{"id":7750,"date":"2018-02-03T21:21:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T05:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/?p=7750"},"modified":"2018-02-03T21:21:44","modified_gmt":"2018-02-04T05:21:44","slug":"create-ultimate-usb-key-ring-solve-computer-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/2018\/02\/03\/create-ultimate-usb-key-ring-solve-computer-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create the Ultimate USB Key Ring to Solve Any Computer Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is a super-useful list of programs to help recover friend’s computers
\nhttps:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/340763\/how-to-create-the-ultimate-usb-key-ring-to-solve-any-computer-problem\/<\/p>\n

Go to HowToGeek.com<\/a> to view it. The snippet here is for archival purposes… just in case!<\/p>\n

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Google Chrome Portable<\/strong><\/a>: Because you don\u2019t want to use someone else\u2019s browser, do you? The link above is a modified version of Chrome that launches from any folder, updated with the latest stable release from Google.<\/p>\n

Revo Uninstaller<\/strong><\/a>: This tool is a fast method for uninstalling applications, like the bloatware that tends to cling around on new machines. It has a few useful extras, like a \u201cHunter Mode\u201d that can uninstall programs just by pointing at their window\u2013great for that crapware you aren\u2019t sure the name of. Best of all, it can also clean up those annoying leftover directories in places like the main programs folder and the startup menu.<\/p>\n

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Avira Rescue System<\/a>: \u00a0<\/b>a self-booting drive tool that can clean viruses, malware, and other nasty stuff off of other operating systems. This one will require its own USB drive on your key ring. Make sure to update it periodically with the official freeware tool\u2013instructions for creating your own USB rescue drive are at the link.<\/p>\n

CrystalDiskInfo<\/strong><\/a>: A tool for \u00a0checking the health and longevity of hard drives<\/a>. Handy if you think the storage on a PC is failing.<\/p>\n

Speccy<\/a><\/strong>: An easy way to quickly see all the technical specifications of a computer, including non-obvious stuff like the number of RAM DIMMs installed and the number of expansion slots used.<\/p>\n

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Process Explorer<\/a><\/strong>: A tool that \u00a0helps you identify running processes<\/a>. Handy for identifying running malware and other bad stuff.<\/p>\n

AdwCleaner<\/a>: \u00a0<\/b>A tool that seeks out and destroys adware\u2013those annoying toolbars and pop-up menus that tend to install themselves when unknowing users download free programs that are bundled with all kinds of mildly malicious advertising. The program is a self-contained executable you can launch from a USB drive.<\/p>\n

Peerblock<\/strong><\/a>: A tool for creating a quick firewall, selectively blocking incoming and outgoing traffic.<\/p>\n

MBRtool<\/strong><\/a>: This isn\u2019t a standalone app, but a bootable tool that requires its own flash drive. Once you create it, you can pop the drive into any PC and boot from it to repair the master boot record, one of the most common causes of an OS boot failure.<\/p>\n

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HWMonitor<\/a><\/strong>: An easy way to inspect all kinds of esoteric hardware and settings that aren\u2019t normally visible in Windows, like all of the \u00a0temperature and fan sensors<\/a> \u00a0on the motherboard. Especially handy if you\u2019re tuning a \u201cGaming\u201d or performance PC.<\/p>\n

Wireless Network Watcher<\/a><\/strong>: This program can \u00a0show you all of the devices connected to your local network<\/a>, including their IP addresses and MAC addresses. Very useful if something is giving you network issues, or you suspect someone\u2019s on the network when they shouldn\u2019t be.<\/p>\n

WinDirStat<\/a><\/strong>: a disk analyzer and cleaner. Good for quickly finding big and unneeded files to \u00a0free up space<\/a> \u00a0if your friend\u2019s hard drive is getting full. If you prefer a more graphical layout, \u00a0SpaceSniffer<\/a><\/strong> \u00a0is a good alternative (or addition).<\/p>\n

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NirSoft password recovery tools<\/a><\/strong>: this collection of programs is designed to recover usernames and passwords if no easy recovery option is available, like resetting via email. The various tools work on web browsers, wireless networks, Windows Protected Networks, and even remote desktop tools.<\/p>\n

Hiren\u2019s Boot CD<\/strong><\/a>: an all-in-one package that includes \u00a0a ton of tools<\/a> \u00a0for repairing and optimizing computers, all squeezed into a self-booting CD file. Don\u2019t let the title fool you, you can \u00a0run it from a dedicated USB drive as well<\/a>. (Note: this actually contains a number of the tools we\u2019ve included in this guide, plus a \u00a0lot<\/em> \u00a0more\u2013but having your own versions of the tools on a non-bootable drive makes things a little easier, so we included them in this list anyway.)<\/p>\n

ProduKey<\/a><\/strong>: another Nirsoft tool. This one helps you \u00a0find Windows and other registration keys<\/a>, in case you\u2019re unable to verify someone\u2019s legitimate copy, even from other PCs on the local network. It\u2019s a portable, all-in one application, but using its advanced functions requires a bit of command line use.<\/p>\n

ShellExView<\/strong><\/a>: for \u00a0cleaning all of that crap off the Windows right-click menu<\/a> \u00a0after you\u2019ve gotten rid of the programs your friends shouldn\u2019t have downloaded.<\/p>\n

BlueScreenView<\/strong><\/a>: this very useful tool will show you the results and minidump files behind the machines latest blue screen (of death) crashes. Much better than reaching for your phone camera in the five seconds the screen is up.<\/p>\n

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The Official Windows Recovery Drive<\/strong>: Lastly, don\u2019t forget that you can also \u00a0create a USB recovery drive<\/a> \u00a0from within Windows\u2013and if you frequently find yourself repairing someone\u2019s PC, it might be a good idea to do that once you\u2019ve fixed their problem and gotten the computer into a working state. This will require its own flash drive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is a super-useful list of programs to help recover friend’s computers https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/340763\/how-to-create-the-ultimate-usb-key-ring-to-solve-any-computer-problem\/ Go to HowToGeek.com to view it. The snippet here is for archival purposes… just in case!   ————————————————–   Google Chrome Portable: Because you don\u2019t want to use someone else\u2019s browser, do you? The link above is a modified version of Chrome […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geekery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7750\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lee.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}