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Norton
Utilities 2001
Fr.
Jacob Myers
November
1, 2000
A
finely tuned computer is like a finely tuned car, it
practically purrs when you use it...everything is
compatible, in harmony, and speedy. However, like most
computer users, we tend to use the computer on
automatic pilot until it breaks, and there are very
few computer users that tinker with their machines
until they have them running just the "way they
want it." Norton Utilities is maintenance
software for everyone who wants their computer fixed
to near perfect harmony without having to do it
themselves. This software does it for us and quite
well at that. I have always, in the years of using
Norton Utilities, felt better about using my computer
after giving it a tune-up with this "Swiss army
knife" of a software package.
The
Utilities fall into three categories: 1) They find and
fix system problems; 2) They improve the performance
of hard-drives; and 3) They monitor a PC for
continuous protection plus one of the Utilities gives
all the system information you could possibly need to
know the nature of your personal computer. With Norton
Utilities 2001 you will find no new tools, but rather
Norton has applied its expertise to its tools working
with the new operating systems that have recently come
onto the market, Millennium and Windows 2000. This
does not say that this version will not work in an
improved fashion with earlier versions of Windows, but
that it now works well with ALL the versions that are
on the market.
Allow
me now to show you most of these Utilities and their
function in PC harmony. When you have installed the
program you will find this simple startup screen that
makes it easy for you to decide what you wish to do
for your computer:
When
the program is installed you have the option of
placing the System Doctor, which runs as an icon in
the Task bar, at the bottom of Widows and monitors the
movements of your system as you use it, alerting you
to potential disk and system problems as well as
analyzing the various aspects of computer use
including CPU usage, internet access time, space on
the hard disk, etc., and alerting you as to when
you need to update your software or virus protection,
which then is easily done with Norton's LiveUpdate:
i
Speedisk
is a utility that improves the overall system
performance by reorganizing defragmented files and
defragmenting the system in general, placing all the
files together in the order most used. When Speedisk
has finished, the brown you see below will all be in
one area, and the clear spaces an other, instead of as
they are now, i.e.: all over the hard drive. This is a
great performance improver:
After
optimizing the system, if one wishes to find and fix
various problems one needs only to click on the choice
to the left to gain a variety of choices easily
executed to begin fixing problems:
One of
the above choices above, WinDoctor, diagnoses all
types of "software errors, hardware configuration
issues, registry problems, clutter from failed
uninstalls and more. This really great tool was a
dangerous one when it first was introduced into
Windows 95. I used it once and it wiped out my whole
system. I mention this because many who have used this
utility in the past have vowed never to use it again,
but they are missing a much improved version, that no
longer can wipe the system out, but only improve its
working.
When
WinDoctor has analyzed the system, you are given a
list of the problems and then have the option of
fixing all of them, or only the part of them that you
choose.
Another
utility, Disk Doctor checks the integrity of the hard
disk, checking the structure of the hard disk below
and automatically fixing errors if you so choose:
If you
wish to check the whole system, not just the Hard
drive or Windows, but everything, Norton Utilities
provides the following System Check:
Norton
Utilities also provides System Information easily
accessible with information pertaining to every aspect
of your computer including benchmarks that allow you
to compare your computers speed to "similar
components on standard computers:"
There
are several other tools including tools to view and
edit the Windows Registry. Finishing the Utilities off
after tuning up your computer is the making of the
Rescue Disk which, if something happens to your
computer will allow you to boot your system to Dos for
restoration or Windows as well if you have a Zip Disk
installed on your computer:
Yes,
you could get by without Norton Utilities, but I must
ask each computer user why would you want to. The
tools are simple, easy to use and truly make a
difference in the overall maintenance and performance
of your computer. It sure beats bringing in a repair
man at who knows how much an hour, when all could have
possibly been prevented by using Norton's Utilities on
a regular basis.
Minimum
Requirements
Windows® 2000 Professional Workstation
Intel® Pentium® 133 MHz or higher processor
64 MB of RAM
35 MB of available hard disk space
CD-ROM drive
Windows NT® Workstation
Intel Pentium or higher processor
Windows NT v4.0 workstation operating system with
Service
Pack 4 or higher
32 MB of RAM (recommended)
35 MB of available hard disk space
CD-ROM drive
Windows® Me/98/95
Intel 80486DX/66 or higher processor for Windows 95 B
and
Windows 98
Intel Pentium 150-MHz or higher processor for Windows
Millennium Edition
Windows 95 B, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium
Edition
operating system
32 MB of RAM
90 MB of available hard disk space (50 MB Compact)
CD-ROM drive
| Price:
$49.95 est.
|
Upgrade:
$15.00 rebate available to owners of previous
versions or competitive products. |
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Copyright © 2000, Fr. Jacob Myers, All
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