No matter how much experience you have with Microsoft’s Windows, it can still be improved by turning to software and tools that can make the operating system that much better.
Take Windows 11, for example: When Microsoft introduced it with extremely strict system requirements in autumn 2021, it was only a matter of time before those barriers could be circumvented.
In order to install the new operating system on older PCs, the registry first had to be changed manually. Later, this could be simplified with a batch file, and now even that is superfluous thanks to Rufus, a small tool for creating bootable USB sticks. Now, with just a few additional mouse clicks, you can run Windows 11 on almost any computer.
Let’s start this look at helpful, dead simple Windows software with that very program, before diving deeper into several different categories.
1. Windows installation, updates, and help tools during booting
Download the installation file for Windows 11 from Microsoft via the option “Download a Windows 11 disk image (ISO).”
Now insert a flash drive with at least 8GB of storage space into the computer. Start Rufus, click on “Select” on the interface, select the Windows 11 ISO file, and then click “Start”. The “Customize installation” dialogue then appears, giving you an option to avoid Windows 11’s obligation to set up an online account. Follow the setup process until Windows 11 is installed.
This Rufus-loaded flash drive will not only reinstall Windows 11 on any PC, but also upgrade any Windows 10 installation via the setup.exe file!
If you want to move an older Windows 10 system 1:1 to a new PC, we recommend Easeus Todo Backup. With it, you create an image of your old computer’s storage, from which you restore your system with all settings, programs, and data on your new PC. In addition, Windows 10 can then be upgraded to Windows 11 without any problems.
To install an older Windows version – for example Windows 8.1, 10, or 11 version 21H2 – save it to your storage with Windows ISO Downloader and create a setup flash drive from it with Rufus.
Depending on the Windows version, the hardware and the history of the PC, you may need a product key to activate the operating system for the new installation. You can read this key on your existing system with Showkeyplus.
Reset Windows Update Tool solves various update problems: Almost 20 features are available after starting the program with administrator rights.
If you have installed several versions of Windows, Linux, or other operating systems on your computer, you can use Easy BCD to adjust the boot entries and their prioritization.
Creating a flash drive as a multiboot system for booting different live systems was a complex matter for a long time. Ventoy fundamentally changes that. With this tool, all you have to do is make the flash drive bootable by clicking on “Install” and then simply save the ISO files on the stick within Windows. After booting from the flash drive, you select the desired live system via the Ventoy interface. The key benefit here is you don’t need to create a new bootable flash drive when a new system version appears, but simply replace the older one with the new ISO file. Another plus: You can continue to use free space on the USB stick to save and transport your data.
2. PC start-up, optimisation, error analysis, hardware & drivers
Glary Utilities makes both problem analysis and their elimination possible with a mouse click, everything else is done automatically by the software in the background.
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The promise of “1-click maintenance” is hit or miss on the PC. The causes of possible errors are too varied and the solutions too complex. That said, Ccleaner and Glary Utilities are always worth a try. You can start the system analysis and the subsequent problem elimination with just one mouse click.
Bootracer requires a few more clicks. The program analyzes the start-up process and breaks it down into individual segments. This shows at a glance which process or autostart program has a problem. You can choose to start the boot analysis as a normal complete Windows start, or limited to the system without autostarting software. The wizards make it easy to use Bootracer, including the necessary restarts. You can see in the details where and why your start-up may take an unusually long time. These limitations help to get to the bottom of the cause or, if it makes sense, to exclude the software in question from autostarting when Windows loads.
The analysis tools Hwinfo and Speccy show whether something is wrong with your hardware. Both programs provide a wealth of information and sensor measurement data. Even more information on your processor is provided by CPU-Z and Core Temp, while GPU-Z digs deep into graphics card details. Unknown Device Identifier is helpful in identifying unknown components; the tool shows many more components than the native Windows device manager.
Memtest86 tests the main memory for errors, while Crystaldiskinfo analyzes SSDs and magnetic hard drives by reading out the SMART parameters. A look at the “overall status” shows whether everything is OK. The tool sounds an alarm in the event of abnormal values, which is very important for drives full of personal data.
Snappy Driver Installer recognises outdated hardware drivers and automatically updates them with the latest versions if desired.
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Snappy Driver Installer checks whether your installed hardware drivers are up-to-date. The tool starts without installation. Click on the option “Download indices only” and wait until the system analysis is complete. Now, if desired, activate the “Restore point” field. To replace all obsolete drivers, continue by clicking on “Select all – Install” at the top left. Alternatively, check the obsolete entries individually. Due to the file sizes of some drivers, downloading and installing may take some time.
3. Windows Explorer, Desktop Tools and Remote Maintenance
Windows Explorer and the desktop are always used on a computer — even if mostly unconsciously. While Microsoft has equipped the file manager with tabs in Windows 11, you have to retrofit the file explorer tabs into Windows 10.
To do this, install Qttabbar, restart the PC, open Explorer, and click on the down arrow in the “View” tab under the “Options” symbol on the right. There, you activate the list entry “Qttabbar” to show the new tab bar.
The free version of Tidy Tabs allows up to three tabs in a window, across programs – for example, an Excel sheet, a Word document, and Outlook. It makes it easier to view pictures with a large preview that you start and close by pressing the space bar.
Treesize Free shows you at a glance which files are eating up space on your hard drive. The already mentioned Ccleaner also offers a quick search function for duplicate files (“Extras -‘ Duplicate Finder”). Other tools like Anti-Twin offer more options, but are more complicated to use.
Small intervention, big effect. Capslock Goodbye prevents you once and for all from accidentally pressing the Caps Lock key again.
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Clipboard Master can do more and is more convenient than the Windows clipboard. If you’re annoyed by accidental clicks of the caps lock key, Capslock Goodbye is the tool for you. The software deactivates the key or assigns an alternative function to it. Desktop OK restores the icon placement on the desktop if it has been mixed up.
Three other programs provide more order (and more space on the hard disk): Should I Remove it shows which pre-installed software you can safely delete on new computers. O&O Appbuster makes it easier to remove Windows apps that hardly anyone needs. Unchecky prevents the secret installation of unwanted programs and toolbars. It’s a godsend.
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