If you're running Windows 9x or Me, then Tweak-Me is well worth checking out. If you need convincing, you can download a trial version before spending your money.
There's always room for improvement, and that's certainly true of Microsoft Windows Me. Enter Tweak-Me 2.5, from TotalIdea Software, a utility designed to help you optimise and tweak your Windows Me or 9x-based PC. Among other capabilities, this program promises to enhance your Internet connection speed, eliminate unnecessary files on your hard drive, and customise your auto-start settings list.
The 4MB, free 14-day trial download (permanent version, US$19.95 direct) is available from the company's Web site. We had no problems installing Tweak-Me, and the streamlined interface was a pleasant surprise. For a program that contains so many useful features, it's extremely easy to use. This is largely due to superb documentation.
Four main buttons guide you through tweaking your PC: System Performance, System Tweaks, Internet Tweaks, and Help/Setting. System Performance covers memory optimization, cache optimization, unnecessary files, and the system information menu. The unnecessary files feature was particularly useful; we had gobs of unnecessary files hanging around and Tweak-Me found most of them, letting us delete them quickly.
The System Tweaks button contains the boot tweaks, Windows tweaks, auto-starts, system folders, and hide disk drives options. If you've ever wondered what the heck was launched when your computer booted up, you'll love the boot tweaks feature. You can see everything that is launched, even if it's hidden in the Registry. You can also customise your boot settings here. The Windows Tweaks function optimises your CD-ROM and DVD drives by increasing the cache size, checks the system registry, and then verifies the integrity of your system files.
The Internet Tweaks button contains the modem tweaks, Internet history, and cookie clean up features. Using the bandwidth test utility at http://computingcentral.msn.com (something home users can try), we saw a 10-Kbps increase with our dial-up connection. The cookie cleanup got rid of our Internet Explorer history file with a couple of clicks.
If you're running Windows 9x or Me, then Tweak-Me is well worth checking out. If you need convincing, you can download a trial version before spending your money.
Tweak-Me 2.5
Company: TotalIdea Software
Price: US$19.95 Web Download
Requires: 90-MHz processor or better; 16 MB RAM; 4MB hard drive space; Windows 9x or Me
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