System Mechanic?

It purports to: clean, fix, maintain, optimize and protect the user for $49. In terms of cleaning it will get rid of system junk, duplicate files, stop pop-ups, erase one's tracks and assist in uninstalling software.

Now.. I'd like to stop at this point and focus on one aspect: duplicate files. We all know that not all duplicates are useless and that some are necessary for programs to run. The question is: which? How does one know which to delete and which to maintain? I see this as a potential problem (even given the fact that it will back things up) for the average user (myself) who has no idea of what to delete and what to keep.

So... are there any "average" users out there actually using this program? Any advice as to whether it is to one's advantage to keep the program or to uninstall it? Thanks.

 

Hey James... I use it both on my laptop, and my brothers desktop to maintain some sort of system inventory with that "system snapshot" feature it has. I personally don't use that "delete duplicate files" thing or whatever it is very often mainly because of what you just stated about differentiating between good and bad files. I think it's simply another tool in the toolbox, and if your a data nut like I am, at least hang on to it in the case that maybe sometime it can become useful in the future. Personallly though, I think it's a fairly good tool. Have you ever checked out that program called "SySoftSandra "? It's pretty good. Lots of options, and lots of info pertaining to everything on your system from your monitor, all the way down to your BIOS. Good prog.

 

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Appreciate your taking the time to educate me.

 

Your money would be better spent on imaging software. When Windows gets bloated or buggy just restore a good image and you know you are back to a good clean healthy system.

 

McTavish, But even before burning this Image I'd do many, many housecleaning chores first.
Such as:
1)Temp Folders cleaned out.
2) Defrag the System
3) Chdsk run
4) System scan with A/V
5) Run Reg Cleaner Programs of your choice
Just to name a few.

There are so many Free programs available for one to download and utilize. See here for a starter:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/links.php

 

Sorry, my fault, I never image a used OS so never thought to mention that the image should be of a fresh install with all your programs and settings in place. Just take a note of any future apps and settings you apply and then add them to the restored image, then make a new image of the updated system before you start using it.

An OS never lasts me more than a month before I move on to a clean system. A heck of a lot easier than cleaning out temp folders, cleaning the registry, worrying about undetected malware, uninstalling unwanted apps, trying to cure bugs, etc etc.

The trick to this is keeping the OS as small as possible and by storing all personal data on a separate partition. That includes things like email, favorites etc. so that they remain the same after restoring an image. It also makes writing an image quicker and small enough for backing up to one DVD disk.