Windows tools and utilities

U

uzor

Supreme [H]ardness
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So, I did some looking around, and it seems that we have an antivirus software list, a free alternative to commonly warezed software list (over in general software), but I haven't really seen anything like a general Windows deployment/management/usage software list. So, I figured, let's start one. I'll go first.

Windows XP network fix: http://home.vcn.com/knowledgebase/article.php?id=327
Windows Slipstream/install disc tool: http://nuhi.msfn.org/nlite.html
If Windows is really borked: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
Windows, but on CD: http://www.ubcd4win.com/

What have you got to add?

 
I have to throw Symantec Ghost in this list. Deployment and Backup software in one, especially when used with Sysprep.

EDIT: I missed the part about being free. I'll leave my recommendation because this is software that's actually worth paying for....especially at Computer Shows.
 
Sysprep 2.0 (XP) Is on your XP CD (\support\tools\deploy.cab) to c:\sysprep. The deploy.cab can be downloaded here.
Sysprep 1.1 (W2K) here.

Ghost wouldn't qualify as it isn't free, though I believe there are free cloning tools on the Ulitmate Boot CD. That one should probably be expanded to highlight some of the key tools available. Heck I don't know what some of them do... There's quite a bit on that disk.

 
Personally i prefer Acronis to Ghost. Its faster, more elegant, and has more more intelligent useful options all accross the board. Just better overall design.

It's also internally developed, whereas ghost is nothing but a bought version of PowerQuest's DiskImage now, which norton bought the code for, meaning they have to hire people to go through it and hope to understand it as well as the original developers did, assuming they didnt rehire the entire team.
 
uviuar2 said:
Personally i prefer Acronis to Ghost. Its faster, more elegant, and has more more intelligent useful options all accross the board. Just better overall design.

It's also internally developed, whereas ghost is nothing but a bought version of PowerQuest's DiskImage now, which norton bought the code for, meaning they have to hire people to go through it and hope to understand it as well as the original developers did, assuming they didnt rehire the entire team.
Click to expand...
Ghost has been far more reliable, and has also been able to image and recover data from laptops that Acronis could not. Some code from DriveImage has been incorporated into the home version of Ghost, but their Corporate version is completely developed by Symantec and offers much more functionality.
 
Good to see that some others have some interest in this as well.

You didn't notice the free requirement, because I didn't really intend for that to be required. Free is always a bonus, since anyone can d/l and use it without having to convince the boss that you need it, or some other such nonsense. The free software thread (alternates to warezing) that I mentioned is over in the General Software forum here. Personally, I'd say that if you deem something to be good enough to be worth the price of admission, go ahead and list it. Just include a disclaimer that it is not a free product.

 
Pretty much everything ever released at Sysinternals.

My Favorites:

TCPView - For dealing with developers who don't know how their own network apps work, but their stuff needs to go through your firewall. Also for finding rougue programs that are TCP/IP aware and opening ports.

Regmon - When you absolutely need to know all the places in the registry that a program is accessing, and there is no documentation anywhere.

Rootkit Revealer - When you've got to find that nasty program that is hiding using the same API hiding features as low level system components.
 
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