System - Installation/Configuration (63)

SpyMe Tools help detect changes to the filesystem and registry by taking "before" and "after" snapshots of the system. The content of these snapshots can be visually displayed or two of them can be compared for differences to determine changes. SpyMe Tools also includes a real-time registry monitor that you can use to determine the registry access characteristics of any application.

Note: Website down, linking to Softpedia.

XpAssociate is file association editor. It groups extensions by application type (text, image, audio, video etc.) and provides a fast extension search function.

WhyReboot displays the list of pending file operations that will occur after rebooting your computer. It helps to determine the extent of any post-reboot changes made by an installer. It helps you decide whether you need to reboot your machine or not after installing/uninstalling an application.

ABK SecureSys allows you to tweak various system-related settings, including those related to IE or security.

Note that the user interface is the cheesiest we have ever seen. In the contributor's own words: "the interface is not very nice". However, it gets the job done and sometimes that's all that is needed.

AutoStreamer is a easy and quick slipstreamer, or way to create a single bootable installation CD that will install the base OS with the latest service pack at one go. Slipstreaming used to be a delicate and tedious process that involves a lot of steps, making the task easy for the end-user.

Uninstall Tool is a small and fast utility that performs software uninstallation like the slow and bloated "Add and Remove Programs" applet. It includes a number of nifty features missing from the standard applet, such as display hidden installed programs, calculate how much disk space a program occupies, search by typing known letters of the program's name, deletion of entry if uninstaller is unavailable or fails to run etc.

Note: Starting from V2.x, Uninstall Tool has gone payware. As such, I have included a direct download link for the last freeware version that I have.

BartPE enables you to create a self-contained version of Windows on CD/DVD that runs "live" from the CDROM. It includes full network support and read/write access to NTFS volumes, which is great for diagnostic or troubleshooting purposes. It also includes a good number of built-in apps, and many more can be added via the plugin mechanism.

Note: You need the original Windows Installation CDROM in order to build the "live" CD.

Disable/Remove Windows Messenger disables Windows Messenger on a per-user or machine-wide basis. You may need administrator level privileges to run this program. On WinXP SP1, you will receive an error message about unregistering an OCX file. This is expected and does not affect the removal process.

TweakUI gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings and more.