Summary: 'Fix All Your Windows Problems' is a claim made by many products and utilities, and it's best viewed with skepticism. We'll look at how to evaluate some of those claims.
I have a number of knotty problems with error messages at present and there are several programs on the net which "guarantee" to fix them. When the offered free scan is invited, they always come up with lots of faults which they will only fix if you subscribe. My usual reaction is that it's all a con to get subscribers but is this true in all cases or are there some programs which really are the cure-alls they claim to be?
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I'm sure that there are good programs out there, but like you, I'm very skeptical. I definitely believe that "if it seems to good to be true, it probably is."
As a result, I've never actually purchased such a program - instead, I've either tackled my problems head-on, lived with them, or if things are bad enough and unsolvable I've reformatted and re-installed.
But there are some ways to at least stack the deck in your favor if you do want to try one or more of these types of tools.
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Most "fix everything" tools are glorified registry cleaners. So one alternative is to simply start with exactly that, a registry cleaner. While I don't use one often, I have been happy with Macecraft's JV16 Power Tools. I discuss registry cleaners in more detail in my earlier article What's the best registry cleaner?.
After that, I start using a process that I use to evaluate just about any program I run across: I search the net for stories and reviews.
One good sign is if you find recommendations or awards from recognizable sources. Sites like PC Magazine, c|net, and so forth all periodically review and rate software packages - and those packages that get good ratings are often quick to throw the associated logos and links to the reviews on their sites. Check those out, see what they have to say and how it might apply in your situation. Positive reviews from other tech support sites such as Ask Leo! are also a good sign.
The nice thing about a legitimate review is that it legitimizes the utility somewhat as well. If PC Magazine gives a utility a review - even if that review is less than stellar - chances are the utility, and the company, are legitimate. Unless of course the review says otherwise.
Beware of fake reviews. Anyone can publish anything that looks like a glowing review. They can even fake award banners and ratings - make sure to check out any claims along those lines, and make sure that you recognize the source.
Another thing I do is simply search for the product name on the internet and see what pops up. If it continually shows up in discussion forums or support sites with lots of negative comments, I'd beware. On the other hand if you find a lot of "this product saved my machine" types of comments, then things are looking up.
Once again you need to beware of planted comments and postings. I get them here on Ask Leo! all the time - individuals with a vested interest attempting to push a product will sometimes plant fake positive comments extolling its virtues. Particularly if you see exactly the same comment in several places, it's time to get suspicious.
And with that very caveat, I'd love to hear from readers. If you have a favorite utility for repairing Windows issues, please post a comment. If nothing else, it might provide a good starting point for folks to investigate and evaluate.
Related:
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Ask Leo! - What's the best registry cleaner?
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Ask Leo! - How should I reinstall Windows?
Article C2815 - October 19, 2006
I use CCleaner as well... and must agree that it appears to be quite a decent program! :)
Posted by: Andrew at October 21, 2006 2:41 AMI like CCleaner. I don't like this claim "Fix all your Windows Problems". I think this sort of claim is impossible to achieve owing to the complexity of Windows and the huge possible range of problems that can occur.
For an extreme example, take a defective keyboard. It could be that for whatever reason whenever a user presses a certain key, some funny thing pops up on the screen. Would such a utility really be able to detect such a thing. In practice - of course not.
Tread with extreme caution. The best diagnosis for computer problems is going to be humans in a technical support forum, with appropriate skill & expertise to tackle the problem in questions.
Posted by: Eli Coten at October 21, 2006 1:10 PMProbably one of the best "Fixit" utilities would be Norton Windoctor, it's part of the Utilities suite of Norton Systemworks. I've been using it for years including the earlier Norton 3 version for Win98/ME. I've run it on friend's machines which have become really sluggish and out of sorts, found and fixed lots of problems the most being over 600 on one machine.
Posted by: chris at October 22, 2006 4:54 AMI'm sure there are lots of people who will agree with me.
Try it.
The Norton products are probably the best solutions to fix registry problems but with the drawback that they are quite expensive. There are many other freeware and shareware products that help clean the registry as well. Its better to go with a shareware product thats been tested and reviewed.
Try this site for shareware registry fixing software:
Freeware and Shareware registry fixing tools
Posted by: Andrew Wilson at March 27, 2007 3:41 PMsite:
Posted by: Andrew Wilson at March 27, 2007 3:42 PMhttp://www.accelerated-ideas.com/SoftwareDirectory/aiFreeSoftwareSearch.aspx?stxt=fix+registry
I used CCleaner too i must say that this pogram is a HERO for your Computer heheh :D and the best is hes FREE so try it :)
Posted by: Bardh at July 24, 2007 5:34 AMhey leo good to read your stuff.
Posted by: Raphael at November 28, 2008 10:11 AMfrom what i know ASO (Advanced System Optimizer) and Uniblue Registery Mechanic are nice.
but it dosent do so much.
CCleaner or Easy Cleaner
Posted by: sirpaul1 at October 20, 2009 6:11 AMMalwarebytes and SuperAntispyware
Avira
Try a visit to PC Pitstop, and run their tests. They now offer software to purchase to fix some of the issues, but generally also tell you how to fix it yourself.
I use EasyCleaner as a registry cleaner, and it seems to work fine.
Posted by: Peter B at October 20, 2009 6:31 AMI've been using TuneUp Utilities for sometime and it has served me well. It won't solve "all" Windows problems, of course, but it's helpful in many situations.
Posted by: Lung Van at October 20, 2009 9:56 AM