Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

System tools

Nov 29, 2014 1:42PM PST

Is there a system diagnostic software that does not come with addon adds. I would pay top dollar for an application that would analize and repair my system without having to deal with the addon popups

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Holy Grail or Unicorn.
Nov 30, 2014 1:20AM PST

Sorry no. After many decades the PC industry has yet to produce such a diagnostic that I can trust the results of.

For example, even a HDD test can be fooled by a flaky cable or aging PSU. So no, the old ways still rule.
Bob

- Collapse -
Yay! Welcome to the repair counter.
Nov 30, 2014 1:36AM PST

Dafydd.

- Collapse -
No cure all, but some noteworthy tools
Nov 30, 2014 2:22AM PST

While the previous comments are certainly true that there is no panacea, there are free tools that can be helpful. You can download free memory diagnostics from the Microsoft web site. You can download free disk diagnostics from Western Digital and Seagate. I use Seatools from Seagate. And there are tools for diagnosing Windows problems too. In addition to your antivirus software, Malwarebytes is excellent for finding malware often called "pups" (Potentially Undesirable Programs), and SFC is a very good checker for corrupted Windows files. If you have something that doesn't work despite your best efforts (e.g. sound, Internet, CD/DVD etc.) you can use one of the free versions of Linux - I like the Mint and Ubuntu versions that you can put on a disc or flash drive. If Windows is irreparably damaged, you can use these Linux discs to recover your data too. These tools don't cover everything, but they do address many of the more common problems people have with computers.
Sorry if this seems a bit complex, but these are the do it yourself tools you can avail yourself of if you want to save yourself $100 or more at a repair shop, and have the time and will to pursue it.

Good luck.

- Collapse -
(NT) works better here if you state your problem
Nov 30, 2014 4:33AM PST
- Collapse -
Problem
Dec 5, 2014 8:18AM PST

My problem is that I buy products like System Mechanic and Advanced System Care and Avast to name just a few and they all come with notices to buy more features. I built my first pc back in the late 80's and diagnostic utilities were straight forward (and command line). I am not looking for a magic bullet to fix anything that happens to my computer. With the complexity of the newer operating systems a simple diagnostic suite that does not keep asking for more money would be nice.

- Collapse -
you just described
Dec 5, 2014 9:14AM PST

one more reason I went over to linux for my own system

- Collapse -
Typically the software with adds
Nov 30, 2014 10:04PM PST

are the free versions and when you purchase the software the adds go away.

- Collapse -
Software adds
Dec 5, 2014 8:23AM PST

No these are products I payed for and products I thought were from reputable companies. System Mechanic, Advance System Care and Avast to name the most recent. I have payed for Avast for years without the adds and lately I am getting adds from them aswell.

- Collapse -
contact service center
Dec 4, 2014 12:13PM PST

you might be contact to service center or also apply for new version, or you might be download addon externally from the web-store by using your customer id.