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Top Freeware Tools to Tweak Your PC!

Posted 10/27/08 at 01:30:00 PM | by David Murphy

There's a lot of stuff that goes on underneath the hood of your operating system. For the majority of you that are running a Windows OS, trying to figure out how all the bits and pieces work together is like popping the hood and wondering how you can make your car run faster. But you don't have to be a guru just to make the most out of your everyday computing experience. A number of developers have created programs to ease, and even automate, the innermost workings of Windows.

These aren't tweaking applications in the general sense of the word, as they don't offer a large number of wide modifications to supposedly speed up your OS. Rather, these freeware applications focus on specific tasks that could have a profound effect on your operating system, depending on how you use your machine. Want to modify shell extensions, alter network setting son the fly, or stop those 8 different programs from loading every time you boot up your PC. That's what you'll find in these applications... and more!

ShellExView

What it does: As the name alludes, ShellExView is a program for checking out all the different shell extensions installed on your computer. For example, when you install Winzip and suddently get a new right-click context menu in Windows Explorer that's jam-packed with Winzip features, that's a shell extension. Suppose you uninstall Winzip and, for whatever reason, the context menu stays? You'd eliminate it with ShellExView. This is the ultimate program for tweaking all the different explorer extensions that have found their way into your operating system.

Process Lasso

What it does: So you're gaming away in Warhammer when, all of a sudden, you notice that your Bright Wizard is crawling along at a snail's pace. While we would normally celebrate your soon-to-be death from the lag, as we hate Bright Wizards, we suppose that you--or anyone--would dislike an important application being interrupted as such. Odds are good that the culprit for your system slowdown is an errant program that's gone haywire. Prevent that from happening with Process Lasso. The application allows you to set kill thresholds for any process that's consuming too many CPU cycles -- perfect if you want constant, uninterrupted computer access... and more!

NetSetMan

What it does: If you use your computer at home and at work, and you find yourself having to switch through a number of different network settings with each new access point you encounter, then stop. NetSetMan is a profiling application that lets you switch through your network settings with the touch of a button. Jump over to the static IP address you've configured. Switch your DNS servers without having to type in a number. Change your PC's name, and its corresponding printer, before the ink dries on the page. NetSetMan is the ultimate power tool for an ultimate network jumper.

AutoRuns

What it does: This is one of the most important applications you should have on your computer. And strangely enough, Microsoft's the developer. AutoRuns is an amazing tool for detecting all the programs and processes that load up every time your computer boots. You might not even realize what's going on behind-the-scenes, and it could be eating up valuable system memory and/or processing power. Analyze and disable the stray, unnecessary additions to your startup and recover all the valuable seconds that you've been losing with each flick of the power switch!

Got any other awesome tweaks we've missed? Leave us a link in the comments!

COMMENTS:: 12
TAGS:: Software, open source, applications, freeware, tweaking, shellexview, process lasso, netsetman, autoruns

Comments

COMMENTS

I hate to say it...but.....
Submitted by ghot on Fri, 2008-11-07 16:05

Glary utilities and JV16 Power tools, have never been mentioned by Max
PC to my knowledge and they are the two most powerful all in on PC
cleaner-upper, start up control, reg cleaner, absolute
uninstaller...that I've ever seen. Add CCleaner (which is mentioned) an you dont really need any other programs of this ilk.

Especially JV16 Power Tools......when you PROPERLY uninstall any Google or Yahoo app....and I do mean properly....there are 1000's (if not more) registry entries left...and they aren't quiet entries either.

JV16 Power Tools, not only finds them, but removes and prevents their return.

Glary Utilities is freeware and potent, JV16 Power Tools, isn't free, unless you get the last free version.

The last free version (XP only) can be found here: http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/index.html

The newest (XP or Vista) Vista interface-like version can be found here: http://www.macecraft.com/

I recommend every one use all three programs for complete PC happiness. I've used them for years with nary a complaint. The free JV16 will not work on Vista though. But for that I blame MS :)

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replace Task Manager
Submitted by AngryGod on Thu, 2008-10-30 16:04

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in summary AnvirTaskManagerPro $30USD

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There's a few other free
Submitted by Shalbatana on Tue, 2008-10-28 08:37

There's a few other free things I would mention that MaxPC never has, they're not all "programs" but they're all useful.

Browser Call and Autorun - makes autorun files for cd's that will execute any html page, executable or indeed any file type you need on CD insertion.

HFSExplorer can allow you to access mac drives and extract files to your PC.

FreeUndelete - you can guess what this does.

Printkey2000 - Try as you like, this free release from years ago is still the best screen capture utility.

I'm sure I have more somewhere.

_______________________________

"There's no time like the future."

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File types
Submitted by fdwhacker on Tue, 2008-10-28 08:24

No comment.

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Can't remember the name...
Submitted by musicman172001 on Mon, 2008-10-27 21:41

There's a program that I'm pretty sure has been featured in MPC long ago but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is called. It was a Windows Explorer type utility that showed a graphical layout in colored blocks of the files/folders contained on your PC. The larger the file the bigger the block. It was incredibly useful in terms of figuring out what was taking up the most space on your HDD in order to do some house keeping. I'd love to get my hands on a copy of it again.

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It's called Sequoia view.
Submitted by Shalbatana on Tue, 2008-10-28 08:24

It's called Sequoia view. It's still very useful, but hasn't seen much in the way of updates.

_______________________________

"There's no time like the future."

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Also Space Monger does this.
Submitted by rancidjello on Tue, 2008-10-28 01:14

Also Space Monger does this.

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WinDirStat
Submitted by nduanetesh on Mon, 2008-10-27 22:47

I think you're talking about WinDirStat.

Check it out here:

http://windirstat.info/

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That's the one! Thanks!
Submitted by musicman172001 on Tue, 2008-10-28 09:23

That's the one! Thanks!

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Smartclose
Submitted by mls067 on Mon, 2008-10-27 12:42

I use this before I game. You can edit it to keep anything you like open, and when you're done you can enable everything without a shut down (I do that anyway just because I'm like that)

Oh and it's a freebie

http://bmproductions.fixnum.org/smartclose/index.htm

http://bmproductions.fixnum.org/

Thier home page

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Does Process Lasso a better
Submitted by billysundays on Mon, 2008-10-27 13:11

Does Process Lasso a better replacement for the Task Manager in XP? If not, what do you guys recommend as a better alternative to the Task Manager, or at least a way to make it look prettier sitting in the system tray?

Also, I couldn't get ShellExView to list all the shell extension, like "Open with Adobe Reader" or "Add to Windows Media Player list". Any clue, Murphy?

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Those aren't shell
Submitted by fdwhacker on Tue, 2008-10-28 08:24

Those aren't shell extensions, they're file types. You can edit them in the Folder Options dialog box under the File Types tab.

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