Welcome to exmixer.com. On this page you'll find links to some useful Windows (and a few x-platform Mac) free/share/payware utilities for CPU, disk testing, security etc., as well as a link to MS Flight Simulator 2004/FSX screenshots, videos and info . All links should open in a new window using current versions of IE, Firefox, Safari or Netscape. Unless otherwise noted, all are freeware, have no known (to me) malware/spyware content, and are apps I use regularly on multiple XP/Mac boxes with no ill effects...ymmv. Some have autoupdating enabled by default; as time permits I'll try to note which ones do that for those that prefer manually updating their software. It's up to you to check prefs/options etc. on each app.
For Mac users with Intel based machines, those using dual-boot (OS X/XP) boxes may also find the utilities useful...up to you to test. There are also links to platform agnostic measurement conversion sites as well as a coupla' fun things. I can't control what others do on their sites...popup/under stuff happens, modern browsers have tools to deal with that. This is a growing list, please send suggestions, bad links etc. to the address below.
Conversion sites and fun stuff further down the page .
UTILITIES
A note of caution: Before installing any of these utilities, create a System Restore point. Could save you a bit of grief.
A note of caution: Before installing any of these utilities, create a System Restore point. Could save you a bit of grief.
SysInternals More stuff than seems possible. If you're only making one stop, make it here.
CPU-Z Another excellent utility from CPUID. Tells you most everything you need to know as regards your CPU, RAM (including serial #'s and manufacture date if the chip(s) support SPD (Serial Presence Detect)), motherboard and cache.
Belarc Advisor A comprehensive analysis of your hardware and software, including a security analysis.
HD Tune Benchmarks your HDD(s), provides complete disk info, S.M.A.R.T. info, disk error checking, and disk temps if your HDD(s) support that feature.
HD Tach HDD benchmark utility (read only for the freeware version), simple to use, shows performance graphs, can compare different drives.
DiskCheckup A S.M.A.R.T. utility. Supports IDE/EIDE and SATA drives, does NOT support SCSI or RAID.
Nero CD-DVD Speed Provides a wide range of tests for CD's and DVD's. There are also several other good utilities on this site.
BootVis This is a Microsoft item, XP required. It'll show detailed info on your boot sequence and attempt to optimize it if it can. That's the short version :-) It's a good learning tool also. I strongly suggest you read the Help files/Read Me. I've used it in XP Pro SP2....it crashes occasionally <shrug>. It also takes quite some time for it to do its thing after rebooting. It should show a small display saying 'Please wait for BootVis to launch'. Don't start clicking around. Use at your own risk ;-)
IDServe A very handy tool from GRC (Gibson Research) that enables you to get info on server type, version etc. by entering either a URL or IP number. If used with an IP that represents say, your IP, it may return router type, actual DSL/Cable modem address, etc.
GUIDES
Tweakguides
A good resource, especially for ATI/NVIDIA
video
card info. Lots of other good stuff too.digitalFAQ A great starting point if you're interested in DVD creation.
MISCELLANEOUS
UTILITIES
Irfanwiew A terrific viewing application. View most any graphic format and much, much more. Don't forget to get the plug-ins too.
CutePDF A remarkable piece of freeware that creates .pdf documents. It requires the free converter on the same page, located just beneath the CutePDF download. Install both, open a document, select Page setup..., select the CutePDF printer. Select Print...do NOT check 'Print to file', the rest is obvious. Very cool, thanks to Steve Stombaugh for finding this.
VLC Media Player Cross-platform open-source player and much more, opens most anything.
Photo to Sketch Just what it says, converts .jpg or .bmp images to sketches. Pencil mode works great for me, you may also want to maximize the app window for best results. This is good stuff, there's a payware version too. You can see the effect here.
Isobuster Shareware CD and DVD data recovery tool. If you backup to either format, you may want to take a look.
AVIcodec Analyzes multi-media files, lists available installed codecs, links to codec download sites. Excellent tool if you work with multi-media.
CheckeMON.exe A test pattern generator of sorts (no color bars though) with an emphasis on screen geometry and color blending. Click the mouse to cycle through a test, use the ESC key to exit a test. I'm finding it useful for tweaking a new FP LCD monitor. It also has tests for CRT's. The site has some other interesting stuff too :-)
CuteFTP Payware cross-platform FTP client. I use it, really like it's ease of use and intuitive interface; hey, it's so simple even my Mom could use it :-) Currently using the Pro versions on XP and Mac OSX Snow Leopard (10.6.2)
Drive Cleaner Pro I hesitated before listing this. You can do *serious* damage to your system if you don't follow the semi ambiguous instructions *precisely*. Use at your own risk; it does wipe previous drivers, completely as far as I can tell.
NETWORK
ANALYSIS
Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) Most likely you should read all about it ;-) At the least, it's an excellent (I use that word too much here, huh? ;-)) network tool that can be used in many ways. New name, same coders, read the FAQ on the page as to what works and what doesn't.
Nmap Well, once again, you may just want to read the page(s). Not a toy, and lends itself to US Federal felony charges if used inappropriately. That's not a joke: common sense applies with this kind of powerful tool. You may want to look at these pages for clarification on the legal issues involved. It doesn't play particularly well with current versions of XP, command line chops may be in order. Update 6-07-06: I haven't used Nmap in awhile...the current version for Windows (4.03) is command line only...not difficult, but install/usage instructions are MUST READ material if you're new to the app. Quick usage link .
Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) Most likely you should read all about it ;-) At the least, it's an excellent (I use that word too much here, huh? ;-)) network tool that can be used in many ways. New name, same coders, read the FAQ on the page as to what works and what doesn't.
Nmap Well, once again, you may just want to read the page(s). Not a toy, and lends itself to US Federal felony charges if used inappropriately. That's not a joke: common sense applies with this kind of powerful tool. You may want to look at these pages for clarification on the legal issues involved. It doesn't play particularly well with current versions of XP, command line chops may be in order. Update 6-07-06: I haven't used Nmap in awhile...the current version for Windows (4.03) is command line only...not difficult, but install/usage instructions are MUST READ material if you're new to the app. Quick usage link .
SECURITY
Spybot
S&D Spyware/Malware
remover.
Get it.Ad-Aware Spyware/Malware remover. Get this too.
Avast ! Anti-virus. I use it, I like it. May sometimes hang on multiple large drives.
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer The name says it all.
MD5 A command line utility usable on either Unix or MS-DOS/Windows, which generates and verifies message digests (digital signatures) using the MD5 algorithm.
Secunia A site with up-to-date virus info and solid links to fixes, especially for Windows.
MEASUREMENT
CONVERSION/CALCULATION SITES
MS TerraServer In addition to Google Maps.
Birthday calculator How many seconds have you lived? Fun stuff :-)
Days until many holidays etc. Many options here for specific holidays.
More 'days until' stuff Generic, useful too.
MISCELLANEOUS STUFF
New...12-03-06...11 more
.jpg snow
shots
from
Whidbey Island WA (Largest
~190KB 640x480 .jpg)New...01-30-08...First snow of the
season on Whidbey
Is. WA
New...02-14-07...A poem from a dear friend...
New...02-14-07...A poem from a dear friend...
New...11-29-06...Snow on Whidbey Island WA (~167KB 640x480 .jpg).
New...11-04-06... Autumn in New Jersey Trees changing color (~218KB 800x600 .jpg). A 1600x1200 (~1.68MB .jpg) image can be found here .
