As part of the ongoing story, portable apps are applications and tools that can be started directly upon clicking them, with no prior installation needed.
As part of the ongoing story, these useful tools are then available for analyzing and maintaining any computer you slap the flash drive into, making them utterly invaluable for informal tech support duties. The advantage of this is that the programs are immediately ready for use and can be started from any storage drive — including a USB flash drive.
According to the latest update, let’s take a look at the best portable applications for devices analysis and system tuning, as well as a basic setup with media early adopter, image editing, and word processing tools.
Industry observers note that further reading: How to permanently erase data on SSDs, hard drives, & USB flash drives.
As part of the ongoing story, as a starting point for most portable applications, the PortableApp.com Stack is used to manage the programs and as a convenient program launcher.
According to the latest update, the tool also checks whether updates are available, which can be installed with a single click.
According to the latest update, the portable applications can also be started from a USB stick. PortableApps.com Stack shows a menu with categories and programs.
In a fresh development, you can specify the root directory or a subdirectory as the destination. The “PortableApps” folder contains the programs; you can use the “Documents” folder for your own files. Unzip the portable app package to any directory on the hard drive or directly to a USB stick.
As part of the ongoing story, when you start a program or click with the mouse on the desktop, the window closes automatically. Launcher: Start PortableApps.com Stack via “Start.exe.” The program interface opens with the application menu.
The report highlights that the programs are sorted into categories such as “Graphics and Pictures,” “Infrastructure,” “Security,” and “System,” and can be started with a click of the mouse. The tool appears as a button in the taskbar and as an icon in the notification area next to the clock.
The report highlights that the search bar serves as a filter; only menu entries that match the pattern entered are displayed.
The report highlights that for example, select “Show all alphabetically” if you want to see the list of all programs but no categories. Configuration: PortableApps.com Stack can be configured by clicking on “Options.” On the “Organization” tab, you can define the structure of the application list.
In a fresh development, under “Advanced,” “Keep menu open after application start” can be a useful option.
Industry observers note that this allows you to try out several programs without having to call up the menu again each time. Click on “OK” to save the settings. If activated, the menu remains open after you have started a program.
In a fresh development, tick the desired entries and click on “Install.”. Installing programs: Go to “Applications > More applications > By category.” A window opens with a list of additional programs that can be downloaded.
Industry observers note that remove programs: If you do not need a program, simply delete it from the “PortableApps” folder.
Industry observers note that portableApps.com Stack searches for executable files in all subdirectories at startup and displays fresh programs in the “Other” category. A program can be assigned to another category via the “Category” context menu item. Add programs manually: You can also create folders with additional portable tools.
Industry observers note that further reading: How long does data last on a USB flash drive?
According to the latest update, many Windows settings are hidden in the depths of the system or cannot be changed at all by default.
According to the latest update, winaero Tweaker: The tool provides quick access to Windows options and settings, which it usually changes directly in the registry.
The report highlights that winaero Tweaker provides access to numerous options and settings.
According to the latest update, the tool determines the version of the operating system and only displays the settings available for it. The description texts are usually brief; if you want to know more, click on “See more details how this tweak works” (or similar). The website then shows further information. The “tweaks” are listed in a tree view.
As part of the ongoing story, tweak Power offers an interface for a number of system tasks.
Industry observers note that the “Windows” section provides quick access to many Windows settings — for example, in the areas of “Operation” (mouse, keyboard), “Administration” (user logon, system startup), and “Visual Styler” (system icons, screen saver). Under “Cleaning” you can remove traces of web browser use.
According to the latest update, tweak Power also offers functions for managing autostart programs, and can fix errors in the file system and optimize system settings.
Industry observers note that tweaking.com Windows Repair AIO can fix numerous Windows problems, such as resetting incorrectly set file permissions, re-registering system files, or repairing the Windows patch.
As part of the ongoing story, to do this, click on “Restart in safe mode.”. Windows Repair recommends carrying out all repairs in safe mode.
The report highlights that first carry out the steps recommended by the wizard. Under “System tools,” create a backup of the registry before making any changes to the system. Then click on “Repairs > Main part” and “Call up repairs.” Select the desired repair functions. As soon as Windows is running again, restart Windows Repair.
According to the latest update, however, it is also advisable to keep an eye on the condition of the drives and the temperature of the components in order to prevent failures. Information about what is in the PC helps, for example, when searching for drivers.
In a fresh development, speccy: Find out what devices is installed in the PC and display the temperatures of the motherboard, CPU, graphics chip, hard drives and SSDs.
As part of the ongoing story, it shows the manufacturer and type designations of the components as well as the temperature of the CPU and SSDs or hard drives. The S.MA.R.T values provide information on the status of the drives. Speccy quickly provides the most important data on CPU, RAM, graphics chip and motherboard.
As part of the ongoing story, hwinfo displays particularly extensive details about the devices.
According to the latest update, “Sensors” provides a more detailed insight into the current values of the CPU, RAM, drives, and network adapters — for example, the clock frequency, voltage supply, temperature, power consumption, and transfer rates. The “System overview” window provides data on the CPU, motherboard, and GPU, while the main window lists all components found.
According to the latest update, crystal Disk Info displays drives and the requested S.M.A.R.T. Data. CPU-Z, GPU-Z, SSD-Z, and PCI-Z specialize in the values of the processor, graphics chip, SSD, and PCI bus.
In a fresh development, you can find out whether a drive actually delivers the expected performance. Crystal Disk Mark: The tool measures the read and write speed of hard disks and SSDs.
As part of the ongoing story, the tool can determine the transfer rate with different file sizes. This can be used to determine whether an SSD is working as fast as it should. Crystal Disk Mark is a performance test for hard disks and SSDs.
According to the latest update, installation systems are usually delivered as an ISO file, the contents of which you must first transfer to a USB stick. Windows or Linux systems can be set up quickly from a USB stick.
As part of the ongoing story, if you start Rufus from a stick with the portable tool collection, you need a second USB stick as the installation target. The stick will be formatted and all files on it will be lost. This works particularly reliably for a large number of systems with Rufus.
Industry observers note that ventoy: Several ISO files can be booted from a USB stick prepared with this tool, for example for Windows or Linux installation.
In a fresh development, this tool also reformats the USB stick. However, you can copy the portable tool collection to the hard drive, then format the stick with Ventoy and then copy the tool collection back to the stick. An alternative is Ventoy.
In a fresh development, when you boot the PC from the stick, Ventoy displays a menu from which you can start the desired installation system. Place the ISO files of the operating systems on the stick.
As part of the ongoing story, you can display the most important data, such as IP address and connection speed, in the “Settings” via “Network and Internet.” In the terminal, ipconfig can help. Windows only offers a few diagnostic options for the network.
As part of the ongoing story, angry IP Scanner: Enter the IP range of the network and click on “Start.” The IP numbers of all devices in the local network are then displayed in the list.
As part of the ongoing story, this is useful in foreign networks to track down all devices. The tool also shows whether a device is listening on ports 80 and/or 443, which indicates a configuration interface that can be called up in the browser. Angry IP Scanner scans an IP range and displays the network resources found.
As part of the ongoing story, web browsers that establish a connection via ports 80 or 443 (HTTP and HTTPS) are to be expected. If unknown programs that use unusual ports appear in the list, this could be malware. Port Expert shows processes that are currently using the internet connection.
Industry observers note that firefox is useful as a portable version if you want to use the browser on other people’s computers with the usual settings.
According to the latest update, protect them in the settings under “Privacy and security” with a sufficiently complex master password. Access data can also be saved with the portable browser.
In a fresh development, a basic programs package should also include image viewers and image editing as well as simple programs for document processing.
The report highlights that in addition to image viewing and browser functions, Irfan View also enables the post-processing of graphic files. Irfan View is a powerful image viewer that supports numerous graphic formats and can therefore open almost any image file.
According to the latest update, you can rotate, flip, crop, sharpen, or add effects to images without loss.
As part of the ongoing story, functions such as image cropping, scaling, red-eye removal, color saturation, contrast, and brightness adjustment are available. Paint.Net can be used to edit photos and create drawings.
The report highlights that the screen recorder creates a sequence of images that can be saved as an animated GIF. The animation can be opened and played in the web browser or in Irfan View. Screentogif is helpful if you want to record some work steps on the PC as a tutorial.
Industry observers note that the Windows version is no longer being developed, but Abi Word is certainly sufficient for occasional use. Abi Word is a clearly organized word processor and can also handle files created with Microsoft Word or Libre Office, for example.
In a fresh development, files can be opened in several tabs and syntax highlighting makes it easier to edit configuration files, for example. The text editor Notepad++ does more than Microsoft Notepad.
According to the latest update, it displays bookmarks and you can rotate pages if necessary. The PDF reader Sumatra PDF fulfils simple requirements.
According to the latest update, you can use it to change or add text to PDFs. If you want to edit PDFs, you can use PDF-Xchange Editor.
Industry observers note that to be prepared for presentations, for example, you should have your own media early adopter ready. Not every PC has programs that can play all audio and video formats.
In a fresh development, it comes with all the necessary codecs and is not dependent on what is installed on the PC. VLC Media Customer can play all common audio and video files.
The report highlights that sMPlayer has many of the same capabilities as the widely used VLC Media Customer, but with more customization options.
As part of the ongoing story, the program is a good alternative if you want more customization options for the user interface. Smplayer has roughly the same capabilities as VLC.
According to the latest update, as of version 3.5, AI functions can also be used in the program. Audacity is an audio editor that is suitable for recording, editing, and playing back audio files in various formats.
According to the latest update, clam Win: The free virus scanner is easy to use and scans the selected drive or only certain folders or files.
The report highlights that however, it can’t hurt to get a second opinion if malware is suspected. A virus scanner can probably be found on every PC by now.
According to the latest update, when starting, you confirm the patch of the signature files, then select the drive, folder, or file and click on “Scan.”. ClamWin is a free open-source virus scanner.
The report highlights that after starting, simply click on “Scan” to check the system drive. Click on “Customize my scan” if you want to select drives or folders. Stinger was originally developed by McAfee, but is now maintained by Trellix.
According to the latest update, after clicking on “Scan system,” the tool scans the drives and displays the findings. Check the results, uncheck the boxes next to entries that you do not want to delete, and click on “Fix selected.”. Spybot – Search & Destroy is a long-established product for searching for unwanted programs and browser tracking cookies.
In a fresh development, this article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and localized from German.
In a fresh development, thorsten Eggeling schreibt seit gut 20 Jahren Artikel für die PC-WELT.