Since the Deep Analysis is estimated to take only 5 to 7 minutes (as opposed to 1 to 2 minutes for the Quick Analysis), I recommend the more thorough test. The first time you open the program, you're prompted to perform either a Quick Analysis or a Deep Analysis. Iolo Technologies' System Mechanic places a PC-health gauge on the Windows sidebar that shows your system's status at a glance. Click the gadget to open a window that provides an overview of your PC's health. (The option to do so is checked by default.) This adds the program's gadget to the desktop sidebar and shows via a green-yellow-red gauge your system's status. The pretest runs of the Windows tools and Norton 360 had reported that the machine was fully secure and optimized.įast, thorough system checks with only a couple of clicksĭuring System Mechanics' installation, you're asked whether you want to add the PC Health Status Gadget to your desktop. All of these glitches were unearthed immediately after I had scanned the PC using both Windows' own system utilities and Symantec's $80 Norton 360. When I ran System Mechanic's 'Deep Analysis' on my test Vista PC, the program discovered 11 separate problems, including 31 security vulnerabilities, an unnecessary and dangerous startup program, 71 broken shortcuts, 2.5GB of system clutter, and more than 3,000 Registry errors. (I reviewed Piriform's CCleaner and several other free Windows utilities in a post from February 2009, and back in April I compared CCleaner with IOBit's Advanced SystemCare Free.) While there are many free system tools that do a better job of maintaining your PC than Windows' own utilities, none that I've used can match the thoroughness and simplicity of System Mechanic. This point was driven home for me when I tested the new version 10 of Iolo Technologies' $40 System Mechanic utility package (a fully functional 30-day free trial is available).

It may even find you if you rely on a single commercial package for protection. If you rely solely on the tools built into Windows to keep your PC running safely and smoothly, trouble will find you soon enough. One of those purposes is Windows system maintenance. Yet I have to admit that for some purposes, free software comes up short. No one is a bigger fan of freeware than I am.

Iobit vs iolo