System Mechanic 3.7g Review Utility Tools for Nerds and Novices Eric Grevstad
Mon 10/14/02 -- Microsoft and many users would be happy if there was no need for such a thing as system utilities -- if Windows was a smooth-running, self-maintaining, self-cleaning machine that never bogged, clogged, balked, or blue-screened.
Unfortunately, even when the operating system isn't actually crashing or freezing, it's getting cluttered with Internet cache and cookie debris, uninstalled programs that live on as undead Registry entries, or unwanted gewgaws that load themselves at startup or build nests on the desktop. So in addition to antivirus and firewall protection against external threats, every PC needs a maintenance and fix-up toolkit to reduce internal headaches. For $60, Iolo Technologies LLC's System Mechanic does the job in a likable mix of power-user-nerd and beginner-friendly-menu fashion.
Actually, power-user nerds may be a bit disappointed, because most of System Mechanic's functions are available -- if usually in less helpful or integrated form -- from various shareware and freeware sources. Windows 98, Me, and XP's built-in MSCONFIG utility, for example, has a tab where you can check and uncheck items to be loaded automatically at startup, as you can with System Mechanic's StartUp Manager. And the TweakUI module of Microsoft's free PowerToys lets you adjust Windows interface settings such as whether recent documents appear on the Start menu or arrows indicate shortcut icons, as does Iolo's System Customizer.
But System Mechanic usually offers extra depth or versatility, not to mention working with Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, and XP. StartUp Manager, for instance, lets you save and switch among multiple profiles or sets of programs to load at boot time, while System Customizer offers more detailed, logically arranged sets of interface options.
And while it offers plenty of do-it-yourself options, System Mechanic's main menus make it like a modern sports-car transmission that offers both manual and automatic modes. Even a Windows rookie can confidently and safely explore its three main functions -- freeing hard-disk space by clearing out junk and redundant files; tidying the Registry and tweaking system settings; and optimizing your Internet connection while deleting privacy-busting cache and cookie files.
In fact, the program's signature Maintenance Wizard performs a key function from each of its three specialties with the click of a single button -- finding and removing invalid Registry entries, deleting Internet cache and cookie buildup, and getting rid of obsolete files and disk-space-wasting temporary files. On our already reasonably tidy Win XP Home Edition desktop, the wizard trimmed 53 superfluous items from the Registry and freed up 11.8MB of room (30 files) on the hard disk.
We could have saved more or less space by tweaking the "junk and obsolete files" tool's settings (adding or skipping specified folders and file extensions, say, or telling System Mechanic to spike only files that haven't been accessed for at least 90 days or some other period). And we could have freed up another 700MB or more by selectively deleting the duplicate (identical size and date, even if different name) .DLL and other files that another System Mechanic tool scoured the system to find and presented in a detailed, sorted-by-size list.
