Peter Staack Product Testimonials & Reviews

Now that I've gotten my monthly "how the hell my client screwed up ANOTHER computer" rant out of my system, I just wanted to list my usual computer rescue kit.

First is BartPE, which enables you to make a Windows XP base preinstalled environment, which you can boot into from a CD. When a Windows system isn't working, I can boot it up with this CD, and run apps to clean it up or rescue data. I usually rely on a generic USB drive loaded with such great portable apps (they run right off of the USB drive, without having to install on the hard drive) as...

• ClamWin Portable - ClamWin antivirus scanner, in a neat tidy little package that's easy to keep up-to-date.


• Dr.WEB CureIt Portable - Another full antivirus & malware scanner, made portable.


• Norton Security Scan Portable - Scans for a broad array of malware and security gaps.


• Multi Virus Cleaner '09 - Also scans for malware and infections.


• Kaspersky Removal Tools - A whole bunch of virus-specific removal tools, from Afcore to XCP.


• Avast Virus Cleaner - Detects and cleans a select list of common viruses and malware.


• McAfee AVERT Stinger - Another virus and malware remover.


• Avira AntiVir Removal Tool - Removes a wider array of malware.


• Sophos Anti Rootkit - Scans for rootkits on your drives.


• TestDisk - Scans and mounts damaged partitions, and recovers boot sectors, MFTs and other data


• SoftPerfect File Recovery, ADRC, Roadkils Undelete & Undelete Plus - Recovers data from hard drives and removable media.


• CCleaner Portable - My favorite junk-file and registry cleaner, in a portable format.


• Revo Uninstaller Portable - The best uninstaller, which also removes orphaned files, in a portable format.


• DriverGrabber & Driver Backup - Backs up your system and 3rd party drivers, if you need to restore.


• Explorer++ - A powerful multi-window file explorer with optional thumbnails.
  
• 7Zip Portable - Top-quality compression and decompression, including RAR.


• Eraser - Completely erases & overwrites files, including DOD/NSA approved and Gutmann methods, free space wipe, secure file moving, and disk nuking and creating a nuke boot disk.


• CheckDisk - Freeware portable version of CheckDisk.


• Auslogics Disk Defrag - Great disk defrag app, portable.


• System Explorer - Portable version of the task manager.


• ShowMyPC - A good VNC remote control server and client.


• Sumatra PDF - Portable PDF viewer.


• HoverSnap & AVI SCreen - Take screen captures and record Windows.


• Infra Recorder - Portable CD/DVD burning app.


• Opera Portable - Awesome internet browser, portable.

If you hunt around, there are also a ton of password recovery tools, Windows key extractors, registry editors, notepads, file editors, FTP clients & servers, and utilities for just about any job. You can load a ton of them on a 1+ GB USB drive, in case you need 'em. I periodically update the antivirus and browsers, to the latest versions, and I keep the drive and boot CDs in a safe spot. They've rescued many computers, on the brink of death, with very little muss or fuss. There's only a few rare cases when these fail, and I have to I roll up my sleeves, break out a Linux PE and get my hands dirty.
Cross-posted on my LiveJournal - BartPE & Portable Apps - Computer Life Raft