System Utility Software

[Martin Boekers]

I am looking to purchase some System Utility Software. I like Win Zip then I found out it is a yearly subscription base.
It seems now more companies are going that way. I'd prefer to stay away from that.

Should I go with Win Zip or does anyone have other recommendations.


Thanks!

[Myk Rian]

Winzip is free. I've used for years.
Just keep using the Evaluation version when it starts.

[Greg Portland]

I like 7-zip; it handles more compression formats.

[Martin Boekers]

I have Win Zip, but this is a System Utility Version, it deletes duplicate files, fixes registry issues, defrag etc.

When I called Corel questioning the annual fee they wern't aware of it. I had to point it out so that must be new.

[Larry Browning]

There are several System Utility Suites out there. Many are shareware or free.
For a good start have a look over at Gizmos Freeware Review under PC-Tuneup software.
There are all sorts of paid versions of these as well. However, my experience with these has been that many of them are actually scams and can do more damage than good.
It is probably better to find just the tools you need and use rather than one that does everything. Sort of like a Shopsmith vs dedicated tools. The Shopsmith does lots of functions, but none of them well.

[paul cottingham]

Izarc is terrific, and free.

[Martin Boekers]

Thanks Larry, that is more of what I am looking for!

[Larry Browning]

Thanks Larry, that is more of what I am looking for!

You are welcome! Whenever I am in the market for software I always go to Gizmo's first.

Please be careful using these PC tuneup programs (free or otherwise). You can easily cause more damage than good. I have found that finding a stand alone program for a specific task I want to do usually works out better. For instance I really like CCleaner for basic cleanup chores, such as registry and cache cleanup, or Duplicate Cleaner for duplicate file finder.

[Matt Meiser]

Winzip is free. I've used for years.
Just keep using the Evaluation version when it starts.

From their license agreement at http://www.winzip.com/win/en/eula.htm:

EVALUATION SOFTWARE. If the Software is identified as a demonstration, evaluation, trial, "not for sale" ("NFS") or "not for resale" ("NFR") version ("Evaluation Version") in the applicable user documentation You may install and access one (1) copy of the Software only for the purpose of evaluation and/or demonstration. Unless You are authorized by Corel, You may not use Our Software for competitive analysis, or commercial, professional, or other for-profit purposes. You understand that at the end of the evaluation period, You must either stop using the Software or pay for the Software to continue using it. If You fail to pay for it, then Your license terminates. Upon expiration of the evaluation period, You will immediately discontinue use of the Evaluation Version and delete and destroy all electronic copies of the Evaluation Version including, but not limited to, all user documentation that may have been provided as part of the evaluation from Your computer and any other computer devices on which You have installed the Evaluation Version. Any attempt to circumvent any expiration date technology is in violation of this EULA and will automatically and immediately terminate Your license to use the Evaluation Version. Notwithstanding the foregoing, additional terms apply to the WinZip products, as set forth below in the Additional License Terms section of this EULA.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I use Total Commander, some features listed below. There are also many plug-ins and add-ons including ones for 7zip, listers, viewers, EXIF data, open and browse .ISO's, etc. No affiliation, just a 20 year user. It is a shareware without any expiration and only requires you to click one of three buttons it chooses at random, but you can buy it to remove the nag screen.

http://www.ghisler.com/index.htm

• Both 32 bit and 16 bit versions available!
• Long filenames in Windows 95/98 and Windows NT (16 and 32-bit version)!
• Direct access to Network Neighbourhood
• Supports Drag & Drop with Explorer/the Desktop etc.
• Command line for starting of programs with parameters, simply by typing the program name or by pressing CTRL+ENTER or CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER.
• Configurable button bar and Start menu (User-defined commands) to place your frequently used DOS or Windows programs into a drop-down menu. The actual directory and/or the file under the cursor can be delivered to the application.
• Configurable main menu.
• Built in file viewer (Lister) to view files of ANY SIZE in hex, binary or text format, using either the ASCII- (DOS) or the ANSI- (Windows) character set. The line width and font size can now be changed. You can even view files inside archives! New: Support for Unicode UTF-8 format.
• Bitmap viewer in Lister, additional formats through Irfanview (see addons).
• HTML- and Unicode-Viewer in Lister.
• Parallel port transfer function (direct cable connection), works between Win95/98/NT/2000/3.1 and DOS!
• Thumnbails view shows preview images in file lists.
• Custom columns view allow to show additional file details.
• Multi-rename tool to rename many files with specific rules, or by editing the names in a text editor
• Total Commander comes in the following languages: English, German, French, Italian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, and now also Hebrew, Greek, Afrikaans, Catalan, Turkish and Ukrainian!
• The help is available in English, German and French (separately).

File handling:

• Extended copying, moving, renaming and deleting of entire trees (Enables deleting "full" directories).
• Compare files by content, now with built-in text editor.
• Synchronize directories (with subdirs), or a directory with a ZIP file.
• Encode/Decode files in UUE, XXE and MIME format.
• Split/Combine big files.
• Search for duplicate files.
• Show/select files with specific search pattern, size, date or contents.
• Restore selection as it was before the last file operation (NUM /).
• Enhanced search function with full text search in any files across multiple drives, even inside archives.
• Multi-rename tool: Allows to rename multiple files in one step (Hotkey: Ctrl+M)
• Overwrite dialog allows to show preview images and custom fields
• Work with Windows Vista user rights model (user account protection)

FTP client:

• Built-in FTP client supports most public FTP servers, and some mainframes
• FTP and WWW proxies for FTP connections; new also SOCKS4+5.
• FXP: Send files directly from one remote server to another.
• Resume aborted downloads.
• Add files to download list (through context menu) and download later.
• Download in the background (separate thread).
• Secure FTP over SSL/TLS, enter the URL as follows: ftps://ftp.servername.com .
  Needs OpenSSL dlls from www.openssl.org.

Archive handling:

• Archives are handled like subdirectories. You can easily copy files to and from archives. The appropriate archiving program is automatically called. pkzip, arj, lha, rar, ace and uc2 are all supported.
• Built-in ZIP-compatible packer, supports long filenames! This packer is based on ZLIB by Info-Zip.
• Internal unpackers for ZIP, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ,CAB, RAR and ACE formats.
• Additional packers can be added as plugins. See addons page.
• Pack large archives in the background (separate thread).
• Copy files directly from one archive to another.

[Matt Meiser]

I have to ask--for average day to day stuff, what's wrong with the Zip compression built into Windows? Its not great for really large archives or automated processes so in those cases I use 7-Zip. But I bet I don't use 7-Zip more than about once every couple months. More often than not, I'm using 7-Zip to get around email scanners that inspect files and still discard zip files even if the extension has changed.