicken your menus via slider controls. You can also make changes to user accounts and User Account Control, change your security settings, and alter the Vista interface.

Maximize your system-tweak options with Vista Smoker Pro
You could spend the better part of an afternoon twiddling with the many settings in Vista Smoker Pro. Of course, you'll gain a good portion of that time back via Vista's enhanced speed. The program gives you more than 20 categories of tweaks that cover start-ups, disk cleaning, services, passwords, and--of course--performance.

My favorite Vista Smoker Pro feature is the Control Center, which puts just about every Vista research two or three clicks away. The Startup Manager lets you view and delete start-up items in more than a dozen far-flung Registry keys. But one of the nicest touches of the program is its main screen, which shows your system's total RAM and page-file size, as well as the amount of each in use and free.

Anyone who frequently accesses Vista configuration settings will save plenty of time reaching into the OS' various nooks and crannies by using Vista Smoker Pro.

The other day, my friend Howard asked me about an error message that appeared whenever he tried to open Internet Explorer on his aging Windows XP machine. After a little basic long-distance troubleshooting (Howard lives on the other side of the country), we determined that it wasn't a problem with his network connection.

Howard isn't very tech-savvy, unfortunately. (He's a handicapping wiz, though, which explains why he needed to get back online--he had a longshot lined up at Gulfstream.) My brother Larry, who lives in the same town as Howard, restored his Web access by logging him into another user account on the PC. But that didn't fix the original problem.

I suspected it was because of a bad memory module. Normally, I would recommend downloading the free, open-source MemTest86+ memory-testing utility to a floppy disk or CD and then booting from that disk or CD to test the machine's memory modules. (MemTest86+ is actually donationware, so if you find it useful, consider tossing a couple of ducats into the virtual hat.)

Memory-testing utilities are a challenge to use
This would be a relatively easy procedure for anyone with more-than-average PC experience, but it takes a little more technical background than Howard possesses. The first problem is talking Howard through the process of downloading the program to a removable, bootable medium. A floppy we might manage, but I doubt Howard has ever burned a CD.

Next is ensuring that his PC's BIOS is set to allow booting from either a floppy or a CD. I could probably talk Howard through the process of entering his PC Setup program, but having him navigate and alter its settings is too perilous for me. The chances of rendering his PC unusable are too great.

Even if we got the program onto a floppy or CD and managed to boot the machine from the disk, Howard would have to run the memory-testing utility and make sense of the results. MemTest86+ is not known for its crystal-clear interface, and the program's documentation is nearly nonexistent.

There are some alternative memory-testing utilities. DocMemory from SimmTester.com is similar to MemTest86+: it's free (at least for a limited time), it runs off a floppy, and it's a challenge to use, though it's better documented than MemTest86+.

Another option is Microsoft's Windows Memory Diagnostic, which is offered through the company's Online Crash Analysis site. Windows Memory Diagnostic works much like the other two memory testers, but its tests are more basic. The program is well documented, and its test results are easy to find.

Skip the testing and just swap out the modules?
Ultimately, it would be simpler and less time-consuming for Howard to open his PC's case, remove the existing memory modules one at a time, and restart the machine to determine whether the problem recurs. If it doesn't, he can take the bad module he just removed to his local electronics store and buy a new one of the same type--though maybe with a larger storage capacity.

If Howard's PC has only one memory module, he can simply try placing it in another memory slot on his system board just in case the problem is the slot rather than the module itself. If changing the slot doesn't solve the problem, Howard can buy a new module of the same type, put the new stick in the memory slot, restart the machine, and see if that works.

If the new module doesn't change anything, Howard will have to make another trip to the store to return it. He'll be back at square one, though he'll know memory modules aren't the source of the glitch. What really bugs me about the situation is how difficult it is to determine whether your PC's memory has gone bad. Why can't our systems diagnose themselves and help us fix them? OK, I'm dreaming, I know. But some day....

Some memory-troubleshooting helpers
A great resource for diagnosing your PC's memory woes is on the PCStats site. The Microsoft Developer Network offers a comprehensive description of system error codes. And one of my favorite diagnostic utilities is the free Error Messages for Windows by Gregory Braun.

I'll continue the saga of Howard's error-code-generating PC in a future post--if I can ever get him off the handicapping pages.

I wouldn't give you a nickel for all the system tools that come with Windows. That's because I can replace them with programs that do the job better without spending even that much.

Start with the firewall, which most people would consider an indispensable piece of software. Windows Defender's firewall is better than none at all, but not by much. Of the free alternatives, my favorite is the Comodo Firewall Pro. I described why and how I switched from ZoneAlarm to Comodo in a post from last February.

Since that time, I replaced the Comodo firewall and all my other free security apps with a commercial security suite. For me, the convenience of a single security program is worth paying for.

However, I recognize that many people will gladly put up with maintaining several individual apps if they can save a few dollars. For them, Comodo's a good firewall choice. Popular antivirus programs that are free for home use are AVG, Avira AntiVir, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, ESET NOD32, and Avast.

Top-rated spyware blockers include Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy, and Spyware Blaster.

Plenty of better browsers
Internet Explorer 7 has been a big improvement over IE 6, and early reports are that IE 8 will be a big step up from the current release. But Internet Explorer isn't even my fifth favorite browser, trailing (in no particular order) Firefox, Opera, SeaMonkey, Chrome, and Safari.

I acknowledge that some people have to use Internet Explorer--maybe their organization requires it--but the rest of us have no excuse for limiting ourselves to a single browser. The NoScript add-on (donationware) that lets you block scripts in Firefox is reason enough to use that browser. IE has nothing to compare with it.

One-step cleanup tool is the multitasking champ
I'm surprised that so many PC users don't know about Piriform's CCleaner (donationware), which does the job of about a half-dozen Windows applets. Along with a disk cleaner, you get a program uninstaller, a start-up manager, and a Registry checker.

You have to exercise a little restraint the first few times you run CCleaner, which empties your Recycle Bin, clears your Internet history, and performs other irreversible system chores. Still, I've been using CCleaner for several years and haven't had any problems with the program yet.

A new alternative for shoring up your drive's sectors
In a post from last March, I described the free Disk Defrag utility from Auslogics. My new favorite free disk defragger is another Piriform product, Defraggler (donationware). The program recovered 20GB of lost space on my laptop's 200GB hard drive, though in my unscientific tests it seemed to take longer to complete the defragmentation than it does when using Disk Defrag. This might indicate that Defraggler's doing a more thorough job, but maybe not.

You can also defrag from a command prompt. To open a command prompt in Vista, press the Windows key, type cmd, and press enter. In XP, click Start > Run, type cmd, and press Enter. The Vista Forums provide a detailed explanation of the many options you have when you defrag the DOS way.

Some people claim defragging does nothing to speed up your system. Even though my notebook wasn't necessarily low on disk space, I'll take that recovered 20GB any day.

Freebies for inveterate system tweakers only
Sysinternals, which is now part of Microsoft, offers a solid lineup of utilities for digging deep into Windows' darkest corners. Two of my favorites are Process Explorer and its cousin, Process Monitor. Once you get a handle on the information they present, the programs give you as complete a glimpse inside Windows--in real time--as you'll find anywhere.

It's easy to find out how much RAM is installed on your system: right-click My Computer in XP or Computer in Vista and choose Properties to see your total system memory and other information about your PC under the General tab.

But where do you look to find the amount of RAM currently in use? (Vista's Reliability and Performance Monitor shows the percent of used physical memory, but I haven't been able to find the equivalent in XP.) Or your BIOS version and date? Or the amount of free storage on your hard drive? Or how long your PC has been on?

You'll find this and similar system information in various nooks and crannies of Windows' settings dialog boxes, or you could get it all in one place with Sepanta Soft's Easy Vista Manager and Easy XP Manager utilities.

For a limited time, the Vista version of the program costs $30, and the XP version is priced at $20. You can try either one 15 times for free. That's plenty to determine whether the utilities are worth the investment. If you're the type of person who likes to have total control over your system settings, you'll likely consider those prices a bargain.

Pinpoint control over hardware, software, Web browsing
Here's a partial list of the settings you can change via the utilities:
—Disable USB storage devices
—Disable CD burning and auto-run
—Prevent writing to USB storage devices
—Disable the Windows key
—Disable file downloads in IE
—Disable password caching
—Disable Registry editing tools
—Restrict access to Windows Update
—Disable Control Panel
—Control access to Windows' appearance settings
—Limit the applications users can run
—Restrict access to Taskbar and Start Menu Properties
—Disable Recent Documents history, or clear the list on exit
—Disable System Restore, or restrict access to System Restore settings

The programs give you an unprecedented level of control over Windows settings of all types. For example, not only can you freeze the size and position of the taskbar, you can remove the networking, volume control, battery meter, and other system-tray icons. Other settings let you automatically end hung applications, set the time before killing a service, or alter the time a hung app has to respond before being quashed.

Two of my other favorite features in the utilities are easy customization of the right-click (context) menu to add items to the Send To list, for example, and the ability to change the color of the command prompt. (You can also change the size of thumbnails and reset their quality level from 1 percent to 100 percent.) The Vista version of the programs lists all the system, disk, file, network, security, and other utilities installed on your PC (from Microsoft and third parties) for fast access to their features.

Finally, if you've ever wanted to add a message to the logon screen, Easy Vista Manager and Easy XP Manager provide text fields for this very purpose. A company might find this feature handy for adding an alert about system-usage restrictions or some other legal notice, but I can also see it being used to remind your kids to finish their homework before they start their online-gaming session.

Interface bug in the XP version
The fly in Easy XP Manager's ointment is a weird interface bug that hides options on some screens. For example, the General Security window is cut off at the bottom and on the left side, putting several options out of view. Likewise, the Control Panel window under the Security tab fails to show the options at the bottom of the window.

You would think that a program at version 5.5.3 would have these types of bugs worked out, but despite the interface quirks, Easy XP Manager and Easy Vista Manager put all of your system settings and information in one easy-to-reach place.

Tomorrow: Get more out of Microsoft Office AutoComplete settings.

A couple of times a year, I check the list of autostart programs in Windows XP's System Configuration Utility (aka Msconfig) to see if any apps that I don't need to start automatically have snuck onto the roster.

The older my PC gets, the more important it is to avoid slowing down XP's start-ups as the OS loads programs I'll probably never use.

(Note that the $30 WinPatrol, the free CCleaner, and many other Windows utilities can be used to prevent applications from starting with Windows.

Here, I'm focusing on the tools built into XP. Also, the Software Explorer component of Vista's Windows Defender security application gives you a clearer view of the OS's autostart applications. I'll describe that program tomorrow.)

Msconfig-uring out CTFmon
To view your autostart apps in Msconfig, press the Windows key (or Ctrl-Esc), press R, type msconfig.exe, and press Enter. The last time I checked the list, I noticed an entry for CTFmon.exe. This is an extension for Microsoft Office XP, 2003, and 2007 that enables speech and handwriting recognition, as well as other language functions. Unchecking the program's option in Msconfig does no good because it returns to the list automatically the next time Windows loads.

Microsoft's support site describes a convoluted, multistep process for removing the program from your start-up list. You begin by deactivating it in Microsoft Office via the Control Panel's Add or Remove Programs applet, then you change settings in the Regional and Language Options, and finally, you delete two DLLs manually from the Run box.

"There's gotta be a better way," I thought, as I read through Microsoft's instructions. There is. Gerhard Schlager's CTFMON-Remover does the trick in a fraction of the time. Simply unzip the download file, double-click CtfmonRemover.exe, and select Deactivate CTFMON.EXE. Step through the short wizard, and the program is removed automatically (the option "Is the CTFMON.EXE installed?" switches from a green "Yes" to a red "No.")

Pruning your list of autostart apps
Uncheck the programs on XP's autostart list that you don't need to have on all the time. Candidates include iTunes, Adobe Acrobat, and utilities for cameras, printers, PDAs, and other peripherals you rarely use. (I noticed that my system was loading control programs for a printer I replaced six months ago.)

Of course, an entry such as the one on my PC for a discarded printer indicates that you're overdue in uninstalling the program altogether, either by using its own uninstall option off the Start menu, or via Add or Remove Programs.

If an entry in your autostart list is unidentifiable, enter the name in your favorite Web search engine, and look for information about it. That's how I found out that I didn't need "point32.exe", which is for Microsoft's IntelliMouse, nor "nwiz.exe", Nvidia's program for "enhancing" my graphics display with features I'll never use.

Just be careful not to uncheck the entry for an autostart program that your system needs to function properly. Keep the entries for your antivirus, firewall, and other security programs checked. Also leave active the listings for your network and Windows itself, as well as for printer and other peripherals you use frequently. When in doubt, leave it checked, though a Web search should shine a light on any mystery file names you find there.

Msconfig craziness
Whenever you make a change in Msconfig, the program prompts you to restart your system. To prevent the message from popping up in the future, check "Don't show this message again" before you click either Restart or Exit without restarting. The next time you start your PC, you'll see a message stating that the System Configuration utility started in "Diagnostic or Selective Startup" mode. Check "Don't show this message or start up the System Configuration Utility when Windows starts," reopen Msconfig, press the General tab, and select Normal Startup > OK > Exit without restart.

Tomorrow: Pare your list of autostart applications in Windows Vista via the Software Explorer.