Your Favorite Utilities for Windows 7/8

[peti1212]

What are some applications you guys like to use with Windows 7 or Windows 8, and why? Here is my list:

1. CCleaner
2. Dropbox
3. AVG Free
4. K-Lite Codec Pack
5. VLC Player

CCleaner is nice because it allows me to clean my system with just a few clicks of button, plus it has a feature for SSDs or any other storage device where you can Secure Erase your SSD, but only the free portions of your disk. This seemed to help me at times when TRIM didn't seem to work and my SSDs lost some performance.

Dropbox, I use to back up all the important files I have that I share between my systems, school work, work related materials, and documents.

AVG Free has worked for me ever since I installed it on my system 2 years ago. Hasn't slowed down my system even during gameplay and has given me good enough anti-virus protection. Never been infected, but AVG caught some instances of viruses, so I know it's working.

K-Lite Codec Pack seems to be the be the best codec pack I could find to date. While FFDShow was fine, K-Lite seems to have a lot more codecs including the FFDShow codec pack. Comes with a Medial Player that seems to run lots of formats the VLC might struggle with, but I keep both on my system just in case one of the players fails to play a video, or if I need specific things in my videos like audio delay, subtitles, etc.

So what do you guys like to use, and why?

[PP Mguire]

7Zip
Daemon Tools Lite
CCCP
WinRAR
Handbrake.

I think all of them are pretty obvious. I ditched K-Lite due to CCCP having better support and I have never had a problem playing any video file I've ever come across.

I use Handbrake cause it's free, easy to use, and takes advantage of my CPU. Rip a BD to DVD in about 10 minutes.

[peti1212]

I use WinRAR also, though I never heard of CCCP, sounds interesting. Might have to give it a try next time I reinstall my system. Daemon Tools Lite, I haven't used in a long long time. I tend to use PowerISO for mounting images. Works on most images that I've used. Handbreak, interesting... I haven't used it, though heard about it, but never knew what it was for. Does it convert any video format to anything, or is it mainly used for just ripping BD to DVD or DVD to some other format?

[PP Mguire]

http://cccp-project.net/

Check it out.

I use Daemon cause it was what I went to during the switch from XP to Vista/7. Alcohol 120% didn't work well and Daemon did. I also use it in Windows 98 so it's kind of a complete package. I also like how it doesn't require reboot.

Handbrake can convert (I think) any video file to MKV or MP4. It has other profiles but I haven't used it. Definitely worth a look cause I've tried many different things like Daniusoft, Mediaespresso, ConvertX, Xilosoft, ect. Wound up coming to this and it stuck.

[Pablo 54]

Going to try cccp. Love Handbrake and VLC. I use My Movies in WMC because of its WHS11 support. Anything better out there?

[werty316]

Too many to list really but here are the ones I use the most:

Avidemux
Handbrake
MPC-HC
SmoothVideo Project (Give it a try; your PC video viewing experience will never be same once you do)
Winrar
Jdownloader
IDM

[peti1212]

Does IDM actually work? I never really believed in the download accelerator type applications. Never seemed to help.

[werty316]

Yup, it works like a charm.

I use it because it has the ability to downland a file by using multiple connections rather than a single connection to maximize your download speed.

[PP Mguire]

Yup, it works like a charm.

I use it because it has the ability to downland a file by using multiple connections rather than a single connection to maximize your download speed.

Ding ding. This is great for large pipes so you can hog some server bandwidth. I don't personally use any accelerators because even though I have a fast connection I usually max it out.

[peti1212]

Yeah, that's why I don't think I ever saw any performance increase either. I'm running on a 10Mbps connection with 30Mbps turbo boost (Time Warner) but usually I max out the performance from my provider so I don't see any gains. The speed is still limited by the provider. I guess the only time you would see a performance increase is if your connection is faster than the server's speed, then you can take advantage of multiple servers at once.

[PP Mguire]

How you do get turbo boost? I have 20Mb TW and don't have that.

Some servers are slow or limit you. You can use this to do multiple connections and gain fasters speeds.

[peti1212]

when you start downloading PP, do you get speeds up in the 3-4MB/s range? The way it works is that you start your download at around 3-4MB/s, and then it slowly slows down to your actual speed. So my 10MBps is usually around 1200kb/s, but for the first 5-10 seconds I get 3-4MB/s. It should come automatically with your TimeWarner plan. Not sure how much you're paying but our plan includes it. We pay $29.99.

Edit: It's neat for smaller downloads in the 20-50mb range, but doesn't help much when you have to download 1GB or 10GB, because you only get the boost for like 10 seconds max.

[James86]

VLC is a must I install it on all the comps I use
CCleaner for removing bloatware on new pc's and general maintenance
PowerISO for burning and mounting ISO's
My dad uses handbrake for converting media files to run on his tablet

[PP Mguire]

when you start downloading PP, do you get speeds up in the 3-4MB/s range? The way it works is that you start your download at around 3-4MB/s, and then it slowly slows down to your actual speed. So my 10MBps is usually around 1200kb/s, but for the first 5-10 seconds I get 3-4MB/s. It should come automatically with your TimeWarner plan. Not sure how much you're paying but our plan includes it. We pay $29.99.

Edit: It's neat for smaller downloads in the 20-50mb range, but doesn't help much when you have to download 1GB or 10GB, because you only get the boost for like 10 seconds max.

Paying 50 for the 20 and my downloads are always 2.3-2.5MB/s.

[peti1212]

Sounds reasonable, so you don't get the boost at the beginning?