I have been a computer geek for a while now. Ever since I can remember. But a rough carbon dating would put it down to around 2008-09.
Over the years I have come to collect some cool tools for windows which I frequently use. I just thought to list them out here so I can come back to it later, and if you’re reading this post at a future date, hope you found something of value in this list for yourself too.
WizTree
Used to check which file and folder is using how much storage. Faster than the other WinDirStat.
When scanning NTFS formatted drives, WizTree reads the hard drive’s Master File Table (MFT) directly from the disk (like Everything Search does). It can also quickly scan non NTFS and network drives.
Everything
Searches for files in Windows very fast. So much so, i never use Windows search and instead have set this as my first tool in the taskbar and whenever I need to search for any file on my computer, I press ‘Windows Key + 1’ and this tool pops right up.
https://www.voidtools.com/downloads/
Duplicate Files finder
Finds the files. But doesn’t aid in easy deletion.
CCleaner is easier to use. Just remember to “include files and subfolders” option so that you match against all files.
Using tools like these, I have managed to recover massive swaths of storage space. Also since I’m a fan of tagging and sorting stuff, especially memes I download from the internet, I accidentally end up making multiple copies of a post I downloaded and putting them in multiple folders as I transfer them from phone to computer. This simple utility makes sure I am not spending my time sorting and categorizing a file that I have already sorted once. This is possible thanks to the fact that duplicate finders don’t only match file names to see if duplicates exist. They search for far more data including file sizes and content.
Bulk Rename Utility
I like to rename lots of files with context. Especially pics and videos. For example, before I upload anything to my google photos backup, I rename all the videos with the context, like running to the train, riding the train, and then at the end I add something common which I need to add to many files like (with ‘Friend’) so instead of typing this ending to every file, I use this utility to append my text to all files. There are other options like convert to small case/Capital case, add serial numbers, find and replace text, etc.
Rename a lot of files at once, including using regex
https://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/
Advanced Renamer
Quite good too as it uses file metadata to also rename files like its height and width. You can make different templates and checkbox whichever one you want to run at any time and in what order.
https://www.advancedrenamer.com/
MP3Tag
I like to organise my music too. Yes I still download all my music. With this tool, I can metadata of all mp3 files and also rename files using the ID3 tags (they are the ‘properties’ part of mp3 files, like title, author, album, year of release, etc)
AMT- Auto Movie Thumbnailer
I use this to generate thumbnails of media files I download from the internet, eg. Funny YouTube videos.
FastStone Photo Resizer
Resizes pics with advanced features including making progressive images. The ones that first load a blur image and then gradually refine. This gives the illusion of a fast website to the viewer.
https://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm
Format Factory
Been using this since forever. Does a lot of the heavy lifting through visual aids instead of having to tweak FFMPEG command line code. Allows all sorts of file conversions. Although the quality may not always be the best, so always compare the quality of the file it generates before deleting the source. But it’s unparalleled. I’ve been using this since 2008.
Also nowadays, it comes with a screen recorder for some reason.
Handbrake
Better tech for compressing video files. Can compress to really small sizes and supports newest codecs.
Also specific to premiere pro where it fixes an age-old error when trying to load variable frame rate video files into premiere pro and this software was used to convert the variable frames to static.
Somewhere I got stuck was: You need to choose to queue all files and confirm by viewing the queue to make sure all the files are scheduled for conversion.
JDownloader
Best file downloader. Looks complex and clunky but nowadays with better internet speed, I don’t want multi-threaded download. Rather this downloader’s quality of options is what make it great.
https://jdownloader.org/download/index
Foxit Reader
Make sure to get the right one that’s not too bulky and is free. It allows to edit PDFs for free. I used to take notes for USMLE on the First aid book’s PDF with this software. It helps to add images, comments, highlights, everything.
Macrium Reflect
Paid software. Free trial for a month, but it’s the only one that was successfully able to clone my SSD to a new SSD when I wanted to increase storage space on my computer and had to replace my old C driver SSD. This utility may be very advanced stuff for some.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
RoboCopy
There is a command line tool that has many options to add copying/moving files and so there are many GUI (Graphic user interface) wrappers built around the CLU (command line utility) to make life easier and less error prone. I use the one by danny35d. You might find better ones in the wild.
I use this software to generate the exact duplicate of one folder in another place. It will add any missing files in the destination and delete any excess file from the destination that is not in the source. Also, it helps delete pestering files that just refuse to get deleted.
https://www.autoitscript.com/forum/topic/28754-robocopy-gui/
AutoHotKey
Helps automate commands that would take muliple clicks, by just doing 1-2 clicks/typing. I have used it a lot in the past but not so much of late since I don’t need to save on clicks and typing that much anymore for some reason.
FileMenu Tools
Gives option on right click to do lots of things with your folders/files. using ‘Copy path’ helps easily find the file from a different interface like the upload screen.
https://www.lopesoft.com/index.php/en/filemenutools
PowerToys
Free from Microsoft. I use File Locksmith and FancyZones a lot.
This is a free bundle of over a dozen tools like the ones I’ve listed above.
StarDock Fences
Paid software. I use it to organise my desktop into neat segments containing relevant files.
OBS studio
Excellent for recording screen and basically any recording you want to make.
CrystalDiskInfo and CrystalDiskMark
2 softwares that check the status of your HDDs and also speed test your storage device in multiple conditions.
Notepad 3
Better than notepad and even Notepad 2.
Also you can replace your windows notepad with this so everytime you type notepad in windows, this will come up.
That’s all for now.
Hope you liked the list. I can vouch for these tools having served me well. Let me know if you have any comments about anything I recommended.