From TNPC issue #4.18...

Norton Utilities 2001 (Find/Fix Problems Tools): Part 5

by Lee Hudspeth
September 6, 2001

Norton Utilities ("NU") includes six tools in its "find/fix problems" bucket: System Check, System Doctor, UnErase Wizard, Disk Doctor, WinDoctor, and Protection.

(Note: All of these tools *except* System Check are Windows 2000 compatible.)

System Check performs a system checkup across these analysis categories (you can individually include or exclude them): Find Disk problems, Find Windows problems, Improve performance, and Preventative maintenance. You can run System Check once or schedule it to run at regular intervals. This tool is fast and thorough. When finished it presents a listing of all the problems found. (Tip: click this window's Details button located in the upper right-hand corner; this splits the display into the main problems list and a details section. As you highlight each main problem you see a listing of the detailed problems in the bottom half.) You can have System Check automatically fix a given group of problems, or you can fix them one by one (or choose to ignore a problem). When you fix problems individually, the tool often offers multiple solutions for you to choose from. You can undo corrections, and specify how long the undo list is maintained (up to forever): click the History button, right-click any item, choose Options, click the "Repair History" tab, and make the desired selection in units of either days, number of repairs, or forever. The Advanced display has a Windows Explorer-like tree view that you can sort in a variety of ways; this is the best display mode to use.

System Doctor uses a variety of customizable sensors to give you a cockpit instrumentation style view of various system states, complete with alarms. There are plenty of gizmos and settings to play around with here, but I warn you, running this tool all the time can be a resource hog. If your system is performing satisfactorily, I see no reason to run this tool all the time. I recommend turning System Doctor off and using System Check on an as-needed basis.

UnErase Wizard can save your bacon, oh, maybe not today, but someday. It helps you recover deleted files. The coolest part of UnErase is that you don't have to remember the exact filename of that crucial missing file, or even the filename; you can search for a lost file even if you only know a piece of text that it contained. You can search for files based on filename, file type, location, or--as explained--contents. Even "unrecoverable files" (that is, deleted files with some data still floating around in unused disk space) can be recovered and pieced back together. (This is limited of course to data segments that have not yet been overwritten by the operating system or wiped with a tool like Norton WipeInfo.)

Disk Doctor is a ScanDisk-like tool. It can both diagnose and repair disk drive problems, and you control whether it makes repairs automatically or not. Furthermore, you can control which tests are performed and how some of them are performed. When finished, it provides a report that you can print or view on screen.

WinDoctor performs the "Find Windows problems" analysis that's also done by System Check, as described earlier in this article.

Protection works together with the Windows Recycle Bin and the Norton UnErase Wizard to extend your safety net for deleted files. With Protection turned on (highly recommended), the UnErase Wizard can recover files that went through the regular Recycle Bin, plus files deleted from a DOS window--within Windows itself but not when booted directly into DOS--and files created/deleted in the background by various Windows applications. Configure Protection by right-clicking on the "Norton Protected Recycle Bin" desktop icon, choose Properties, then click the "Norton Protection" tab. Note: don't wait until you lose a critical file to activate Protection; turn it on NOW and save yourself plenty of heartache later.

I have some additional information about NU for which there isn't room here, including a table with each tool's name (19 in all), its category (find/fix problems, system maintenance, etc.), direct links to The Naked PC article that reviewed each tool, and a Yes/No column for Windows 2000 compatibility.
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/418/tr.cgi?lee1

You can reach Lee Hudspeth at:
mailto:leehudspeth@TheNakedPC.com

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