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System - Storage (44)

DiskInternals Linux Reader v4.20 Updated

SYSTEM on 10 Mar 2024
  • 102MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 10 Mar 2024
  • Suggested by AlephX

DiskInternals Linux Reader provides several disk management tools in an easy-to-use interface. Most notably it includes a tool for reading disks formatted to to a variety of file systems for Mac and Linux, as well as virtual disks from VMware, VirtualBox, VirtualPC and Parallels (VMDK, VHD, VDI, HDS). The program can also create disk images. The interface includes a disk usage window, basic file search, and a preview option for pictures and text.

Can create disk images (.img and .dsk), including boot sector. Filesystems supported include: Ext2/3/4; ReiserFS, Reiser4; HFS, HFS+ (Mac OS); FAT, exFAT; NTFS, ReFS (next-gen Windows filesystem); UFS2; and in preview-only mode: ZFS, XFS, Hikvision NAS and DVR.

A 64-bit version is available (within the folder).

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Stealth: ? No. HKLM\SOFTWARE\DiskInternals, HKCU\Software\DiskInternals
License: Liteware
How to extract:
  1. Download the installer and extract the files with Universal Extractor to a temporary folder
  2. Launch LinuxReader.exe or LinuxReader64.exe (for 64-bit OS)
Similar/alternative apps: Explore2fs Portable Edition
Latest comments
webfork on 2017-03-01 19:13

Tested with Mac-formatted HFS+ drive today and this worked beautifully. Very easy and fast.

pfw70 on 2019-04-22 23:50

Tip: aside of Universal Extractor the .exe (Linux_Reader-v3.4.exe) can also be extracted with 7Zip, a portable version being availabe on this site, 7-ZipPortable.exe.
Also note that Linux_Reader v3.4 does not have a sub folder $INSTDIR anymore: LinuxReader.exe/LinuxReader64.exe can be found the base folder.

SYSTEM on 2019-05-10 00:43

@pfw70: Thanks, I removed the $INTDIR step from extraction instructions.

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TestDisk v7.2 Updated

Andrew Lee on 28 Feb 2024
  • 28MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 22 Feb 2024
  • Suggested by AlephX

TestDisk is a powerful drive and data recovery software that is designed to help recover lost partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again. This can be caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses, or of course human error (such as accidentally deleting your partition table).

The program is cross-platform with recovery tools for a long list file systems and includes the also-portable recovery software PhotoRec.

Note: Use with caution; it's recommended that you read the documentation and take your time. The software can easily made dramatic and difficult-to-reverse system modifications.

Category:
Runs on:Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: None
Stealth: ? No
License: GNU GPLv2
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch testdisk_win.exe.
What's new? See: https://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_7.2_Release
Latest comments
juverax on 2021-06-05 09:23

Now at v.7.2

Andrew Lee on 2021-06-06 06:45

@juverax: Isn't 7.2 a beta/WIP version?

dmiranda on 2024-03-03 16:36

To my understanding, the last version working in XP is 7.0.0.0

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CrystalDiskMark v8.0.5 Updated

gbrao on 24 Feb 2024
  • 6MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 24 Feb 2024
  • Suggested by malikorx69

CrystalDiskMark is benchmarks disk performance, measuring sequential and random 4KB/512KB reads/writes for any storage device. The target device does not need to be formatted.

A 64-bit version is available (within the folder).

Alternatively, CrystalDiskMark Portable is also available, which auto-switches between x86 and x64.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Unicode support: Yes
License: MIT License
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch DiskMark32.exe or DiskMark64.exe (for 64-bit OS).
Similar/alternative apps: HD Tune, IsMyHdOK
What's new? See: https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskmark/crystaldiskmark-history/
Latest comments
Checker on 2015-08-01 18:52

@ smaragdus: First mentioned by malikorx69 [07 Feb 2008], so this is the forum topic.
guinness post is dated [09 Nov 2009].
I agree to merge the two, but malikorx69's should be first!

AndTheWolf on 2016-11-07 21:09

CrystalDiskinfo should not be listed under Similar/alternative apps for CrystalDiskMark. CrystalLDiskMark benchmarks, whereas CrystalDiskinfo supplies a lot of disk information, but does NOT benchmark.

webfork on 2019-10-07 21:39

A remarkable number of commercial disks are benchmarked using this tool. It's a must-have for comparing hardware performance.

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CrystalDiskInfo v9.2.3 Updated

gbrao on 16 Feb 2024
  • 17MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 16 Feb 2024
  • Suggested by guinness

CrystalDiskInfo monitors disk health status and temperature, monitoring/graphing of S.M.A.R.T. diagnostic information. The program also tells you how many times the hard disk has been turned on and how many hours.

Functional with magnetic and solid state disks.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Win11
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Internet Explorer 8+
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0+/4.0+ (only for Alert Mail)
Unicode support: Yes
License: MIT License
How to extract:
  1. Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice
  2. Delete License folder, DiskInfoA64.exe and unnecessary language files inside CdiResource directory
  3. Optionally, delete opus folder, unnecessary themes, AlertMail.exe and AlertMail4.exe
  4. Launch DiskInfo32.exe or DiskInfo64.exe
Similar/alternative apps: PassMark DiskCheckup, HDDScan
What's new?

    Fixed Realtek RTL9210 support
    Fixed OS version report
Latest comments
dmocha on 2023-06-01 03:29

Is the description of "How to extract" still valid? I ask because a lot has changed with the structure of directories and files.

Andrew Lee on 2023-06-02 09:04

@dmocha: I just downloaded the ZIP file for v9.0.1, and it seems the file/dir structure is still pretty much the same, so the extraction instruction should still be valid. Could you provide details on the diffs that you are seeing?

dmocha on 2023-06-04 08:20

@Andrew Lee: I have no objections. I'm just asking. I remember that quite a long time ago new folders and files arrived, and the procedure is still the same. That's why I'm wondering if it's up to date with these files.
I still follow this procedure and still use the portable version.

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DiskGenius Free v5.5.1.1508

gbrao on 1 Aug 2023
  • 53MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 1 Aug 2023
  • Suggested by gbrao

DiskGenius is full-featured partition manager, which is designed to optimize disk usage for Windows users. It allows you to resize, extend, split, create, delete, format, hide, copy and erase partition to maximize disk space use.

DiskGenius is a complete disk & partition solution for Windows PCs that helps managing storage space for higher efficiency.

There is also a Lite version available that only features the partition manager. Find the links in the comments or in the associated forum thread.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Unicode support: Yes
License: Liteware
How to extract: Download the "Portable" ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch DiskGenius.exe.
What's new? See: https://diskgenius.com/version-history.php
Latest comments
freakazoid on 2022-09-03 22:50

Thanks to gbrao about mentioning the Lite version. That was exactly what I was looking for!

Updated Lite versions for v5.4.5.1412:
32bit - https://engdownload.eassos.cn/DGLiteEng5451412_x86.zip
64bit - https://engdownload.eassos.cn/DGLiteEng5451412_x64.zip

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CheckDisk v1.7

Andrew Lee on 9 Sep 2022
  • 540KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 8 Sep 2022
  • Suggested by AlephX

CheckDisk searches for and repairs disk errors via either a basic or thorough surface test. The program is similar to ScanDisk and chkdsk tools supplied with Windows. It can find bad sectors on your disk and mark them as such, working on both hard disks (including SCSI and RAID) and removable media. It can also check CDs for errors as well.

Note: Manual is in German.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: None
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch checkDisk.exe.

Optionally, delete unnecessary language files.
What's new?
  • Checkdisk 1.7: Minor fixed
Latest comments
wagner reatto on 2019-08-15 18:55

I have system (Windows) on an SSD (C:), a Disk 1 Tb (Seagate) (D:), here it is the pagefile.sys. This application presents problems on both disks when it is to read and fix. On an external Seagate 1 Tb everything goes well.

AndTheWolf on 2022-09-09 13:28

Now at version 1.7

tomcat on 2022-09-10 03:12

The developer states “It is quite similar to the ScanDisk tool or chkdsk.exe, supplied with the Windows operating systems”.
The obvious question then arises, why choose it over those? There doesn’t seem to be an answer to this.

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DriveGLEAM v1.12

lwc on 6 Aug 2021
  • 54KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 23 Nov 2011
  • Suggested by Rykenden

DriveGLEAM indicates read/write activity for your hard drives in the system tray and also includes built in extensions for monitoring CPU and memory load. It also supports sending this information to the parallel port, so you can plug in your own electronics for visual display.

Support Windows 64-Bit versions.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7
Writes settings to: Application folder
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the single EXE file to a folder of your choice. Note that there is a different version for Win2K, so you might want to download that as well if you plan on running it on Win2K. Launch drivegleam.exe.

HardDriveIndicator v1.4

Andrew Lee on 6 Feb 2021
  • 264KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 31 Jan 2012
  • Suggested by Justin Katz

HardDriveIndicator sits in the system tray and shows the input/output load of your local physical disks by displaying a five-bar indicator for both read and write operations. It supports auto-calibration to ensure that the output values are relative to the disk usage for that session.

Site no longer lists affiliation with this program, linking to Softpedia (thanks emka).

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to: None
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the EXE file to any folder of your choice. Launch the program by double-clicking on hdi.exe.
Latest comments
Webfork on 2009-02-07 11:06

Efficient but not effecitve. Far more resource-friendly than the similarly-named "Hard Disk Indicator" (http://portablefreeware.com/?id=230) but not as usable. Red indicators and movement on the taskbar are distracting and thus make this only useful for diagnostics and not everyday use. Also, the scales provided are based on the previous minute of activity, not on actual hard drive speeds. Annoying.

Emka on 2013-12-19 13:37

links broken

webfork on 2015-02-15 22:04

Emka: updated, thanks

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imageUSB v1.5.1003

billon on 6 Oct 2020
  • 4MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 25 Sep 2020
  • Suggested by Userfriendly

imageUSB writes exact bit-level image files to multiple flash drives. The program preserves all unused and slack space during the cloning process, including the Master Boot Record (MBR) and can perform flawless mass duplications of all UFD images, including bootable UFDs.

The program can also "zero" a USB drive, which is an efficient wipes to erase data with less harm to overall drive life. In addition, imageUSB has the ability to reformat even hard to format drives and reclaim any disk space that may be lost previously.

Category:
Runs on:Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: None
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch imageUSB.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: UNetbootin
What's new?
  • Fixed bug where user is unable to select a read-only file for writing to UFD.

DriveLetterView v1.50

billon on 26 Oct 2019
  • 76KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 26 Oct 2019
  • Suggested by guinness

DriveLetterView allows you to view the list of all drive letter assignments in your system, including local drives, remote network drives, CD/DVD drives, and USB drives - even if they are not currently plugged in. It also allows you to easily change a drive letter of USB devices and remote network shares, as well as to delete a drive letter of USB device that is not plugged in.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administration rights (for changing letters)
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch DriveLetterView.exe.
What's new?
  • Added 'Open Device Properties Window' option.
Latest comments
MIKLO on 2016-07-31 14:18

Very nice works great thanks.
MIKLO

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Explore2fs Portable Edition v1.07c

Midas on 24 Aug 2019
  • 1MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 29 Nov 2006
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

Explore2fs is an explorer-type application for browsing Linux file systems under Windows. The program is compatible with most filesystems including ext2, ext3, ReiserFS, and more. Explore2fs Portable Edition is a wrapper for the program.

Note: This is a PortableApps.com portable program that has not been updated since 2006 and may not work with the latest changes to various file systems (e.g., the "About" dialog only mentions Linux 'ext2' and 'ext3' file systems and not 'ext4').

Category:
Runs on:Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
License: GPL
How to extract: Download the self-extracting EXE ('explore2fsPE.paf.exe') and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch explore2fsPE.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: DiskInternals Linux Reader
Latest comments
Webfork on 2008-01-20 13:35

According to home page, ext2 and ext3 are supported.
http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs-old.htm

Webfork on 2008-01-20 13:38

... and also claims to "read ReiserFS and many other filesystems." The latest beta version may go further with that than the provided link.

Midas on 2019-08-24 11:05

FYI, this program new homepage is at http://www.chrysocome.net/explore2fs, listing a couple of newer Beta versions. The last snapshot of the original homepage from the Internet Archive is at: http://web.archive.org/web/20081208033437/http://uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs-old.htm

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BOOTICE v1.3.4

billon on 25 Jan 2019
  • 937KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 17 Jun 2016
  • Suggested by Midas

BOOTICE is a boot-related maintenance gadget that is used to install, repair, backup and restore disk (mirrored) MBR or partition PBR; edit Windows boot configuration file BCD; manage UEFI startup items; VHD / VHDX file management. In addition, it has disk sector editing, disk filling, partition management, disk partitioning and formatting, GRUB4DOS menu editing and other functions.

NOTE: Homepage is down, linking to Softpedia.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: None
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch BOOTICEx86_XXXX.XX.XX_vX.X.X.X.exe or BOOTICEx64_XXXX.XX.XX_vX.X.X.X.exe (for 64-bit OS).
Similar/alternative apps: HDHacker
What's new? See Chinese changelog here.
Latest comments
zorro on 2019-01-25 04:27

The site appears to be down/gone?
Alternative download locations for the last version:
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/bootice.html
https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Boot-Manager-Disk/Bootice.shtml

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DriveSort v1.242

billon on 16 Sep 2018
  • 198KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 15 Sep 2018
  • Suggested by MarkB / tls

DriveSort directly reads directory tables of FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 formatted volumes, allowing users to view file listings in the order they were written.

Recent operating systems re-sort file lists before display, either by name, by size, or by whatever the user chooses. However, the firmware of playing devices -- like small MP3 players, for example -- sometimes behaves differently, mostly because they lack necessary resources (CPU, memory), a problem developers usually solve by dis/playing files in the order they are written on the storage medium -- normally, the order they were added.

Additionally, DriveSort is able to change that ordering, making itself useful for re-arranging movies, series episodes, audio or picture files on FATx formatted media; afterwards, players will be able to reproduce files in the expected sequence.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10 / Wine
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
The latest x86 Visual C++ redistributable components
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch DriveSort.exe.
What's new? See:
https://www.anerty.net/news/
Latest comments
tls on 2014-06-23 14:01

@Midas could you kindly add "sort pictures for vacation slide shows on tv"

@Anerty sent email for suggestion on google search terms for search engine optimization.

tls on 2014-06-24 11:01

as the author has said
"...this tool requires admin rights since it interacts with the sorted disk partition"
if you get an "access denied" error
then it means that another program is accessing your usb
you could probably use unlocker to determine what other program is accessing your usb

best practice:
i would NOT use this on my 500gb external HD
unless i'm darned sure i can restore it's contents
i only use this on my 32 gb usb's (containing copies of my video files)
while my original files stay safe on my 500gb external HD

tls on 2014-06-24 14:11

@Midas thanks for the changes :)

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HDDScan v4.0

lwc on 7 Aug 2021
  • 8MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 3 Dec 2017
  • Suggested by AlephX

HDDScan is a feature-rich disk diagnostics tool with a variety of low-level tools. It supports IDE/SATA/SCSI hard disk drives, RAID arrays, SSD drives, external USB/Firewire hard disks, flash cards and can scan the surface, view SMART attributes, adjust AAM, APM (Power Management), monitor temperature etc.

Note the program shouldn’t be run from a read-only device/media.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Avoid starting program from read-only device such as a CD or write-protected flash device.
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch HDDScan.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: PassMark DiskCheckup, CrystalDiskInfo
What's new?
  • New Look.
  • Windows 8-10 support.
  • Multiple bugfixes.
Latest comments
Ruby on 2010-12-10 06:56

@hugh_h You can try GMER http://www.gmer.net/ Scroll to the downloads there's also and mbr and userland rootkit detector.

nunz on 2013-06-16 22:30

Latest official link:
http://hddscan.com/download/HDDScan-3.3.zip

Non malicious web site according to virus total (checked with 38 site checkers)
Non malicious files according to virus total. Clam claims it could be a PUA but only because it performs low level analysis of a hard drive (which of course is its role in life).
My company, virusbusters, has used this program for over four years now with no issues. It has passed every antivirus scan of our systems and we run hundreds of them
The file is a zip file and opens in 7-zip and using windows XP compressed file explorer.

webfork on 2016-01-12 22:43

This program worked beautifully in testing an old external hard drive that was behaving strangely. Instead of relegating it to a secondary backup drive, it now looks to have plenty of life left.

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HDHacker v1.6.5

billon on 29 Nov 2020
  • 498KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 29 Nov 2020
  • Suggested by milentechie

HDHacker is a utility that saves, visualizes and restores the MBR (from a physical drive), the boot sector (from a logical drive) or any sector on a disk. It can be used to save and restore a particular boot manager (e.g. LILO). It can also be used to backup the MBR or boot sector so that they can be restored later if corrupted.

Category:
Runs on:WinNT / Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: None
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch HDHacker.exe.
Latest comments
MIKLO on 2016-06-15 13:17

I'm curious who has used this and what they think.
MIKLO

joby_toss on 2016-06-15 13:37

I hope I never have to use it...

MIKLO on 2017-07-22 15:46

Well a year has gone by and no new info on this software, guess I will just have to be curious :P I do agree with @joby_toss
MIKLO

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PassMark DiskCheckup v3.4 (Build 1003)

lwc on 7 Aug 2021
  • 2MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 3 Feb 2017
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

PassMark DiskCheckup is a disk diagnostic tool that monitors the disk drive for possible long term drive failure indicators via SMART sensors. This includes 'Spin Up Time', number of start/stops, number of hours powered on, and temperature all displayed with the threshold value for that attribute. Users can evaluate drive reliability by observing if the value is close to or below the threshold.

It is recommended that system drives at threshold be replaced or shifted to backup / redundant data storage.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Free for personal use
How to extract:
  1. Download the installer and extract to a temporary folder
  2. Move the contents of {app} to a folder of your choice
  3. Launch DiskCheckup.exe
Similar/alternative apps: CrystalDiskInfo, HDDScan
What's new?
  • Added:
    • Support for retrieving NVMe SMART info in Win10;
    • Check for 'SanDisk' in the model name and if detected, do not perform byte order reversal;
    • Check for 'THNS' (Toshiba) string in model name and if present, do not perform byte order reversal.
  • 'ECC size' and 'Buffer size' are now reported as 'N/A' if the value is 0.
  • Fixed low disk space warning incorrectly appearing for large drives (ie. > 1TB).
Latest comments
mranonymous on 2011-08-01 09:47

newer version (older one not avail) is not extractable with "Universal Extractor V1.6.1" nor with 7-zip.

I am Baas on 2011-08-01 11:52

@mranonymous

You need to update Inno Setup Unpacker in the bin folder of Universal Extractor.

Sven85 on 2013-12-17 14:34

Change one of the following files in "localization.txt":
localization,1.txt (English)
localization,2.txt (Spanish)
localization,3.txt (German)
localization,4.txt (Chinese)

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DriveImage XML v2.60

billon on 20 Jan 2017
  • 2MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 20 Jan 2017
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

DriveImage XML allows you to backup any logical drive or partition to an image file, even if the drive or partition is currently in use. You can browse an image file, view/extract files from it, or restore the image to the same or different drive. It also has a function to help you clone one hard disk to another.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: None. (Don't check the logging option.)
Dependencies: Administrative rights
Stealth: ? Yes
Unicode support: Partial. The program itself doesn't support unicode, but it uses Windows Shadow Copy for backing-up.
License: Free for non-commercial use
How to extract:
  1. Download the installer and install to the default folder.
  2. Copy all files (except Uninstall.exe, INSTALL.LOG and install.sss) to a folder of your choice.
  3. Uninstall the program.
  4. Launch dixml.exe.
Latest comments
Midwest Dave on 2011-01-22 19:11

I have my doubts regarding how "portable" this program is. I know it's popular...but portable...not so sure. I decided to try running it in a sandbox (Sandboxie). It wouldn't even install in the sandbox. Makes me think this program is trying to install a driver and sandboxie is stopping it. If so, then it's not portable in my sense of the word.

webfork on 2011-01-23 18:21

Dave: Many programs that have access to system areas and require admin rights are difficult to effectively virtualize by Sandboxie or other programs.

abc on 2012-01-13 01:28

I really wanted to try this but it kept crashing on Vista.. I guess I'm stuck with Clonezilla (not such a bad thing, actually)

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NTFS Permissions Tools V1.3.0

webfork on 21 Apr 2018
  • 1MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 12 May 2015
  • Suggested by Midas

NTFS Permissions Tools is an easy-to-use way to modify, backup, and restore the security settings of files and folders in the NTFS filesystem. The program is faster and more intuitive than the default Windows management interface.

NOTE: Main site offline, linking to softpedia and archive.org (thanks emoreau).

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch NPT86.exe (32-bit) or NPT64.exe (64-bit).
Similar/alternative apps: TakeOwnershipPro
Latest comments
emoreau on 2018-04-21 09:08

link is dead!

webfork on 2018-04-21 19:43

@emoreua: thanks, updated entry

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SSD-Z v16.09.09b

billon on 20 Nov 2016
  • 1MB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 9 Sep 2016
  • Suggested by billon

SSD-Z provides a tabbed interface with diagnostics, analysis, and benchmark tools for your solid state drive. You can view S.M.A.R.T. status, partition layout, NAND, controller, and more.

Alternatively, SSD-Z Portable is also available.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch SSD-Z.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: CrystalDiskInfo
Latest comments
Gorlash on 2021-02-22 18:06

Sadly, this utility has not been updated since 2016, so it does not recognize *any* of the modern SSD drives. 4 of my 5 SSD drives, it just displays no data...

That's sad, as I *really* like the CPU-Z format for displaying computer info, it is very efficient. I have to hope that someday the author will resume supporting this utility...

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DiskSmartView v1.21

lwc on 7 Aug 2021
  • 70KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 18 Jun 2016
  • Suggested by I am Baas

DiskSmartView is a small utility that retrieves useful insights on the health of your drives. The program uses standard diagnostic data from the "S.M.A.R.T," or Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology data drawn from IDE/SATA disks. This includes the model/firmware/serial number, cylinders/heads, power-on hours (POH), internal temperature, disk errors rate, and more.

This data can help you determine if there are any significant problems with your drive and whether it may be nearing end-of-life.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application Folder
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch DiskSmartView.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: HDDScan
What's new?
  • You can now turn on/off the features added on version 1.20 ('Use ATA Command' and 'Retrieve S.M.A.R.T from USB Drives') Be aware that the 'Use ATA Command' option is now turned off by default, because I got report that it caused a blue screen on RAID 1 system.
Latest comments
Emka on 2011-02-17 01:00

Does not display anything on my machine (Win7x64, SATA drive)...

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Disk Thruput Tester v2.10 R16

webfork on 4 Mar 2016
  • 302KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 12 Jan 2015
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

Disk Thruput Tester (DiskTT) is a benchmarking tool analyzing the throughput of any disk. This is important because your actual disk performance is determined, not only by the speed of your hard drive as measured by most disk benchmarks, but also by the main board chipset, AHCI/UDMA/PIO mode, RAID configuration, CPU speed, RAM size, and the quality of drivers.

The program measures sequential read/write and random access speeds in megabytes/sec. You can set the size of the test file, the folder on the target disk to which test data will be written, cache settings, etc. Existing data on the target disk is not affected.

Category:
Runs on:Win95 / Win98 / WinME / WinNT / Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to: None
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download DiskTT.exe to a folder of your choice and launch.
What's new? Changes up to v2.10 release 16
- Changed: get true free RAM on x64 systems.
- New: added the read/write mode to the random access test. The random read/write test alternates between read and write after each seek, so 5% of the file is randomly read and another 5% is randomly altered.
- Changed: increased the possible block size up to 100MB (99999KB); expect a write error on XP and older when using a >64MB blocksize.
Changes up to v2.02 release 15
- Reduced the number of random reads to 10%.
- Fixed freeze of progress bar updates and resulting 'program not responding' messages under Vista/7.Changes up to v2.02 release 15
- Reduced the number of random reads to 10%.
- Fixed freeze of progress bar updates and resulting 'program not responding' messages under Vista/7.
- Set programs priority to 'high' as an effort to minimize reported differences between measurements (if effective at all).

H2testw v1.4

webfork on 8 Feb 2016
  • 423KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 11 Feb 2008
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

H2testw allows you to test storage devices for one of a variety of possible defects or errors. It is particularly useful for detecting mislabeled / fake flash memory devices, looking at the actual versus reported capacity.

Note that the author recommends backing up the content on the device before running H2testw.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8
Writes settings to: None
Stealth: ? Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract to a folder of your choice. Launch h2testw.exe.
Similar/alternative apps: USB Memory Stick Tester
Latest comments
Ionut on 2011-03-29 10:12

good program!

NickR on 2015-04-06 17:36

@moronoxyd I agree

I found that
it Write-Tests to Free space only
so no file data will be lost or overwritten

a useful utility for finding the best SD card for the job

Cereal_Nommer on 2018-06-28 12:59

@moronoxyd @NickR
The tool only writes to space the drive shows as free. On a fake SD card that's likely not going to be the same thing as the actual free space. If a fake card reports a larger free space and the tests continue to write to flash, some fakes wrap it back around so newer files overwrite the beginning of the space so the newest files will be most likely to still work.
Unless you're testing known good SD cards it's very important to backup anything on the card you're not willing to lose permanently.

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Disk Investigator v1.61

webfork on 2 Jun 2016
  • 314KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on
  • Suggested by Dirk Loss

Disk Investigator displays the true drive contents by bypassing the operating system and directly reading the raw drive sectors. You can view and search raw directories, files, clusters, and system sectors, verify the effectiveness of file and disk wiping programs, and undelete previously deleted files.

Functional on 64-bit systems.

Category:
Runs on:WinXP / Vista / Win7
Writes settings to: Windows registry but given the nature of the application, I think it can be accepted as portable.
Dependencies: Administrator rights
Stealth: ? No. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\SolwaySoftware\DiskInvestigator
License: Freeware
How to extract:
  1. Download the installer and install to the default folder C:\Program Files\Disk Investigator
  2. Copy all files (except uninst.exe) to a folder of your choice
  3. Uninstall the program
  4. Launch di.exe

Alternatively, uniextract the installer.
Latest comments
bzl333 on 2014-06-26 18:10

its up to v1.61

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Visual Subst v1.0.6

billon on 12 Jul 2019
  • 139KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 2 Feb 2008
  • Suggested by Andrew Lee

Visual Subst allows you to associate the most accessed directories with virtual drives. It uses the same API like the console subst utility, but makes it easier to create and remove virtual drives with a friendly user interface. Visual Subst can also restore the virtual drives at startup.

NOTE: Program became shareware, linking to Softpedia for the last freeware version.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP / Vista / Win7 / Win8 / Win10
Writes settings to: Application folder
Unicode support: Yes
License: Freeware
How to extract: Download the ZIP package and extract a folder of your choice. Launch VSubst.exe.
What's new?
  • Fixed an error message if drive letter is used by another program.
Latest comments
billon on 2019-04-03 22:32

Updated to version 2.0 and turned shareware

cowlinator on 2021-09-02 23:15

Works on Windows 10 20H2 64-bit.

Ayatar on 2023-01-28 16:41

Works on Windows Server 2019. Used it to map to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive. Had to download old versions of Box and OneDrive to make it work, but that is not the fault of Visual Subt, it was a limitation with Server 2019.

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AutoStart v1.0.0.59

lwc on 7 Jul 2023
  • 80KB (uncompressed)
  • Released on 24 Jul 2008
  • Suggested by Liberta Press

AutoStart creates an icon in the system tray for each external memory device connected to the system. Right-clicking on this icon opens a context menu that allows you to conveniently perform various related functions (explore, search, eject, properties).

Left-clicking opens the drive in Explorer by default but the default application can be specified in the "shell" parameter of AUTORUN.INF. AutoStart also comes with a rudimentary launcher that is functional if you have a small number of applications stored on your memory stick.

Note: Main download site is offline, download link pointing to Softpedia.

Category:
Runs on:Win2K / WinXP
Writes settings to: None
Unicode support: No
License: Freeware/Open Source
How to extract:
  1. Download the single EXE file to a folder of your choice
  2. Launch AutoStart.exe

    Optionally, right-click on the icon in the system tray to bring up the content menu, and you will be given the option to copy AutoStart (and an autorun file) to your PC or USB memory stick.
Latest comments
Ryan McCue on 2006-11-30 01:35

I wouldn't call the the launcher "rudimentary". It works great and I actually find it better than other menus.
It is only supposed to be the underlying code though, with the Launchpad extension coming soon.

Sugeng Wigiyantoro on 2008-02-15 20:57

I like to try and download free software. In this site i can take many free software. Thank you...

Midas on 2014-03-18 16:18

Still available from Softpedia. Tested, works as expected. Shame about the lack of Unicode support, but still extremely handy.

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