10 Windows tools needed for IT professionals

In this article, I will show you 10 free Windows tools that are required for IT professionals.

1. Sysinternals Suite

When Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell ask how they can fill what they've found will become weaknesses in diagnostics and management. Windows, Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell didn't know the picture. enjoy how their tools and utilities will be on the big Windows IT community. But the problem has been answered here, it's hard to imagine a world where we don't have Process Monitor, Autoruns, RootkitRevealer and the rest of Sysinternals Suite.

There have been many changes since those early days. Russinovich was finally enchanted by Microsoft and now Russinovich is a technical director specializing in architecture solutions for Windows. Meanwhile, Sysinternals Suite has been transformed from unofficial - high-priced and admired - into a collection of backdoor attacks into the necessary tools located below the Microsoft TechNet banner.

There is not much else to say about Sysinternals except that, like all the other tools that we introduce here, they are all free tools and no Windows expert says no to them.

2. HWiNFO32

What type of CPU in the computer are you using? Does it support hardware virtualization to run Virtual Windows XP Mode in Windows 7? Is the BIOS new or old? Are all of its core hardware components running at normal voltage parameters? Are there any ingredients that are too hot or have unusual signs?
If you can't answer the above questions, you need to get a copy of HWiNFO32 right away. This is a comprehensive but free hardware inventory and diagnostic tool, HWiNFO32 lets you know everything you need to know about your computer. CPU and chip set type / rating / stepping level; runtime capability (VT, SSE, .); SMART hard drive; and countless other details - all will be revealed when you run HWiNFO32.

For sure, there are other hardware identification utilities. CPU-z, Everest and SiSoftware Sandra are all remarkable utilities. However, none of them are comparable to HWiNFO32 in terms of performance and price (because HWiNFO32 is free software). If you need to know what is inside your computer, run HWINFO32, then you'll know exactly what it is before opening the case.

3. Crap Cleaner

Windows can say there are still quite a lot of messy places. From registry entries to temporary files and folders left behind, the process of running Windows also creates a mess of computer file systems and software configuration parameters. It was this mess that made Windows tend to slow down and has since spawned a series of tools designed specifically to clean up the garbage that the Windows operating system abandoned every day.

Clean file system and registry, Crap Cleaner can clean temporary files and folders piled up and can affect system performance. This utility includes a series of special functions for typical applications and directly supports cache retention functions for web browsers. If you are careful with your deleted files, Crap Cleaner provides a safe deletion function to ensure that temporary deleted files are permanently deleted.

A free utility needed, Crap Cleaner can blow new air into temporary sick 'patients'. Before you need to use a Windows installation disc to perform a new installation completely and take a long time, experiment with the previous Cleaner Crap.

4. Recuva

Have you ever encountered a situation of accidentally deleting your important files. In this case you can be confident with the Recuva toolkit. Recuva will help you recover deleted files from most Windows compatible storage devices, including removable disks and USB drives. It works by scanning all the data on the disk and gives you the option to restore what it finds.

Recuva can operate in "quick" mode, which will check files that have been deleted under a high-level disk structure, or under "scan" mode, searching each block of data one device Your hosting. If you decide you want to permanently delete a file, Recuva can also help you perform a secure deletion to make sure no one can recover the data file you deleted.

As other tools we introduce here, Recuva is completely free. In addition, Recuva has a portable version, no installation is required, and can still be used on USB drives.

5. FileZilla

If you already have a working time supporting Windows computers, you will definitely want to be an FTP expert. That's because File Transfer Protocol is an informal way of distributing device driver upgrades and patches to Windows clients. Depending on the popularity of special shapes and models, you will have to research your company's FTP site directory structure in a mature way.

However, Windows users can access one of the available FTP clients: FileZilla. Currently in the third generation, this utility is capable of transferring a large number of files in a short time. A queue management system will help keep uploads and downloads running continuously while configuration options and protocol adjustments help ensure your data safety in any situation.

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6. Virtual CloneDrive

Microsoft likes the ISO image format. From the test versions of operating system products to security patches released every Tuesday, Microsoft often distributes the software in ISO format over other brands. So some users may be surprised when in Windows 7, the company did not integrate the ability to attach ISO images to its core operating system. Basically, if you want to use an ISO in Windows, you need to burn it to a CD or DVD.

However, there is another solution that can fix you in this situation. It is a popular tool, Virtual CloneDrive, of a third party Elaborate Bytes. Simple to use and highly compatible with all Windows and VCD versions allows users to easily mount and access ISO images. Just right-click the VCD icon located in the system tray, select Mount from the menu that appears and point to the next file to open the desired ISO file. The image will then appear as a virtual CD-ROM drive in Explorer, allowing you to access the files inside it like a real disc.

If you often need to mount and access ISO images, use a copy of Virtual CloneDrive. This is a simple way to quickly install and use (without rebooting) and provide the capabilities that Windows should have, but need to have.

7. Defraggler

There is a problem that many IT professionals are always confused with: With a new Windows release, the number of instructions and feedback from the built-in defragmenter, with Windows 7, the process is not yet available. What is clear. Meanwhile, a defragger of the original company has been released since Windows NT still retains its value.

This is a free Windows defragmentation utility, providing users with guidance on the entire defragmentation process. With Defraggler, users can stack individual files, folders or entire drives. If you need to speed up access to those heavy database files, stack them up. If you want to improve the performance of recently created files, putting free space in the drive will help you do that.

With Defraggler, you can even specify where files will be stored on the disk, transfer large files that are accessed infrequently to a final point of the disk, and frequently accessed files to the previous point easily. more access. An option to perform a well-planned background and a portable version (so you can carry it on a USB drive) shows the advantages of this free utility.

8. ImgBurn

Attaching ISO images is a great time-saving way. You can save money on physical drives and don't have to wait while they're now available in CD / DVD-write. But sometimes you still need to burn a physical CD / DVD, for example when installing a new Windows version or distributing a separate image. While there are countless commercial solutions that can allow you to do your job, most of them are too much of a utility when you just need to perform a simple burn task.

Please use ImgBurn. This simple image burning utility will allow you to transform any virtual ISO image into an image on an optical disc. This is a simple utility that has an easy-to-use interface for burning. However, not only that, its advanced modes can let you create your own images, including setting the drive format, directory structure, and countless other custom parameters.

There are indeed many other free utilities for disc burning. But none of them have the flexibility to guide and burn the process with ImgBurn. This destination is a tool that should be included in your IT support toolkit.

9. 7-Zip

Zip files are a real life. Whether you download a program installed from the web or merely switch to a PowerPoint file to your colleague, compressing the files will save you considerable time, as well as space and network bandwidth. Although Windows already has support for compressing zip files for many years, what users like is not a Microsoft utility.

7-Zip is an open source data compression utility that improves the basic capabilities of Windows, adding the ability to support other formats - including high-rate encryption algorithms - but still maintaining Its original purpose.

Unlike many complex utilities, 7-Zip is not a utility either. You will not be able to find ISO extracting functionality in 7-Zip, but just a basic file compression function, but the feature of this utility is safe, flexible and fast. If you are looking for an alternative to Windows compression, use 7-Zip instead.

10. VirtualBox

Troubleshooting a complex operating system like Windows can be quite difficult. Sometimes only one way to effectively diagnose a problem is to create a runtime environment. And the only real way to do that is to create a new physical computer through virtualization.

In IT support and help areas, VMware Workstation has had a long time to rule. Even so, the combination of a high-performance and complex feature set causes many IT professionals to switch to using more powerful but simpler utilities such as Sun Microsystems' VirtualBox. Even the open-source version of VirtualBox is available for free under the GPL; Compared to the commercial version, it only lacks USB support and RDP server so that users can connect to the remote client.

Although not fully featured like VMware Workstation, for example, it is not compatible with the Easy Install feature of Workstation for Windows clients - but VirtualBox allows users to perform quick installation, requiring little in-depth knowledge. and all the most basic. It supports Windows, Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X servers (64-bit versions), extensions for Intel VT and AMD-V hardware virtualization, OpenGL and DirectX 3D graphics acceleration, disc formats Virtual hard disk of VMware and Microsoft, and obviously there are also useful VM snapshots.

Therefore, VirtualBox seems to be less complicated than VMware Workstation on the surface, but the fact that VirtualBox 3.8 still gives users virtualization of powerful features. And like all utilities introduced in this article, VirtualBox is also released completely free of charge.