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From
TNPC issue #3.13...
Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (Tools): Part 4
by Al Gordon
June 22, 2000
You don't have to be a power user to benefit from power tools.
Case in point: JerMar Software's Tweaki (that's right, it's
spelled "Tweaki"), which could well be one of the best
expenditures of 15 bucks you could make. It is extremely valuable
for anyone running a Windows-Microsoft Office system, which is to
say just about everybody. And it is essential for Windows 2000
users.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/313/tr.cgi?util1
The utility allows you to access a claimed 250 Windows/Office
settings; I lost count after 80 or so when I attempted to verify
the figure. Trust me, you can do a lot of stuff. If there is a
downside, it is that there are so many options that Tweaki has
begun to spill over the bounds of its own interface and relies on
"more" buttons to launch sub-dialogs. Not to worry though, JerMar
promises a version 3 later this year, updated for the latest
Windows incarnations including Win2000.
Microsoft used to provide free "PowerToys" utilities with a few
of these capabilities for Win95, but (with rare exceptions) never
updated them for Win98 much less Win2000. So Tweaki is now the
only way to easily access the user interface settings that
Microsoft either scatters throughout Windows and Office or does
not document at all.
It would take pages to describe all of Tweaki's features, but
here are some highlights. It will enable or disable startup
options (a feature included in Win98 but not in Win2000), back up
key Registry settings (again, included in Win98 but not in
Win2000), change common file locations (a handy solution to
Win98SE and Win2000's penchant for setting up individual PCs as
if they were part of a corporate network), performance
enhancements for Internet connections, and assorted tweaks for
printing.
JerMar says that its next version will incorporate features from
its ProFILER 2000 utility that allow users to save their Windows
and Office configurations, thereby simplifying multiple
installations and re-installations (ProFILER 2000 supports Office
97 but not Office 2000). We at TNPC have long been clamoring for
such a tool and look forward to seeing the new version.
Another valuable package is Winternals Software's Dual Boot
Tools, made up of NTFS for Win98, FAT32 for NT 4.0, and NTFSDOS
Pro. This is not cheap; $199 for the package. The components are
available separately, however, at $49, $39, and $149
respectively. If you share TNPC's view that multi-booting is an
effective way to get more use out of a single PC, Winternals
software is a valuable enhancement.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/313/tr.cgi?util2
In fact, if you are running Windows NT4 Workstation in any kind
of multiple OS environment, FAT32 for NT 4.0 is a must. NT4 can
only read NTFS and FAT volumes, the former is complicated, the
second space-inefficient. The utility installs seamlessly and
lets an NT4 system read FAT32 partitions. I wish I had discovered
the utility when I first started using NT4. NTFS for Win98 is the
mirror opposite, allowing Win98 systems to look at NTFS disks.
NTFSDOS Pro is too expensive to readily recommend. However, there
are times when one's life would be easier if you could use DOS
bootdisk to get at NTFS partitions, and this utility makes that
possible.
You can reach Al Gordon at:
mailto:algordon@TheNakedPC.com
Copyright © 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved.
The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422
You may reprint an article from TNPC as long as you show the
entire article and include the authors byline, excerpt and
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Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (Tools): Part 4
by Al Gordon
(This article originally appeared in The Naked PC
newsletter #3.13, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com)
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