Many computer users have the impression that their systems become just a little bit slower with every day of use. Software installations, updates and even user actions on the PC can turn a powerful PC into a painfully slow system that is no pleasure to work with.
System tools like System Mechanic Professional can resolve most of the issues encountered semi-automatically.
When you first start System Mechanic Pro you are asked to run an analysis of the system. The program checks common problems and issues and displays its finding on the screen. The scan itself takes less than 30 seconds to complete and rates the PC’s health, security and overall status.
Options to repair all issues directly and to display the problems that have been found during scans are available in the main interface. The system tool lists problems and warnings on a summary page. Problems can be both security or health related, for instance that Windows Firewall is not running, that the computer has known security vulnerabilities or that the Internet connection is not optimized for maximum speed. Critical problems are highlighted in red and displayed at the top.
Actions to resolve the issues are directly displayed next to each listing. Problems can be resolved right away with the click of the button. It is alternatively possible to display additional information about a selected issue. It is for instance possible to display the list of security vulnerabilities on the screen.
Once you start fixing issues your overall system status may improve from its previous rating. System Mechanic Professional suggests to run a deep scan once the initial issues have been resolved or ignored by the user. A deep scan analysis takes longer to complete but finds additional problems that the quick scan may not have found.
Deep Scan among other things checks if the Registry is fragmented or if Solid State Drives have been optimized.
Toolbox
The toolbox lists all-in-one tools and individual tools. All-in-one tools are system tools that can accelerate, repair, cleanup or secure the PC with one click.
PC TotalCare runs all four scans at once.
Individual Tools
The individual tools group lists specialized tools, from optimizing the Windows startup to repairing shortcuts, recovering deleted files or monitoring the hard drive status.
Some of the tools are used by System Mechanic’s scans, while others are specialized tools that can only be started directly from here.
Increase Performance
- Memory Mechanic – Defragments the system memory
- CRUDD Remover – Detects and offers to remove redundant applications (e.g. CCleaner when System Mechanic is installed)
- EnergyBooster – Turn off background programs to free up system memory
- Startup Optimizer – Suggests start up items that may slow down system start
- NetBooster – Optimize the Internet settings to improve the Internet connections stability and performance
- Designated Drivers – Scan for outdated drivers and suggest updates
- Registry Compactor – Defragment and compact the Registry to speed up the start of the PC
- Program Accelerator – Speed up programs by re-aligning the data on the hard drive
- Drive Accelerator – Defragment hard drives
- SSD Accelerator – Improve the performance of Solid State Drives
Enhance Protection
- Security Optimizer – Scan for and fix Windows security vulnerabilities
- Registry Backup – Create a backup of the Windows Registry
- System Guard – A program that blocks malicious programs and processes from loading and interacting with the system
Clean Up System Clutter
- Clean PC Clutter – Scan for and remove temporary files on the system to free up disk space
- Junk File Finder – Find and delete obsolete and unneeded files
Repair Problems
- Registry Tuner – Repair Registry problems like obsolete data references
- Shortcut Repair – Repair broken shortcuts
- Drive Medic – Find and fix hard drive problems. Option to create a Drive Medic Emergency CD to boot from it when the operating system cannot be started
- System Troubleshooter – Disaster recovery when a drive becomes unstable
Ensure Personal Privacy
- Privacy Cleaner – Erases private data like cookies, chat transcripts or the search history
- Incinerator and Drive Scrubber – Full functionality of the Drive Scrubber program integrated in System Mechanic Professional.
Manage System Configuration
- Startup Manager – Configure Windows startup items to improve boot time
- Process Manager – Manage running processes on the system
- System Customizer – Customize Windows settings, apply tweaks
- NetTuner – Customize advanced Internet settings
- Duplicate File Inspector – Find and remove duplicate files on the system
- Advanced Uninstaller – Remove installed programs.
Recover Deleted Data
- Recover All Data on a drive or disk – Restores the entire contents of a drive, device or folder
- Recover Deleted Files – Searches a drive for deleted files with options to recover the findings
- Recover deleted pictures and movies – Specialized search for recoverable photos, images and videos
- Recover deleted songs and sounds
- Recover deleted email – Supports Outlook, Thunderbird, Netscape and other email programs
Perform Diagnostics
- DriveSense – Monitor the hard drive status
- Advanced System Information – Display system information like the installed hardware or software
- NetSpeed Analyzer – Benchmark the Internet connection
- System Change Tracker – Tracks changes that have been made to the system.
Several tasks can be automated to run regularly. This includes repairing Registry and hard drive errors, removing temporary files or backing up the Registry regularly.
Difference between System Mechanic Editions
System Mechanic Professional includes all features of System Mechanic. The software furthermore includes four iolo products that can be purchased separately. The products are Drive Scrubber, Search and Recover, System Shield and Online Backup.
Verdict
System Mechanic Professional ships with a lot of tools, of which most can be quite useful. Some tools could be improved though. The software uninstaller for instance is not checking the system for leftovers after the installation. It also feels strange that a Good system status after resolving all quick scan issues is often changed to a lower level after running a deep scan.
Especially the one-click repair options are handy for users who experience issues on their PC that they want to resolve without diving deeper into the issue.
Users who want to try the software find a trial version at the official download site.
Giveaway
We have 20 System Mechanic Professional licenses for this giveaway. Leave a comment below to take part in the drawing.
© Martin Brinkmann for gHacks Technology News | Latest Tech News, Software And Tutorials, 2011. | Permalink |
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