DHE Drive Info, Portable Hard Drive Information Software

DHE Drive Info is a free portable software for the Windows operating system that displays extensive information about all connected hard drives and their partitions. It may take the program a few seconds to scan all drives before information about them are displayed in list form in the main application window. Each device is listed with its name, connection type, size, serial and drive status information.

All drive partitions are listed underneath each drive with their assigned drive letters, file system, size and status.

Below the drive listing is an area with six tabs that display information about the selected hard drive or partition.

The Information tab lists everything there is to know about the selected drive. From the firmware version over transfer mode and version, to the drive’s rotation rate, temperature, transfer features and controller information.

The S.M.A.R.T. tab lists all Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology information that the drive provides. This can be helpful for troubleshooting purposes, as you get realtime data that may reveal upcoming drive issues. Error logs, including self-test logs, write and read stream error logs or extended self-test logs are displayed in the logs tab next to it.

The Control tab lists supported drive features and whether they are enabled or not. This includes features such as S.M.A.R.T. but also Advanced Power Management, Advanced Acoustic Management or Auto Offline Data Collection. State changes are not saved even though it is possible to click on on or off to switch a feature on or off.

DHE Drive Info offers additional tools that are mostly relevant to technicians. This includes a built-in sector browser, a list of all supported features and commands, and an option to create reports via the File > Save Reports menu.

Regular users can configure the program to display a notification if a drive’s temperature reaches a selected threshold.

DH Drive Info is a useful hard drive diagnostic software for the Windows operating system. The portable nature of the application makes it a good fit for a troubleshooting DVD or USB stick.

Zer0 Makes Sure Deleted Files Can’t Be Recovered Anymore

Every now and then you may want to make sure that files that you delete on a PC cannot be recovered anymore by other users. This may be important if you are passing on the PC to another user, working on a multi-user PC or system that others may have access to. It may even be a good precautionary method before you are passing borders with your notebook or mobile device.

Some might now bring forth the old argument of having nothing to fear if you have got nothing to hide, which has been refuted over and over again. One argument against is that you may value your privacy. There is really no need for someone else to see family photos, financial documents or private email messages when you are crossing the border.

Zer0 is a basic program for Windows that deletes files so that they become unrecoverable on the system. The developers state that it is using a “high security file deletion” algorithm, but fail to elaborate on that. Tests confirmed that files can’t be recovered with software like Recuva or Undelete My Files.

While that may do for private use, it is not recommended for corporate environments because of the lack of information.

Files can only be added via drag and drop to the program interface. Each file is listed with its full file path, size and a status code.

A click on delete removes the selected files from the system and overwrites the occupied space on the hard drive so that it cannot be recovered afterwards. Successful deletions are indicated in the status column in the interface.

Zer0 is nowhere near as sophisticated as Eraser for instance. The program still gets the job done even though you’d probably would want to skip it if you are deleting a lot of files regularly on the system.

You can download the program from the developer website. Please note that a “free of all sponsored” offers version is provided on the download page next to the regular program versions. If you download the regular version, you will notice that it is filled to the brim with those offers that install toolbars and other gimmicks that you may not need on your system.

Free File Wiper is an alternative that provides more information about the file deletion process.

SFunKey, Make Fn Key Actions Directly Accessible

Many notebooks, laptops and netbooks ship with a smaller sized keyboard that lacks some of the keys that are on standard sized keyboards. This often includes media keys like play, pause or changing the volume, but also keys like numlock or other numpad keys. These keys are usually removed because of size constraints. Manufacturers add the Fn key (short for function) instead to those keyboards to allow users to access those keys in a different way.

Most laptop keyboards display a key’s Fn action in blue on the keyboard. To activate one of the features, one has to press the Fn key and the key the function is mapped to.

Function key layouts may differ depending on the manufacturer of the laptop. Media keys most of the time are mapped to the F-key bar at the top.

One of the issues here is that it is often not that comfortable to use these keys. It may be difficult to nearly impossible to use the functionality with just one hand.

SfunKey has been designed to provide comfortable access to some of the extra keys. It maps a total of 12 keys to the F-keys on the keyboard. These features can now be activated by pressing the key twice on the keyboard, which is more comfortable than having to use the Fn key with one of the F-keys.

The following actions are available after the portable program has been launched (from F1 to F12): Sleep, LCD Brightness-. LCD Brightness+, Connect to Projector, Lock PC, Task Manager, Volume Mute, Volume-, Volume+, Previous Track, Play/Pause, Next Track.

The F12 key is not active by default, as it is often reserved by the system.

The program displays selected actions in an on screen display by default which can be disabled in the program settings.

Incompatible programs can be added to the compatibility listing which blocks program features when those applications are running on the system. This may be useful for full screen games for instance.

SFunKey is a handy portable program for mobile users who prefer to access media actions and other actions without the Fn key. The program is compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

Screenshot Captor 3 Released

One essential tool in a blogger’s repertoire is a screenshot capturing software. These programs range from basic applications to sophisticated tools that offer editors and other features that make life a lot easier.

Screenshot Captor is one of those Swiss army knifes in the screenshot taking world. The program supports all the capturing options that users expect, from capturing the whole workspace to individual windows, free form rectangles or scrolling windows. All modes are selectable from within the program interface, or by keyboard shortcut. New users find all shortcuts listed under the capture menu in the program window.

Screenshot Captor displays a preview window after capturing a screenshot that offers options to process the image directly. Here it is possible to print it, create a thumbnail of it, save it, copy it to the clipboard or use the send to menu to transfer it. Options are provided to bypass the preview window if it is not needed.

You can send the image to the main program window where you can process it further. Screenshot Captor offers all the tools that users except from a screenshot editor. This includes adding annotations and watermarks, highlighting or blurring areas, drawing arrows, or resizing or cropping images directly.

Screenshots can be saved in a wide variety of formats, including png and jpg, but also jpeg2000, bmp or pdf among others. The program can be configured to remove all meta data from the image. A preview is available that displays both the original image and the new version that will be saved to the system.

Screenshot Captor 3 ships with a set of new features. You can for instance configure the program to upload screenshots automatically or on-demand to image file hosting sites such as Flickr or Imageshack, or to an ftp server. Especially the scrolling window capturing tool in Screenshot Captor 3 needs to be mentioned, as it handles many scrolling windows with ease that other screenshot taking programs fail to capture.

Another feature that sets the program apart is that it is highly configurable. This includes automatic processing options, the ability to take and save screenshots directly or support for third party applications that you can send the screenshots to.

New users may feel overwhelmed at first because of the sheer size of options and menus that the program offers. Mouser has created demonstration videos that explain all the program’s key concept in a few minutes each. Especially the first video, which offers a quick overview, is recommended.

You can download the latest version of the program from the Donation Coder website. The program is compatible with all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system, from Windows 9x to the very latest version.

Verdict

Screenshot Captor is a professional screenshot taking application for Windows. It offers a rich feature set and ships with features that are usually only available in commercial applications.

View and Extract File Icons With Thumbico

File and program icons distinguish different file types and applications visually from each other. Users come into contact with icons every time they use the computer, but only a few would consider changing or modifying program icons on their system. I can only think of two user groups who would need the to view, modify and extract file icons: First users who like to install custom themes and total conversions. Default icons might not always match the installed custom theme, which is why some users go the extra mile and change their computer’s program and file thumbnail icons as well.

Developers are the second group. They might want to experiment with different program icons for their applications to find the most suitable one. Thumbico is a free portable software for Windows that acts both as an icon viewer and extractor.

You can drag and drop icons into the program interface to view them in the selected resolution. One of the features of Thumbico is that it can display icons in a larger resolution than Windows can. You can change the resolution in the application’s top menu bar, with a right-click and the selection of Make Bigger or Smaller, or with the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+ or Ctrl-. If you ever wanted a larger than life version of the Firefox logo, now is your chance to take a look at it.

Standard icon sizes are available through the right-click context menu and the keyboard shortcuts Alt+ or Alt- as well. The latter cycle through all available icon sizes from 16×16 to 512×512 pixels.

Icons can be saved in their current display size and in various formats including bmp, gif, png and jpg. You can alternatively copy the image to the Windows clipboard to paste it directly into another application. The image will be saved with the background color that is displayed in the program interface. You can change the color or enable glass mode which adds transparency to the image if you save it in a format supporting transparency.

Most program features are accessible via keyboard shortcuts for fast access.

If there is one thing to criticize it is the lack of a load option in the program interface. The only way to load icons into the program is via drag and drop.

Thumbico is despite that a useful program for developers and users who want to customize their operating system.

Windows users can download the latest version of Thumbico from the developer website.

Update: Just got word from the author of the application that a load button is available after all. It is the top leftmost button in the program interface.

GonVisor, Image, Comic Book and Ebook Reader

If you like to view comic books, ebooks, or image series on your computer you are probably using a specialized program like CDisplay or CoView for this which offer features that standard images viewers do not offer.

GonVisor is another versatile software that combines the functionality of an image viewer with ebook and comic book format reading capabilities and management functionality.

The program is offered as a portable version and setup on the developer website. One of the main program features is its support for a wide variety of files. GonVisor supports all major image formats, comic book reader files such as cbr, cbz or cba, pdf files, and compressed files containing images.

You are staring at a blank application window on startup, only the navigational menu at the top is visible. You can load files into the viewer in numerous ways, from dragging and dropping them into the program interface to using the File menu or associating the reader with specific formats so that you can double-click the files in Windows Explorer.

You will then see the first image displayed in the program, a self-retracting tools menu on the left, and a file selector on the right.

You can now use the back and forward button, the file selector, hotkeys, or the automatic slideshow to navigate between pages. Various tools improve the overall reading experience, from maximizing the page in the viewer over rotating images and displaying two pages next to each other, to zooming in or out or using the built-in magnifier. Pages can be bookmarked to continue at the page at a later time.

Some features, like color correction or the creation of comic book archive files require additional files that are not provided with the portable version. It is not clear if those files are included in the setup version of GonVisor. The main issue here is that there is no documentation where to get these files and where to place them.

GonVisor’s rich feature set it apart from other comic book readers. The lack of proper documentation is what pulls it down again. If you are looking for a comic book reader with management features, then GonVisor may be the program you are looking for.

UndoClose Reopens Closed Programs, Folders In Windows Explorer

I sometimes close applications accidentally, and every now and then forcefully, for instance when they are not responding anymore. To start them again, I have to click on their icon in the system tray, start menu or another location from where they can be started.

The free software Undoclose changes this, as it adds an undo feature to the Windows operating system that lets you reopen closed applications right away. This feature works in the same way as the undo close tab feature that web browsers use to let users reopen closed browser tabs.

It uses a first in last out system to determine which application to restart when the hotkey is invoked. This works extremely well if you want to restart the last application that has been terminated on the system, and with some juggling as well for previous apps that you want to restart.

The program keeps track of all closed applications and Windows Explorer folders when it is running. Each closed app and folder is listed in the program interface. Here you can restart them automatically with a double-click, which is the best option to restart an application or folder that has not been closed last.

The hotkeys that you can use to restore the windows are displayed here as well. Ctrl-Shift-f reopens Windows Explorer folders, while Ctrl-Shift-a the last closed application. Please note that you can run the commands several times to restore more than one folder or program on the system.

The hotkeys can be changed in the program interface. Just click in one of the fields and press the keys that you want to use for the new hotkey. They should appear instantly in the form. Click on the change button to change them, or do nothing to skip the change.

The recently closed folder part only works if you close the Windows Explorer window regularly. It won’t recognize if you switch folders or go back in the file manager.

UndoClose is a useful application for Windows users who wish the operating system had an option to restart programs or Windows Explorer automatically.

The program has been developed by our buddies from Addictive Tips. You can download the latest version from their website. UndoClose is only compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7. Keep also in mind that the program’s memory usage grows whenever you close apps or folders.