Centralized,
server-based administration is usually the easiest way to support and maintain
client systems, but what happens when distant firewalls play hardball, branch
offices pose domain and bandwidth restraints or you’re a consultant supporting
numerous clients in the field? While remote support often proves a worthy
sidekick, there are occasions when there’s just no substitute for sitting down
at a problematic machine.

After
overcoming logistical problems to physically get to the remote system – such as
sitting in traffic idling away three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline – licensing soon
becomes the next challenge. Even though you may have purchased a wide array of
software packages and troubleshooting tools for your office, those licenses may well not prove valid for use in
clients’ facilities, at remote sites or in other locations. Iolo
Technologies’ System Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit solves that problem.

Figure A
System Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit presents a clean but thorough dashboard
for troubleshooting, repairing and maintaining PCs.

If you
work in an office that’s purchased site licenses, additional software
investments may be required to support remote locations or subsidiary
locations. Further, if you’re a consultant, most of your licenses likely are
non-transferable to clients. With System Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit, however, a
license need not be purchased for each system upon which you use the software.
The licensing costs are already built into the product’s purchase price.

Carry
the single System Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit CD-ROM for access to potent tools
for all of the following:

  • Spyware
    and virus protection
  • Performance
    optimization
  • Registry
    tweaks
  • Hard
    disk repair
  • Disaster
    recovery
  • Data
    security
  • System
    cleanup
  • Identity
    protection

The
software’s capabilities are wide ranging. The mobile toolkit version collects
four Iolo products – System Mechanic 6, Search and
Recover 3, System Shield 2 and DriveScrubber 2 – in
one package. The program’s simplicity (no installation is required, as you can
run the software directly from the CD) helps make short work of complete system
scans, performance improvements, crash recovery and/or maintenance.

But
System Mechanic’s ease of use doesn’t inhibit its potential. Carrying just the
single CD (or sharing it over your network, if you choose) enables a multitude
of services.

Security

System
Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit’s security applications range from detecting and
removing spyware and viruses to securing systems using the PC Security
Optimizer. The included System Shield also protects PCs from identity theft
attempts aimed at discovering personal or confidential information.

When
the time comes to discard a machine or hard disk, DriveScrubber
overwrites and removes all data much more securely versus a merely reformatted
disk. And, as you can run the program by booting directly from the CD, even
systems with temperamental Windows installs can be effectively wiped.

Performance optimization

In
addition to the Startup Optimizer, which accelerates booting
by reviewing the applications that load at startup, Disk Defrag defragments
disk drives up to ten times faster than Windows’ native defragmentation tool.
There’s also a Startup Manager that checks more than 30 locations in which
programs hide (before starting automatically).

Figure B
System Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit provides a clean interface and keeps the
administrator abreast of the actions its performing.

The PC
Acceleration Wizard, meanwhile, optimizes system, Internet and network settings
to provide measurable overall performance gains. An included PC Cleanup Wizard
provides an easy method for quickly locating and deleting unnecessary and
obsolete files (including cookies) that needlessly clutter a system and inhibit
performance.

A
Registry Optimization tool enables complete registry review and fine-tuning
functionality, while the Process Manager supports viewing running processes
(complete with publisher, description and startup mode information).

Figure C
The Process Manager provides much more information about active processes
than Windows’ native Task Manager.

Disaster recovery

System
Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit, whose Drive Medic application can be booted directly
from the CD, can repair failed drives or identify and fix hard disk errors
before they even occur.

The
product’s Search and Recover StrongScan technology,
meanwhile, can recover deleted files (including data from hard disks, CDs and
DVDs, memory cards and other storage media).

Other tools

System
Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit includes a host of other capabilities. Here’s a
rundown of just a few.

System information

With
numerous different systems, many purchased from different vendors in different
years, the first thing you may need to know about a machine, whether you’re
performing routine monthly maintenance or troubleshooting a problem, is what
are you dealing with. In other words, what components is the system running?

System
Mechanic 6 Mobile Toolkit includes a System Information tool that quickly
reaches deep into a system to return detailed information about the hardware
the machine’s running. The application also displays the Windows product key
and update status.

Un-installation tools

Besides
a Duplicate File Inspector, which helps identify and remove duplicate files on
a system, the product includes a Junk File Removal Tool as well as a separate
Uninstall Software program that can be used to completely uninstall unwanted
and stubborn applications.

System snapshots

System
Snapshots tracks the changes that are made to a system and allows you to
compare changes made over time. This information can prove invaluable in
diagnosing the cause of new system errors.

The convenience factor

The
convenience of a single CD still weighs as one of System Mechanic 6 Mobile
Toolkit’s biggest advantages. While you can share the CD over a network, being able
to take the CD from system to system (even outside the organization) simplifies
the process of diagnosing problems, performing regular system maintenance and
repairing problematic systems.

Considering
the wide range of tools, from data recovery utilities to disk defragmentation
and anti-spyware resources, even if you’re unsure which specific tools a
system’s going to require you’re likely to find you’re already carrying the
ones you need. Plus, those pressed for time can simply defer to System Mechanic’s
default logic by leveraging the PC TotalCare feature
and enabling System Mechanic’s range of cleanup, repair, security and
performance optimization tools with a few simple clicks.

Add in
the fact the CD possesses an unlimited license to operate on any number of
computers (including servers), and you can see how the toolkit can quickly
become indispensable, especially for consultants.