All-In-One Program? Maybe!

[snapdragin]

well i just finished reading about the Ontrack System Suite and i must admit, it could be the package that some wish for with all the needed programs wrapped into one. *i was very impressed with what i read, but with not having personally tried yet any of these programs/utilities mentioned in the System Suite, i cannot recommend them based on any experience, but would recommend reading about them! :)

http://www.ontrack.com/systemsuite/info.asp#wizards

(has nice pictures there of each utility too! *LOL, i don't know about anyone else, but i like when i can actually see the interface of a program. ;)

just a list of the Features but under several of the listed Features, like the Wizards, there is even more utilities listed.....WOW!!

NetDefense - Personal Firewall (this is based on Sygate Technologies)
VirusScanner Pro
Wizards (4 total=Speedup, Fixup, Clean-up All-In-One)
DeFrag Tools (JETDefrag, ClockSyn, Registry Editor, Registry Defrag, Data Eraser P.E., System Scheduler)
Diagnose Tools (PC Diagnostics, System Explorer, SMART Defender, System Monitors, Error Tracker, Disc Verifier, System Log)
Fix Tools (Crash Proof, Disc Fixer, Registry Fixer, System Updates
Data Recovery Tools (Rescue Disc, File Undeleter, Disc Snapshot, System Saver, Easy Recovery P.L., System Lifeline, Undoit---like that one!)
Uninstall (Monitoring Installations, Moving Applications, Backup Applications, Transport Applications, Uninstalling Applications, Archive Applications)
Clean Up (Quick File Clean, Advanced File Clean, Registry Cleaner)
Zip Utilities
Other Cool Tools----how many more can there be! (Bootable CD-Rom, Easy Up-date for Ontrack software, Bonus=PowerDesk Pro4--but i didn't see where it said the PowerDesk was XP compatible)

~whewww~ i was reading about this last night then again today...and i still think i could go back and find more things there. LOL

but what's nice is it is compatible with XP also, and with NTFS, FAT, & FAT32 systems.

price for this sweet Suite? $53.95US, but it does have a 30-day money back guarantee and they do have some good free software there.

i know there are some System Suite 4 users here....:)
can anyone add their own experiences with these programs....like for example, it has a firewall and virus scanner that comes with it....i have Sygate Personal Firewall and NOD32 anti-virus, so would this mean two firewalls....virus scanners, or something would have to go?

sorry...didn't realize it was going to be such a long post...

[luv2bsecure]

Hi SnapDragin!

Have it, love it, couldn't give it up.

The antivirus is Trend Micro's PC-cillin...updated frequently and does a superb job.

The defragger is excellent, the ....oh hell, I could go on and on.

By the way, it's $39.99 at Best Buy.

Oh, Net Defense is a much underrated firewall as well.

PC World rated it over Norton. For a mainstream print publication to rate anything over a Symantec product (big advertiser) you KNOW it's got to be good.

Plus, you just can't go wrong with Ontrack, who leads the way in so many areas of professional high-end maintenance.

Take Care!

John

[snapdragin]

Thanks for your comments luv2bsecure!

i'm looking at some of the utilities there that can be purchased separately-----don't mind paying the price for such a suite, heck, when you compare what Window's O.S. costs to what you might pay to make it work better and cleaner, safer.......the prices should be reversed! LOL

i know i don't want to part with NOD32 or Sygate Personal Firewall, so i was wondering if one should purchase the entire suite, is the option there to not install the anti-virus and firewall that comes with it?

and...have you used the backup utility yet? :)

i am thinking maybe this suite could be what i am looking for rather than say purchasing two separate utilities like System Mechanic and Drive Image, if it can do what both those excellent programs do.

[FanJ]

Only some quick remarks:

I absolutely love Powerdesk !!! One of my most used programs (I bought it seperatly; still thinking of upgrading to version 5)!!!
I'm still using SystemSuite 3.0, maybe I will upgrade to version 4.
If you are satisfied with NOD32 as your resident AV scanner, keep it, use it! In that case: don't use PC-Cillin (build in Ontrack SystemSuite) as your resident AV, don't let it start, but use it as a "back-up" AV for doing an on-demand AV-scanning.
As for the build-in firewall in SystemSuite version 4 (I don't have that one): If you're satisfied with your existing firewall, just don't install the one that comes with SystemSuite 4.0 !

[FanJ]

As for Crash proof:

Symantec decided an almost similar utility not to use anymore in their program, and that might be a good decision: more than one person has had some problem with it (I'm NOT saying: everyone has had problems with it). I myself am not using that one in SystemSuite. But I am not using anything in SystemSuite resident; and still: yes: I like the SystemSuite !!!

[FanJ]

Snap,

You were saying that you're using Sygate Personal Firewall, well use it; and as far as I know: the one build-in SystemSuite 4.0 is Sygate Personal Firewall free.

[snapdragin]

OOoooo one sleepy snapdragin here....LOL

thank you FanJ and luv2bsecure, i am tucking away my wish list for more goodies until i learn more about the one's that i have----i just spent an hour at M$'s support site reading about XP's Recovery Console (didn't know there was one) and i actually understood what i was reading!! ~laughs~

seems XP (NTFS system) is finicky about what kinds of utilities can be used......and even the defrag utility in XP doesn't defrag correctly the most critical and easily fragmented area of the NTFS system, the Master File Table (which i just learned about tonight too) *:D

~whispers~ *FanJ! i think i read that the PowerDesk 5 is on sale! Maybe by the time i learn more about NTFS systems they'll come out with a SystemSuite 5?
~yes!~
;)

[FanJ]

Hi Snap, good morning *:)

Yes, I know Powerdesk Pro 5 is out.
I'm a little bit surprised that Ontrack didn't already came out with SystemSuite 5.0; well, maybe later this year, who knows? *;) Maybe they put then the new PC-Cillin 2002 on it instead of 2000.

[Ice_Czar]

{QUOTE-> OOoooo one sleepy snapdragin here....LOL

thank you FanJ and luv2bsecure, i am tucking away my wish list for more goodies until i learn more about the one's that i have----i just spent an hour at M$'s support site reading about XP's Recovery Console (didn't know there was one) and i actually understood what i was reading!! ~laughs~

seems XP (NTFS system) is finicky about what kinds of utilities can be used......and even the defrag utility in XP doesn't defrag correctly the most critical and easily fragmented area of the NTFS system, the Master File Table (which i just learned about tonight too) *:D

~whispers~ *FanJ! i think i read that the PowerDesk 5 is on sale! Maybe by the time i learn more about NTFS systems they'll come out with a SystemSuite 5?
~yes!~
;) <-QUOTE}

I run Zip Magic from Ontrack, but would recommend O&O Defrag Professional for Fat32 or NTSF, allows defrag by Name, Date or Access, MultiVolume Defrag, and lots of other options.

http://www.oo-software.com/

Im considering BlueCon V4

[root]

I have been using System Suite and PowerDesk forever now. First things that get installed after the OS, whenever I decide to reformat.
I do not use the firewall, as I use Outpost. The SS antivirus is my backup to F-Secure and I use it to double check all downloads. It does catch stuff.
I would not touch any crash protection as they all cause crashes, so thats out.
The Defrag is quite good on Win2K at least.
The registry cleaner is the strong point though. It catches way more than any other reg cleaner. Occasionally it will want to delete a key that it shouldn't but that is rare and it has an undo feature that works quite well.
I have PD5.0 and I think it is XP compatible. It is the best file manager, for me, that I have ever found.
Lots of other goodies in the Suite come in handy from time to time.
I'd give it 5 stars out of 5.