Windows Diagnostic Tools

microsoft/linux · 04-15-2006, 11:26 AM

I do some computer repair/cleaning on the side, and I was wondering what Windows Diagnostic Tools people use. I've got the standard assortment of Spyware/Anti-Virus/Firewalls, but I was wondering what other more advanced stuff people use. Like is there a way to track memory leaks, and stuff like that?

brainiac · 04-15-2006, 07:56 PM

If you are getting some crashed machines to work on, it is really hard to get by without the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows. Search UBCD4Win. It takes a bit to compile it but it is worth it. I have used it to salvage several machines from a local rental co. You can even get the product key so you can reinstall the OS legally. Benchmark/stress tools and other diagnostic tools to help a guy possibly find the reason it crashed in the first place.

aldimeneira · 04-15-2006, 11:18 PM

You should ad rootkit search tools.

microsoft/linux · 04-16-2006, 12:25 AM

I don't usually see any crashed machines, but I'll probably do that CD anyway. Is it possible to boot that from a thumbdrive? How big is it? Most of what I get are "why is it running so slow?" I basically run a spyware/virus scan, and then install anti<both> as well as a firewall. That's usually the extent of it, but I'd like to be able to see if the problem is deeper than that.

brainiac · 04-17-2006, 09:36 PM

I know nothing about pen drives but I found a little info that may be of interest. It may be useless info I don't know. Have a look.
http://home.graffiti.net/jaclaz:graf.../USBstick.html

binary_y2k2 · 04-17-2006, 09:43 PM

The best way of speeding up slow windows PCs it to:
1. Remove programs and files you aren't using any more.
2. Run cleanmgr.exe to remove old Temp and Internet Explorer Temp files
3. Defragment the hard drive.
That will usually speed things up.

rkelsen · 04-17-2006, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by binary_y2k2

The best way of speeding up slow windows PCs is to:

Remove Windows and install Linux!!

Come on this is a Linux forum, it had to be said!!

Seriously though, I've found that Avast is a pretty good free AV package for Windows. At a guess, I'd say that it'd be practically impossible to be prepared for every situation. I think you'd need to work out what you need on a case-by-case basis. As long as you have an internet connection, there's nothing which can't be solved with a quick Google search.

microsoft/linux · 04-17-2006, 09:58 PM

granted, but installing linux on other people's machines might not go over so well. I'd like to stay in business....

Thanks all, what kind of stuff does the geek squad use? or is that stuff even remotely relevant?

binary_y2k2 · 04-17-2006, 10:18 PM

All the tools you really need are already in windows, Eg, if it's a slow startup I'll use msconfig to see what apps and services are starting at boot and slowing it down. Or in XP/2000 etc, I'll use services.msc to stop/disable services... Just like in anything, the tools you use depend on the problem you want to fix.

microsoft/linux · 04-17-2006, 10:42 PM

yeah, ok, that's basically what I've been doing anyway. Are there special tools that could be useful?

binary_y2k2 · 04-17-2006, 11:05 PM

The tools I use when my friends ask my to speed up their PC (which happens allot

), are just "cleanmgr.exe", scandisk, "msconfig", and then defragment. Other than that there are Registry (spit, curse

) Fixers that remove old and unused keys. Then just make sure everything is up-to-date with drivers/patches etc. I don't use many third-party tools in windows but i do use RegCleaner (mostly because it's free) but there are others, some free, some not.