If you want to keep your PC in good condition and running as smoothly as the very first day you switched it on, you’ve got two options: either you download a dozen different system optimization apps or you just use TuneUp Utilities, a nice piece of software that has turned into an essential maintenance toolkit for your PC.
This new version of TuneUp Utilities is not just an update of good ol’ TuneUp 2006. It has not only improved many of the tools featured in previous editions, but also included new ones. In addition, TuneUp is getting ready for the future by providing support for the latest software (Firefox 2, Internet Explorer, Office 2007) and offering free updates for the upcoming Windows Vista.
The first thing you see when launching the program is a nagging window, a short message reminding you that this is not free software and that you have a 30 day trial period. It’s a bit of a nuisance because it appears every time you run TuneUp, but no big deal.
The program maintains the same clear, eye-catching interface design which makes it really easy to use. From the moment you run it, you know where to find each tool and how to use them, as they’re self-explanatory and also very well documented. All the utilities included in TuneUp are classified into different categories, accessible via stylish colourful buttons. Just click on any of them to enter each category.
Tools range from customizing the appearance of your Windows installation to editing the Registry, covering many important aspects of your system. You’ll be able to optimize its overall performance, gain disk space by erasing useless files and even recover those documents you’ve deleted by accident. TuneUp can also generate a highly detailed report on the state of your PC. The good thing is that, no matter how many changes you make, you can always go back to your PC’s previous state thanks to TuneUp Rescue Center.
TuneUp is seamlessly integrated into Windows. New commands are added to context menus to shred or undelete files in your Recycle Bin. Also, a new shortcut named “1-Click Maintenance” is added to the Desktop enabling you to perform a quick maintenance check-up including Registry analysis, program analysis and temporary files deletion. This is a very handy tool which we recommend running every week as a periodic maintenance task.
All in all, TuneUp gathers pretty much all the maintenance and optimization tools you need into one efficient, easy-to-use application. You couldn’t ask for more.
