I tend to like comparing working with computers to working with cars. I’m not sure why. I think it probably has to do with the fact that everyone has a vague idea of what mechanics do, but computers are often seen as a black magic.<\/p>\n
So here’s a list of things that I’ve found handy to have in my “garage,” because you never know when you’re going to need them:<\/p>\n
I used to keep a thumb drive with handy Windows utilities, too, but I haven’t done much with Windows lately. It had things like a bunch of SysInternals<\/a> tools, CCleaner<\/a>, Defraggler<\/a>, and Recuva<\/a>… Portable Firefox, and trial installers for anti-virus software. Revo Uninstaller<\/a>. Back in the day I had Ad-Aware<\/a>, too; not sure if it’s useful these days or not. Ninite<\/a> is cool but not really meant for a thumb-drive. Actually, pretty much everything in Lifehacker’s How to Fix Your Relatives’ Terrible Computer<\/a> is really good. Photorec<\/a> is super-obscure and not easy to use for non-geeks, but it does its job amazingly well.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I tend to like comparing working with computers to working with cars. I’m not sure why. I think it probably has to do with the fact that everyone has a vague idea of what mechanics do, but computers are often … Continue reading