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Software Review of:
Fix-It
Utilities 3.0 

From the October, 2001 issue of PC Alamode Magazine
by Bill Klutz 
boxFix-It Utilities 3.0 is touted as the only major PC utilities designed to work on Windows 95, 98, ME, NT and 2000; on FAT, FAT 32 and the NTFS (NT File System). It is a revolutionary system for maintaining, tweaking and optimizing your windows system.

The box had the usual registration card, a program CD and a users guide. (The CD contained a free copy of Ontrack's PowerDesk 4 Pro, so the users guide had 156/176 pages for the respective programs. PowerDesk 4 Pro will be covered in a separate review.) The box also contained a generic Emergency Rescue Disk for DOS & Windows FAT/FAT 32 (95/98/ME). 

Note:  The disk is primarily for a system that won't boot, and with Fix-It having not yet been installed. It is not as effective as a System Rescue Disk created by you, specifically for your system.

Features in Fix-it Utilities 3.0

  • 1-Step FixWizard: 

    • runs the core system maintenance and repair utilities in some of the following areas.
  • Disk and Files: 
    • DiskFixer

      • finds and fixes disk errors
    • JETDefrag

      • optimizes the hard drive, includes lntelliCluster technology for faster file access
    • DiskSnapshot

      • backs up key disk information
    • SystemSaver

      • backs up the system registry and other critical system data
    • DiskCleaner

      • sweeps out old and unused files
    • DiskVerifier

      • ensures that a diskette or CD is readable without errors
    • FileUndeleter

      • recovers deleted files
    • EasyUpdate

      • downloads upgrades to your Ontrack utilities.
  • System Registry: 
    • RegistryFixer

      • fixes errors in the Windows registry
    • RegistryCleaner

      • cleans out unnecessary registry entries
    • RegistryEditor

      • lets you edit registry entries
    • RegistryDefrag

      • removes gaps in the system registry
    • WinCustomizer

      • lets you tweak and customize Windows.
  • System Diagnostics: 
    • PCDiagnostics

      • tests and troubleshoots hardware
    • SystemExplorer

      • shows you running processes
    • SystemMonitors

      • shows you real-time resource usage.
  • System Protection: 
    • CrashProof

      • can halt application crashes
    • VirsaScanner

      • provides both real-time and on-demand virus scanning
    • Fix-It Scheduler

      • lets you schedule certain tasks
    • Rescue Disk

      • creates a system rescue disk
    • Undo-It

      • allows you to undo changes made by Fix-It Utilities
    • Fix-It Log

      • displays a log of recent Fix-It Utilities activities.
  • Crisis Center: Includes EasyRecovery Professional Lite —  recover up to 50 files, repair FAT and other critical system data as well. Also includes extensive information about what to do in serious data loss situations such as viruses, floods, fire, and more.


Between the program and the user's guide, things couldn't be better for a newcomer to the PC world. The instructions appear orderly and sequential, plus many have related information. 

EasyUpdate was next, to update both the Fix-It software and the virus information database. (One free year of virus updates over the Internet.) This was followed by creating a System Rescue Disk (Windows 95/98/ME) or setting up a System Lifeline (Windows NT/2000). Additional recommended setups in the user's guide (if not done during installation) included the Real-Time VirusScanner, DiskSnapshot, CrashProof, IntelliCluster, and a Regular System Maintenance Schedule. The last item, which had a very strong recommendation, was to Back Up Important Data Regularly.

Running Fix-It Utilities 3.0 will bring you to a selection menu. The choices, and brief explanation are: 

  • FixWizard 

    • the easy way to do it. Cleans up your system, scans and defrags the hard drive(s), and performs other maintenance tasks that can speed up your system and lengthen its life. (I figured it runs about 80% of the utilities available in the next four choices. If you need to run one in the 20% area 
  • FileUndeleter, Disk Verifier, etc

    • you will have to go to the respective major choice, then select the one you desire to run
  • Disk and Files 

    • a suite of utilities for optimizing, fixing and caring for the disks and files
  • System Registry 

    • backs up, optimizes and cleans out the system registry, a group of files that Windows depends on for critical information
  • System Diagnostics 

    • helps you find problems and potential problems within your system.
  • System Protection 

    • utilities to guard your system and your files.
  • SystemMonitors 

    • a group of sensors that continuously track and display your system resources, including hardware, disk space, RAM usage, page faulting, network resources, etc., while your computer is running.
  • Crisis Center 

    • the place to go when something really bad happens. If you cannot fix the problem, you can call the Crisis Center emergency toll free number, where a data recovery engineer will attempt to provide help
  • Tutorial 

    • a once-over-lightly description of how Fix-It can help you keep your computer in top shape.


After reading the user's guide (yes I really read it before "blowing and going" with any new program), and running some of the individual utilities, I would offer these comments. First, when you run any utility under FixWizard or individually, such as DiskCleaner (creates more disk space by getting rid of unused or temporary files, such as .tmp files, .bak files or readme files), make sure you check only the areas you want touched. If not sure, do not check the area. To me, if a .bak file is automatically created, someone thought it was important that the file be created. You must decide if the person was right (and the file remains), or the person was wrong (and the file is deleted). I thought "Keep the .bak files" was a justification for a bigger drive. Second, when the utilities are running, you may not see a lot of screen activity or information being presented.  Be patient, maybe 5 minutes, before you decide to jump in and try to help. On larger drives, it may take a little longer to "operate." Third, I ran DiskFixer on two of my drives (with no "bad sectors"), and it appeared to work as advertised. But, when I ran it on one of my older, 90MB drives with known "bad sectors," the color codes listed only covered the following: Free, Partially Used, Used, Reserved, and Lost Clusters. No "bad sector" color code. The program made it to 38% scanned and stayed there. I waited about 10 minutes, but saw nothing on screen or from the drive light to indicate anything was happening. Although the mouse worked, I could not shut the program down, even with the keyboard CTL+ALT & DEL.  Had to reboot the system.. Checked the drive with "ScanDisk" and verified there were still "bad sectors" on the drive. Ran DiskFixer again, and the same thing happened. No "warm fuzzy" here!

System requirements:
CD drive; Windows 95/98/ME and NT/2000 (4.0 or above); 16MB of RAM and 35MB of free disk space. Additional space is required for delete file protection and other facilities.
 

ONTRACK Data International, Inc.
3030 Sterling Circle
Boulder, CO 80301-2338
Sales: 800-645-8000, 303-245-8000
Fax: 303-245-8111
The program can be purchased at most stores that carry computer software (about $49.99, but cheaper if "Rebate" is offered; 60 day money back guarantee). Also, it can be purchased from the company's Web site: downloaded with no manual, or shipped with the manual (plus shipping cost). Note: The CD comes with a Samples Folder section, which can be opened to install Free Trials of one or more of the other programs from ONTRACK.

Bill Klutz does consulting work, primarily in the areas of Management and Computer Applications/Hardware/Software.