This includes information about the cpu, computer memory, motherboard (including manufacturer, type, socket and chipset, graphics, hard drives, optical drives and audio.

A sidebar like menu contains links to sections that contain detailed reports about the selected hardware that has been listed in the summary.

These sections contain very detailed reports on the PC hardware. The computer memory section for example contains information about the type, size, channels, DRAM frequency, command rate, frequencies and dozens of additional parameters that go into extreme details.

The program provides excellent information for users who want to find out detailed information about connected and installed PC hardware. The beta version had problems identifying the Ati Radeon 4870 video card that was installed in the test PC system.

Speccy is available as a beta for most Microsoft operating systems including the latest Windows 7. It is available as a portable software and installer.

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Individual modules can either contain one function, for example cleaning the Windows Registry, or multiple pages like the Windows Secrets module which lists 11 functions that load in their separate windows each.

The tool combines many commonly used system maintenance tools in its interface which makes it an interesting option for users who like to control their computer system from one software program instead of multiple applications. Below is a small overview of the available modules and their core features:

• Disk Cleaner: Scan drives for temporary files and delete those files. Includes the option to add file types and to exclude directories from the process.
• Disk Usage Analyzer: Scans and displays usage information about a hard drive that is connected to the computer system.
• Miscellaneous Tools: A collection of tools ranging from a process manager to editing configuration files, managing autorun and virtual desktops.
• Registry Cleaner: Scan the Windows Registry for obsolete entries and errors
• Registry Defragmenter: Reduces the size of the Windows Registry by removing empty spaces.
• Startup Manager: Manage startup programs in the Windows operating system.
• System Information: Extensive information about the computer hardware and software.
• Track Cleaner: Remove tracks left by popular applications like Microsoft Office, Windows Media Player and dozens of third party applications.
• Uninstall Programs: Software uninstaller.
• Windows Secrets: Options to tweak many aspects of the operating system from Windows core functions to Start Menu, Windows Explorer to Desktop and Special Folders.

A backup is created before changing important system functions. PowerPack 2009 is available for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista.

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The Task Manager software extension changes the Applications and Processes tab in the Windows Task Manager. The Process ID is shown in the Applications tab while the major changes are visible and accessible in the Processes tab.

The default view in the Processes tab remains more or less unchanged. The only two differences are icons for every process listed and Windows system processes are grayed out to increase the visibility of non system processes.

The Task Manager software extension would be mediocre at best if those were the only changes. The majority of changes have been added to the right-click context menu. The two entries Information and Properties which display all kind of information about the selected process. Useful information include the system path, process environment variables and service information if available.

In addition to that users can view information about Files, Modules, Handles, Windows, Threads, Memory Maps and Process Security.

The Task Manager Software Extension added one additional menu to the top menu which provides access to additional information. Users can opt to view the loaded drivers, all handles and search for files and modules.

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The software program PC Audit uses tabs to divide the information about the computer system into categories. It displays the tabs System, Software and Processes which each contain dozens of information about the computer system.

The System tab for example contains information about the system hardware, Windows product key, installed Windows hotfixes, startup items and network information while the software tab contains the list of installed software applications. While that is not that useful it does have a feature that might make it interesting again. It can list the product key of several of the installed applications on the computer system.

The processes tab on the other hand is just a list of running processes with less detailed information as the Windows Task Manager. There is no real use for that tab in the software application.

The main use for this application can be narrowed down to its portability. It’s rather lightweight and fits perfectly on USB devices. Could be used to get a first quick overview of a computer system without having to run any locally installed applications.

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Some fields, like the hard drives, display the free space and an overlay bar that is showing the amount of used space on that drive. The program window can be moved around on the desktop and set to “always on top” if so desired.

The appearance can be customized. The user can change fonts, the sizes, the transparency level, and various colors to make it fit his needs.

Additional information can be retrieved by right-clicking on an entry that is displayed. A right-click on Processes displays all running processes on the system with an option to kill selected ones. Most fields contain those additional information which allow a quick analysis.

The tool uses roughly 6 Megabytes and 3 Megabytes of virtual memory when displaying all fields on the desktop. That’s impressive. Currently two versions are available at the developer’s homepage. One is for subscribers only (it’s free) which adds a few features like a horizontal layout.

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It’s convenient because it places the information, like the current IP, free hard drive space and Logon Domain and Server, right on the desktop background which means no additional windows, menus or widgets that take up valuable screen estate. It’s also resource friendly because it simply writes a new desktop wallpaper with the information and exits. This does however mean that the information presented could be different from the actual information depending on the last time that BgInfo has been started.

Most information that can be displayed on the other hand does not change that often and I suppose some clever users could come up with a scheduled start every x minutes so that the information that is displayed by BgInfo is accurate.

Each entry can be configured independently from the rest to merge the information perfectly with the desktop wallpaper. The user can select the font, size, color, alignment and the global position of all information.

The software is compatible with multi-desktop systems and runs on Windows 2000 SP4 Rollup 1 and newer Windows operating systems including Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista.

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