An ounce of prevention is worth, what, a working version of your
operating system? A few hours of a Windows reinstallation? All of your
system’s data? When it comes to dealing with issues with your desktop or
laptop PC, apps that help you prevent problems before they occur are
worth their file size in gold.
A clean, efficient, and smoothly running PC only makes your life that
much easier as a user: Your data is organized and accessible; your
operating system is free of errors and other third-party problems; your
system, well, works – and it works nearly as well as it did the first
day you installed the OS.
In short, apps that help protect your system from yourself, from the
outside world, and from its persistent push toward chaos are critical
parts of the PC user experience, period. As it just so happens, we’ve
come up with a list of the 21 best programs that can help prevent (or
mitigate) PC performance problems before they make your life miserable.
“But wait,” you ask. “Do I really need all 21?” No. Treat this
article like a spice rack: Depending on how strong of a mix you think
you need for your individual computing setup, you might benefit from
all, some, or a scant few of the apps we’ll be suggesting.
The Reinstallation Blues NINITE ល្អ ប្លែក ថ្មី
ClonezillaLet’s start from the beginning. Something’s gone cataclysmically wrong with your Windows operating system and your only choice is to either restore it back to its original settings – potentially wiping your data, your record of program installations, or just generally making your hard drive’s contents chaotic – or wiping your drive and reinstalling Windows from scratch. Use Clonezilla to clone your primary hard drive’s contents to a separate drive before you undertake this process, and you’ll then be able to copy your critical files back once your reinstallation is complete.
System Information for Windows
If your current Windows issues aren't catastrophic, but you still want to start the time-consuming process of reinstalling the operating system from scratch, be sure to make ample use of the freeware app System Information for Windows.
Semper Driver Backup
Laptop users, take note: If you’re worried that a Windows reinstallation might somehow leave you hanging without critical drivers that your laptop needs to function (perhaps your laptop is super-old!), then get some peace-of-mind via Semper Driver Backup. This app does just what its name implies: It copies all of your system’s drivers to a single folder for safekeeping, which you can then use to restore your system hardware to a workable state post-Windows reinstallation!
WinToFlash
Let’s face it: CDs and DVDs are going the way of the dodo. They’re extremely prone to annoying scratches that can render them unusable, they’re slow to use, they have a good tendency to be misplaced and squashed around the general messiness of your desk – the list goes on. WinToFlash saves the day by transferring the contents of your Windows installation disc to a flash drive, which the program then makes bootable. Provided your motherboard supports flash-based booting, hello speedier Windows installations!
Ninite / Allmyapps
While we’re big fans of Ninite – the tool that allows you to customize and automate an installation package for a ton of must-have software apps on a brand-new PC – there’s always something to be said for new blood.