Essential tools

A great program to find your serial number of your machine "MAGIC JELLY BEAN"

You may have lost your serial number or the sticker has become unreadable

if you have updated to windows10 then you need to take a note of the new serial number assigned you

https://www.magicaljellybean.com/

 

bump

 

There are a number of essentials that I have and regularly use. My small, handy memory stick keeps all my important files safe and secure. My backup internal battery for my computer stays on hand just in case I'm somewhere with no outlets to charge my computer. My tote bag allows me to travel about with everything I need.

 

Having encountered continuous problems with my computeres this is an excellent list of vital tools we all need to keep our computers running smoothly. I hope one day that I acquire the knowledge I need to maintain my computers.

 

I found a new & free help from Microsoft Security Essentials that's really good and makes your computer go fast too! Thanks for the insight in the other tools you'll need for your computer use. Learned a lot here-thanks again!

 

Just list the things your having problems with I am sure some of our members will try to help
welcome to the laptop forums site by the way.

 

Well one thing is it's stuck in the loading screen and it can't get out there. I have tried to reboot and restart but just keeps getting stuck on Windows loading screen

 

Rezonate


Will you please make a new post in the windows section, and name it,

“Windows screen loading problem”

I will take up all replies from there


You will probably need a recovery disk

This forums link list places you can obtain some

http://www.laptop-forums.com/threads/windows-setup-and-recovery-disks.25167/

When you have downloaded one, and copied it on to dvd, then you will need to restart
your machine booting from that dvd, and choosing repair

Please list your operating system version , and laptop model.

 

Thanks for your advice. I am happy that ccleaner made the list. Although I do feel that a heavy antivirus program should not be used. Unless you're a corporation, you don't need to tax you ram with all that fluff. You need an intrusion detection system instead, I have that doggy software WinPatrol. Use that.

 

Thanks for your advice. I am happy that ccleaner made the list. Although I do feel that a heavy antivirus program should not be used. Unless you're a corporation, you don't need to tax you ram with all that fluff. You need an intrusion detection system instead, I have that doggy software WinPatrol. Use that.

 

Adwcleaner is a another Anit-malware/ad cleaner it will pick up any strays
that Malwarebytes Anti-malware leaves.


http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/adwcleaner/


Wise program uninstaller this is a great program to remove all
the left over files most uninstallers leave behind.

http://www.wisecleaner.com/wise-program-uninstaller.html

 

Great thread! We need the knowledge at least to identify good anti-malware software to deal with potentially threats. I got my computer(s) infected a number of times myself when I was a teenager. Also OTL, Rogue Killer in case of rogue infection and Adwcleaner also help.

 

Here's 3 more great free tools for you to use to add to this fine list:

1) Parted Magic (Active Killdisk is great, but if you need to do the same with a linux Live CD for cheap or free, Parted Magic can do so. The last free version is from 2013 but still available. The new ones cost $9)

2) Universal Netboot Installer: UNetBootIn is available for Windows and Linux both, and let you image any bootable ISO of linux (and other operating systems like BSD, Windows 7, 8, and 9, and others) to a usb flash drive or external hard drive. You can even have it automatically download and install the image to the drive you choose if you haven't downloaded the iso that you need yet. There's a quick and easy menu on the program itself to let you do this.

3) ImageUSB: By far one of the most useful free tools if you need to back up and save or clone your flash drives. Flash drives work a little differently than standard media, and this program lets you both read and write standard ISO images (including the boot sector) of flash drives and back to other ones again. The newest version has an adaptive mode that lets you use the full size of the drive now (the previous versions used to do an absolute block image to a drive which didn't let free space be used beyond the size of the image, but it does now)

There's some more tools, but those are 3 I use all the time for secure deletion of drives, installing and downloading iso files, and creating images of flash drives and burning copies of them when I need to save or restore them.

 

One new “beta version” program to try is Malwarebytes Anti-ransomware.

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/177751-introducing-malwarebytes-anti-ransomware/

 

I second the requirement for Unetbootin. It is by far the best tool out there for those of use who like to tinker a little or a lot with different operating systems.

 

I'll add my list of essential software I think most, if not every, laptop enthusiast should know about.

WinDirStat- To see what's eating up all your SSD space
7Zip- To extract archives
MPC-HC- To watch those "nature documentaries"
Bit Defender- To protect against internet STD's
Foxit Reader- PDF reader without all the bloatiness
Display Fusion- To do multi monitor the right way
Deluge- To download torrents (and it's not morbidly obese like uTorrent)
Classic Shell- To fix the "lovely" Windows 8 Start menu
Steam- Doesn't even need an introduction
Keepass- So you don't forget all your passwords for the million accounts you need to have these days
Net Speed Monitor- Handy UL/DL speed monitor that resides in the taskbar

All of that is free except for Display Fusion. I honestly recommend checking them out.

 

I'll give you guys my list of the most useful pieces of software that I think every laptop enthusiast should know about.

WinDirStat- To see what's eating up all your SSD space
7Zip- To extract archives
MPC-HC- To watch those "nature documentaries" (also non-bloaty)
Bit Defender- To protect against internet STD's
Foxit Reader- PDF reader without all the bloatiness
Display Fusion- To do multi monitor the right way
Deluge- To download torrents (and it's not morbidly obese like uTorrent)
Classic Shell- To fix the "lovely" Windows 8 Start menu
Steam- Doesn't even need an introduction
Keepass- So you don't forget all your passwords for the million accounts you need to have these days
Net Speed Monitor- Handy UL/DL speed monitor that resides in the taskbar
All of that is free except for Display Fusion.

That's it. I definitely recommend checking those out if you want to improve your laptop experience.

 

I do use cleaning programs and save my stuff onto a hard drive every once in a while.
And I know that it is not a software advice, but make sure to put a piece of tape onto your webcam, there are several creepy ways anybody can watch you through it.

 

Thank you for the list, I've been planning on traveling and bringing a laptop with me, and these programs are absolutely necessary when it comes to protecting my files when I'm on the road. Can't really bring all my installers with me, so I'll be a mess if I would need to reformat my laptop in the middle of my trip. Prevention is better than a cure, am I right? One thing though, can you suggest specific antivirus programs though? I mean your description of "good" may differ from my own. I currently have Microsoft Essentials on my PC, is that enough?

 

Very helpful list. I already have Malwarebytes and CCleaner, these two i agree are computer essentials, they do some intense cleaning that helps maintain your computer's system performance.