Ultimate Freeware Machine

[ack-hh]

** Edit: I forgot to mention that all programs are TRUE freeware

- no ads, no nags, no spyware. Most of the programs are "alive" -

that means their authors are responsive, bugs will be fixed, and

suggestions will be implemented. **

Hi @ll

I think this is the right topic for my first post in this great forum.

First of all, as a former regular in alt.comp.freeware I'd like to

recommend http://pricelesswarehome.org/, "The best of the best

in Freeware as determined by the readers of alt.comp.freeware"

But now to my list of freeware in use ...

VNC

remote desktop access

Karenware from http://www.karenware.com

some nice utilities

WinAmp

version 2.79

SnIco from http://snidesoft.cjb.net/

icon editor

BLA from http://www.woundedmoon.org/win32/bootloganalyzer123.html (mirror)

boot log analyzer

FileAsoc

file association editor

Active XCavator

activeX controls browser

DLL Archive from http://www.analogx.com

scan for duplicate/unused DLLs (use with care!)

AsciiDiff from http://www.homestead.com/adriancarter/Compare.html

file comparison

Dependency Walker from http://www.dependencywalker.com/

analyze executables, dlls, etc.

RegMon, FileMon, Autoruns from http://sysinternals.com

monitor registry access / monitor file access / list startup items

some of the BEST freeware programs IMHO

IconScan from http://www.freewarepage.de/download/31.shtml

scan files/entire disk for icons (german version)

jv16 Powertools (aka RegCleaner)

last free version 1.3.0.195

Reptile from http://www.sausage.com/reptile-free.html

graphics generator

Miranda IM from http://www.miranda-im.org/

small non-bloated messenger; supports various protocols

Netboot from http://www.backmagic.de/produkte/netboot.htm

dos bootdisk with networking capabilities (german, registration required)

IconEdit32 from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)

icon editor

WebReaper from http://www.webreaper.net/

website downloader - this one sucks

CrackUp from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)

filesystem fragmentation analysis

UCU from http://www.jimwillsher.co.uk/Site/Software/UCU_Intro.html

unit conversion utility

PEsx from http://www.jps.at/pesx.html

shell extension to analyze exe/dll files

CDex

CD ripper

IrfanView

picture viewer - a true must-have

UPX from http://upx.sourceforge.net/

utility to compress executable files

Catfish from http://www.equi4.com/catfish.html

file catalog browser - one of my mostly used programs

FileAnalyser, RegCool, HDCleaner from http://home.tiscali.de/zdata/mainpage_e.htm

pretty useful utilities

Treesize from http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml

list folders sorted by size

OpenExpert from http://www.baxbex.com/openexpert.html

handle file extension associations

TreeCopy from http://www.rjlsoftware.com/software/utilit...y/default.shtml

copy folder structures without files

SysIcon from http://www.filelibrary.com/Contents/Windows/130/53.html (mirror)

free up/repair the ShellIconCache

Registry Detective from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)

search the registry FAST

BIOS from http://www.geocities.com/mbockelkamp

save/restore BIOS settings

ExamDiff from http://www.prestosoft.com/ps.asp?page=edp_examdiff

visual file comparison

Blat from http://www.blat.net/194/

send mail from the command line

TrayManager from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)

"hide" icons in the systray

TheGun (grown-up notepad) from http://www.movsd.com/thegun.htm

notepad replacement; fast and small - 6144 bytes only!

Attribute changer from http://webplaza.pt.lu/~rpetges/

edit file/folder attributes

rjhExtensions from http://www.rjhsoftware.com/rjhextensions/

excellent context menu extension

Belarc Advisor from http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

list of installed software/hardware

Dirkey from http://www.protonfx.com/dirkey/

move to folders with a single keystroke

Motherboard Monitor (MBM) from http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

monitors the status of the motherboard (fan speed, temperature, ...)

Dir2Html from http://www.pc-tools.net/win32/dir2html/

create html page from directory structure

Metapad from http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/

even though it has some bugs (can't handle loooong lines correctly; GoTo line number larger 32766 doesn't work) I got used to it

Registry Editor Plus from Ziff Davis (gone commercial)

great REGEDIT enhancer - favorites, history, ...

Regex Coach from http://www.weitz.de/regex-coach/

test (and learn) regular expressions interactively - a smart tool from a smart guy

CabPack from http://home.t-online.de/home/lars.hederer

.cab compressor

Chainsaw from http://www.schmeusser.siw.de/software/chainsaw.html

file splitter

Reshacker

guess you know it

Audacity

audio editor

Regshot (no homepage(?) - use google)

make snapshots from the registry and compare them - FAST & small

GRDB from http://www.members.tripod.com/~ladsoft/grdb.htm

debugger - excellent "debug" replacement

@icon sushi from http://www.towofu.net/soft/e-aicon.php

icon editor/converter

Iconoid from http://www.sillysot.com/

desktop icons manager; make icons transparent - EXCELLENT

note: works (for me) even after closing Iconoid - so it uses 0% system resources

MWSnap from http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html

excellent screenshot utility

k9 from http://www.keir.net/k9.html

e-mail spam filter (blacklist, whitelist, regular expressions, "learning")

Ad-aware & SpybotSD

no comment required

mp3tag from http://www.mp3tag.de/

excellent mp3-tag editor

mp3gain from http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

mp3 volume normalizer

Download Express from http://www.metaproducts.com

excellent download manager

OLEclean from http://www.geocities.com/drdole/

sort of registry analyzer/cleaner - use with care!

ShellExView from http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html

excellent shell extensions manager

Instant Version Info from http://www.lorriman.com/software/verext/verext.htm

Version info for files in explorer context menu

DirHTML from http://home.pacbell.net/nitzsche/dirhtml/dirhtml.html

create html pages from a directory structure - lot of features

Enjoy!

** Edit: Some gems I forgot to mention ...

xxcopy from http://www.xxcopy.com/index.htm

EXCELLENT copy/xcopy replacement

graburl from www.kiraly.com (website down)

command line tool to download web pages (text only)

Internet Explorer Text Archiver from http://www.pcnineoneone.com/tweaks/scripts9.html

select some text from a web page - right click - select "Archive selected text" - very handy!

The plugin saves the selected text in a predefined folder. The file will include a timestamp and the web site's address.

OE-Quotefix from http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

Add-on that modifies message composition windows on-the-fly to allow

for 'correct' quoting, compressed indentation, and RFC-compliant signatures

Desk Marker from http://www.deskmarker.com/

Draw on windows with different pensize and color to emphasize window areas.

Aezay Registry Commander from http://aezay.dk/

EXCELLENT registry editor with features seen nowhere else

more to come ...

Edited July 10, 2005 by ack-hh

[TheBlackMan]

@ ack-hh: First off I would like to welcome you to the MSFN boards. It is a privilege to have you. If you have any questions please use the search tool provided because most questions have been asked before and have answers to them. Also, please read the forum rules. Now, regarding your post. What a great way to start! Wow, those are some great programs. I have only looked through a couple of them, but I can tell that it is all gold! I especially like attribute changer. Take note, The GUN link appears to be down. I hope to see more from you soon. Once again, welcome to the boards and what a post!

[Zxian]

Wow... ack-hh... that's a good long list. Way better than my first post here...

I'll definately have a look at some of those when I get home tonight...

Oh... and welcome to MSFN!

[ack-hh]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

Regarding the link to MOVSD's TheGun:

I've checked all links as I were writing my post.

I even downloaded the latest version of TheGun

from that site. Hopefully it will be online again soon.

Regarding Attribute Changer:

Yes, it IS a nice tool. Otherwise I would not have done

the German localization in the previous version.

[jack99]

welcome to the forum ack and im familar with 90% of those trusty freeware proggie .ived spend countless hours combing the freeware highways from son of spy to nonags and i find tons of handy apps sure some arent the prettiest gui but they work and the price is great lol .

[TheBlackMan]

@ ack-hh: Why do you use WinAmp v2.79? I'm curious as to why you havn't upgraded to v5 Lite.

[Yzöwl]

Well, from version 3 the program was considered bloated and buggy, and because of this I was under the impression that version 2.95 was the best. I wouldn't mind knowing why either ack-hh!

[ack-hh]

@ TheBlackMan & Yzöwl: There's no specific reason for THAT version.

It's only because at some point I noticed that WA became bloated,

so I decided to refuse any further updates.

[TheBlackMan]

That actually makes perfect sense. I was partial to v2 as well, but for some odd reason just switched to v5. I can't remember, does v2 support Internet Radio/TV? If so, then I might switch back because I think v2 was the fastest and most stable and AOL has made it bloated.

[ack-hh]

heads up: http://www.movsd.com/thegun.htm is online again

[TwistedMetal]

Yea, Crap Cleaner is the best piece of freeware you can find.

[ootsoo]

hi dman and others,

can u tell me a freeware that will help striping down or cutting down an "mp3" file...

i tried with "VCD cutter"..

it is saying an error..i dont get wat it tells...

i think the version of that is old...

so any free ware to cut a part of a mp3 file so that it can be made as a tune to my cell phone...

also tell me the site for them...

thanks and regards,

Ootsoo

[lylo]

While we're on topic of creating a kick a** freeware machine, how about I, a seasoned gamer (I like to think so anyway hehe) let you guys know of some of the best free games out there! I know this would rather go in the Gamers Hangout but this is a thread for free software so...

As said before, Grand Theft Auto 1 & 2 are both absolute classics that cannot be denied! Here are some others for ya

Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory

Can be downloaded at various sites,

http://enemy-territory.4players.de:1041/

http://returntocastlewolfenstein.filefront.com/

One of the best online first person shooters out there, and certainly one of the most popular. Play as either Axis or Allied troops in various WW2 themed settings in objective based teamplay maps. The game was made using the RTCW engine and was originally planned as a mod for that game but eventually came to be a free standalone game. Great community as well, one of the main things that affects the way a game can be!

Each team has 5 different types of troop to play as:

Soldier (Heavy weapons, lots of boom boom),

Medic (Heal and revive teammates),

Field Ops (Give out ammo packs and call in airstrikes),

Covert Ops (The stealthy guys, snipe off enemies and steal their uniforms to look like one of them!) and

Engineers (Needed to build various things throughout the map)

You're gonna need to form a team mixed of all these classes to launch effective attacks on your enemie and win the maps!

True Combat: Elite

Download at http://www.truecombat.com/intro.php

This is a total modification for Wolfenstein: ET (So you're going to have to have that installed first of all). If you're bored of the arcadey-unrealistic feel of Enemy Territory, try this one and completely turn it around!

This changes Enemy Territory into a realistic, counter terrorism based game in the same vein as Counter Strike. However, compare the realism of this game to the so called realism of Counter Strike and this wins hands down.

(Plus Counter Strike sucks anyway but not to go off the subject)

No crosshairs for your weapons requiring you to bring the weapon to your eye level and aim down the iron sights.

Be careful not to rely on the cover of wooden boxes or other things that might be in the battlefield, some weapons can be ferocious enough to be able to fire and shoot straight through certain materials!

No health bars or money to buy weapons with while you're in the battlefield! You take a shot you better hope its not to your head or chest or else it'll probably kill you there and then. The game makers have planned that in future releases, wounds to bodyparts may affect the functionality of that limb.

This game isn't even officially in Beta stages yet so be sure to keep an eye on it, it will be BIG in the future.

Gunbound

Get it at http://www.softnyx.net/

Soon to become Gunbound: World Champion, this is another online game which just might have you hooked if you're not too careful!

This is a 2D Turn Based battle game. Players take part in various cute and colourful tank like machines each with their own special powers, abilities, advantages and disadvantages. The aim of the game is simple, to blast the hell out of the other team! When you begin playing though, you begin to learn though that a whole new tactical world opens up and you really have to think about how you're gonna play to make sure you dont give the enemies too much of an advantage over you and your team!

You'll win gold and Experience points for winning matches, with the gold you can buy upgrades for your 'avatar', new clothes and items to make him/her look cool and really stand out or just save it all up to build the ultimate fighting machine! You're gonna have to rack that experience up as well to advance through all of the game's ranks if you aim to be the world's #1 player!

Simple on the outside, indepth and very engaging on the inside. Recommended!

Other games that spring to mind:

Knight Online - a free MMORPG that while not as current or advanced as say World of Warcraft or Guild Wars, is still **** fun to play and you certainly dont have to worry about monthly fees or any other purchases!

Enemy Territory: Fortress - Another ET mod (Can you tell I'm an ET fan?) though admittedly I'm not as keen on this as other games. This turns ET into a fast paced, Quake 3 style team fortress game. Arm yourself up with lots of firepower then go in to take the enemy base over!

O-Game - This is a web based MMO that kinda blends RPG and RTS elements together. Colonise your own planet and control everything in there, from power, resources, to fleets, defences and build everything up to become leader of the universe... Or fail miserably lol. VERY addictive and currently one of my favourite games out there.

Nanaca Crash - Put simply, the best flash game ever created

I hope this helps some of you guys

[TheBlackMan]

Nanaca Crash - Put simply, the best flash game ever created 

WOW! How did you find this!?! My best record is 2166.34m!!!

[lylo]

LMAO, lets just say I'm one of those guys with WAY too much spare time and a will to waste it somehow! 2166.34 huh?

Beat 8539.64

A mate of mine linked me to a picture of one guy who had a score of 14000+ which is what I want to beat... I then got shown a picture of a guy who had well over 40000..... and then another of someone with 96000+

That kinda pooped on my parade!