there are millions of utilities - these are the ones I actually use, and the ones I consider "must haves"
for just about any utility ever created, go to www.tucows.com - they have a great rating system from 1 to 5 cows
Utilities
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there are millions of utilities - these are the ones I actually use, and the ones I consider "must haves" |
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for just about any utility ever created, go to www.tucows.com - they have a great rating system from 1 to 5 cows |
ACDSEE v3.2 - very old . . . but the BEST IMAGE viewer ever !! A MUST HAVE !!! Lightning fast. Beats the more recent versions hands-down because they added a lot of features and slowed it way down. This one opens the pic that you double-click on instantly - then allows you to cycle through all pics in that folder with the Spacebar (or back-space to go back) - or view all pics as thumbnails by double-clicking anywhere on the single pic that you are viewing.
AC3 Utility - Softencode - fantastic little AC3 maker with full Dolby 5.1 (6 channels). You can decode an AC3 file into 6 wavs, or encode 6 wavs into an AC3. Included here is a How-To guide with sample wavs . . . if you follow the instructions, you can play it on your 5.1 system and hear a voice say "Left Front" and have it actually come out of the left front speaker - Cool !!
Adaptec ASPI v4.60 Adaptec ASPI v4.71 Nero ASPI Win95-98-ME Nero ASPI Win200-XP - ASPI drivers for your system !! For installation of the most stable, Adaptec v4.60 drivers on any Windows system, see http://radified.com/ASPI/forceaspi.htm
AVG Antivirus - Free !!!!! from Gisoft.com - this has been tested by TechTV and it found all the viruses they "put in" including Email Viruses. What's the catch? There is none - except there is no support - but when was the last time you contacted Symantec or McAfee for support ??? Grisoft even has regular updates, just like the pay utilities do. For updates, go Here
ASPI Boot Disk with DOS ASPI Drivers - first create a bootable Win98 SE disk and then copy all files to it
Font Viewer - best Font Viewer available. Includes filters (you can view only True Type, or only Type 1, etc.).
File Splitter - simple, cheap (free) file splitter - perfect for emailing large files in pieces. The receiver does not have to have the utility loaded on their PC - they can use the DOS command "copy /b segment1+segment2+ . . . etc."
Flash Movie Extract Pilot - every now and then you will see a cute, adorable Flash Movie or Intro that you just gotta have !! This little gem opens up and immediately gives you a list of all Flash animations that you have played recently. So make sure you play the entire flash first - to get it saved to your drive - then open the Extract Pilot. See our How to Save Streaming Media page - which also has the code required for putting a flash movie (swf file) on your website.
3D Text Utility - with Gold, Chrome and Bevels (Web 3D) - discontinued Ulead tool - create stunning Metal, or colored 3D text. Template files included.
TweakUI (Win95-98-ME) or TweakUI (WinXP) - an absolute must - includes all sorts of windows tweaks and fixes. Can remove the "shortcut to", automatically logon to Windows, repair fonts, rebuild all shortcuts, etc.
FTP Client (WS-FTP) - this is the LE free edition but has everything you need for FTP transfers - no need for the $40 full version
TJping - how anyone can live without TJping is beyond me. You can ping in a DOS box, so no need for that. But this utility has a fantastic trace feature which I have used many times. It also has a simple lookup (finger) function. Here is a screenshot
Autoruns - lists all the executables that are configured to automatically start when you boot Windows. You will find quite a few programs just taking up system resources with this - then go and shut-em-down !!
Autoruns Manager (Startup Control Panel) - similar to Autoruns but has checkboxes for removing startups (does not delete files - just stops them from starting with Windows bootup)
DelPart - delete any partition - this is needed if you have a non-DOS partition (Linux, IBM OS2, etc) and want to get rid of it. Fdisk can delete DOS partitions, so you won't need this for that purpose.
ASPI Check - did you know that Win2000-XP by default, have no ASPI layer? Yet many CD utilities require an ASPI layer to access the CD in RAW mode, and many of them install their own, so you can end up with 0 . . . or on the other extreme, 4 or 5 ASPI layers !! This will identify which, if any, ASPI layer your system is currently using. If you have none - download one from Adaptec, your CD drive's manufacturer's website, or click Here to visit the Force ASPI site and download a popular and highly compatible ASPI driver.
MemClean (Win95-98-ME-2000-XP) - regain unused memory - for all versions of Windows (but use FreeRAM for WinXP - it's better). Perfect tool to place on your Quick Launch toolbar
FreeRAM XP Pro (WinXP) - regain unused memory - perfect tool to place on your Quick Launch toolbar
SMoney - incredibly useful loan amortization tool. Calculates loan amount, principal, interest, or duration of the loan.
FavTool - convert bookmarks from IE > Netscape or Netscape > IE
Daemon Tools v3.33 - this is the most popular CD emulator. It will make your PC think the original, valid CD is inserted into a valid CD drive (see http://www.daemon-tools.cc for more info).
XVI32 - the best Hex Editor available - and it's free !!! Offers search & replace for both Hex and ASCII strings.
DiskMon - ever had your drive sunddenly start chattering away and you have no idea what the heck is running? Simply start Disk Monitor, and watch the disk seeks occurring . . . fingering the process that has hijacked your PC. Much better than Norton Utilities Fsspy.
Mem86 - RAM (memory) tester. Run it from a boot disk. Everyone needs to test their Memory once in a blue Moon !!
Intel Chipset ID - instantly displays your Chipset ID, Memory Controller, and I/O Controller
Bulk Rename - best file re-namer I've found. All sorts of wildcard combinations can be used - very flexible.
RoboText - instantly fills in commonly typed text. For example, if your name is William G. Spencer - set it up so that whenever you type wi followed by a space, your name is entered. Do the same for address, etc. This needs to insert an autostart in the system tray to work.
Softencode - fantastic little AC3 maker with full Dolby 5.1 (6 channels). You can decode an AC3 file into 6 wavs, or encode 6 wavs into an AC3. Included here is a How-To guide with sample wavs . . . if you follow the instructions, you can play it on your 5.1 system and hear a voice say "Left Front" and have it actually come out of the left front speaker - Cool !!
Wmixer16 - this is the classic SoundBlaster Wmixer utility. On many systems it is the only way to get an extra boost in volume or recording levels. Hard to find these days, but very useful. Does not work with all sound cards.
