For those thinking of upgrading to Windows 7 when it is released or just trying out the public Release Candidate (RC) version, you can now use the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to scan a computer for any compatibility issues before you install.
The Upgrade Advisor will report known compatibility issues, including software and hardware problems. It will also advise you on how to resolve the issue when possible.
If you are already running Windows Vista, the chances are very high that Windows 7 will run just fine on your system. But it’s worth checking anyway with this free tool from Microsoft.
If you’re one of those that skipped Windows Vista, now’s your chance to find out if that system will run Windows 7. Even if your system reported in the past that it would not support Windows Vista, you should still run the Upgrade Advisor to find out if it will support Windows 7.
I’ve had a few computers that would not allow the Vista install, but are running Windows 7 just fine.
In my ongoing hunger for new utilities, I came across a free set of utilities I can’t believe I haven’t been using all along. Glary Utilities combines a number of different tools under a single interface.
Tools in Glary Utilities (by category):
| Category |
Tool |
Description |
| Clean-Up & Repair |
Disk Cleaner |
Works much like the Disk Cleanup tool in Windows. |
|
Registry Cleaner |
Purges Registry of things like missing extensions, bad shortcuts, and so on. |
|
Shortcuts Fixer |
Corrects shortcut errors in Start menu and Desktop. |
|
Uninstall Manager |
Let you uninstall programs, remove entries for programs that have been uninstalled but not properly removed, and even select multiple programs for a batch uninstall. |
| Optimize & Improve |
Startup Manager |
A great tool for exploring and removing startup programs. Unlike the msconfig tool built into Windows, this one provides information about the programs so you can make an informed decision about removing it. |
|
Memory Optimizer |
Monitors and optimizes free memory. |
|
Context Menu Manager |
Lets you manage the context menus (right-click menus) for files and folders in Windows Explorer. |
|
Registry Defrag |
Defragments the Registry. |
| Privacy & Security |
Tracks Eraser |
Deletes cookies, Internet history, and so on. |
|
File Shredder |
Permanently erases files. |
|
File Undelete |
Retrieves accidentally deleted files. |
|
File Encrypter and Decrypter |
Encrypts and decrypts files. |
| Files & Folders |
Disk Analysis |
Provides a graphical display of what files and folders are using up your disk space. |
|
Duplicate Files Finder |
Creates a report of duplicate files. |
|
Empty Folders Finder |
Finds empty folders on your system. |
|
File Splitter and Joiner |
Allows you to split large files into a more manageable size and rejoin them later (say, for storing on a CD) |
| System Tools |
Process Manager |
Provides a more detailed look at running processes than Task Manager. |
|
Internet Explorer Assistant |
Helps manage IE add-ons. |
|
Windows Standard Tools |
Provides links to Windows tools, such as CheckDisk, System Restore, and so on. |
Glary Utilities works on all versions of Windows from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 and includes 64-bit support.
I’ve been on the lookout for a good FTP client for Windows for a long time. I favor a simple interface that lets me easily move files between my computer and FTP site. I used LeechFTP for some time, then moved to Smart FTP. I found both reliable, but a little hard to get around in. I’m now a delighted user of the FireFTP extension for Firefox (for versions 1.5 – 2.0). It opens as a tab within Firefox and sports a simple, intuitive interface for moving files around. It also has all the features I could want from an FTP client.
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