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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 26 reviews
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Product summary
The good: Sophisticated Windows system-repair utilities; easy navigation; excellent help section; many online tool tutorials.
The bad: No printed manual; no hard disk repair tool.
The bottom line: System Mechanic 4.0 Professional offers a better selection of tools and technical support than Norton SystemWorks Professional does.
Specifications: License qty: 1 user ; License type: Complete package ; Operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 , Microsoft Windows 98 , Microsoft Windows NT , Microsoft Windows XP , Microsoft Windows 2000 , Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition ; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 03/30/2004
- Released on: 01/20/2004
 The main screen makes access to SM4P's tools simple and supplies basic information about each one. |
Once it's installed, you can access System Mechanic 4.0 Professional in one of two ways. The first is through the main interface, which divides the many individual tools into six folders: Clean, Fix, Maintain, Optimize, Protect, and 1-2-3 Options. Highlighting one of these folders brings up a one-sentence explanation about what it contains and hovering over one of the icons inside a folder gives a detailed explanation about the given tool. Unlike Norton SystemWorks 2004 Professional, System Mechanic 4.0 Professional loads very quickly--more than three times as fast--and it is just as easy to navigate, with plenty of labels and hot keys to access folders and programs directly.
Alternatively, you can load many--but not all--of the contents of SM4P by double-clicking one of four separate desktop icons. These icons are labeled DriveScrubber/Floppy Creator, System Shield, Panda Antivirus, and Search And Recover. Note that some of System Mechanic 4.0 Professional's better tools, such as its Registry Cleaner/Optimizer, cannot be accessed through these desktop icons. As a result, we deleted the icons and simply used the main SM4P interface thereafter.We were impressed that System Mechanic 4.0 Professional's tools cover many of the bases hit by Norton SystemWorks 2004--and go somewhat beyond. For example, System Mechanic 4.0 Professional includes antivirus and firewall protection from Panda Antivirus Platinum 7.0, but if you already have adequate Internet protection, you can opt not to load Panda at installation.
 NetBooster will automatically configure your network or Internet access for maximum speed or let you set each control manually. |
System Mechanic 4.0 Professional excels with its unique tools. The NetBooster module, for instance, lets you optimize network and Internet settings for best speed and viewing, whether you're using a dial-up connection, LAN, cable, or ISDN. Memory Mechanic's real-time graph, on the other hand, displays how much memory and CPU your computer is using at any time. There's even an automatic trigger that attempts to recover RAM when it falls beneath a user-determined point, which will be far more useful for those still using Windows 98 and Me than for those using Windows XP. Popup Stopper does a good job of preventing annoying pop-up ads on your desktop while you're Net surfing. Other tools remove junk files, handle file deletion by overwriting the files multiple times, eliminate spyware, and control apps that load when Windows starts.
 Popup Stopper furnishes in-depth control of pop-up ads. It maintains a customizable list of pop-up words and ad servers and supports IE, Netscape/Mozilla, and Opera. |
Although System Mechanic 4.0 Professional has a tool to repair, optimize, and back up your system registry, it doesn't offer anything equivalent to Norton Disk Doctor, which diagnoses and repairs (where possible) disk problems. Of course, Windows supplies ScanDisk, but even the Microsoft app lacks many of Disk Doctor's handy features.
Still, the comprehensive depth of System Mechanic 4.0 Professional's tools remains considerable. For example, Disk Defragmenter doesn't just defrag a given drive: it lets you create and store multiple profiles (any number of files and/or folders you select) for future defragmentation. This allows you to speed up defragmentation by choosing areas of your hard drive that are used frequently. Iolo Search And Recover not only recovers deleted files, it also recovers deleted e-mail from Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape, and Qualcomm's Eudora.Iolo provides free, live telephone technical support for its System Mechanic 4.0 Professional; however, the call itself is a toll call, and telephone support is available only Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET.
 SM4P's online tutorials provide an excellent introduction to most of the tools. |
Online support includes a FAQ, a searchable knowledge base, lengthy step-by-step tutorials with full color illustrations for most tools, and tech support via e-mail.
 The well-organized help system offers detailed information about each tool. |
Although there's no printed manual for the product, the built-in help system is context-sensitive. Thus, System Mechanic 4.0 Professional's help index is well organized and extremely detailed, with plenty of cross-links to useful subjects. For example, support for TCP Large Windows in NetBooster includes links to several other related definitions. You can also add your own annotated comments to any help screen. These are saved as linked notes, which can be recovered anytime using the Options/Annotate menu.
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