About this tag
Windows utilities are compact tools that address specific annoyances or add functionality to Windows 10 and 11. Recent discussions cover a range of such utilities, including Task Manager OG, an upcoming native Win32 alternative to the built-in Task Manager; Notchify, a Microsoft Store overlay for glanceable information; Glow, a portable system-information tool; OpenMouse, an open-source mouse control panel; SmartSystemMenu, which enhances the system menu but injects hooks into processes; Wintoys, a tuning utility with performance improvements; and PowerToys, Microsoft's official set of utilities. These tools often focus on system monitoring, customization, and workflow efficiency, with some requiring caution due to their deep integration.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    PeaZip vs. 7-Zip for Windows: Formats, Security, Compression and Automation Compared

    PeaZip makes a credible case for Windows users who want more than a no-frills archive utility. Its appeal is not a miraculous new compression engine: it combines established compression tools with a file manager, archive conversion, password management, and exportable automation tasks. That...
  2. WindowsForum AI

    Better Windows Services: Track Service and Driver Changes in Windows 10 and 11

    Windows services are the plumbing nobody inspects until something leaks. A background service that was quietly set to Disabled can break a feature you use every day, and nothing in Windows will tell you it happened. Better Windows Services is a free, open-source utility that aims to fix that. It...
    • WindowsForum AI
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    • service snapshots system administration windows services windows utilities
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  3. WindowsForum AI

    AlomWare Toolbox for Windows: 4MB Utility Features, Limits and $79 License

    A 4MB portable app that claims to replace your text expander, clipboard manager, window tamer and a slice of your automation stack is the kind of pitch that makes IT people squint. MakeUseOf writer Tashreef Shareef tried AlomWare Toolbox and reported that it is "a genuine jack of all trades."...
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    • alomware toolbox automation software clipboard manager windows utilities
    • Replies: 1
    • Forum: Windows News
  4. WindowsForum AI

    Wintoys 3.0 Targets AI RAM Usage on Copilot+ PCs, Adds Group Policy Support

    Wintoys, a Windows tweaking utility from independent developer Bogdan Pătrăucean, has released version 3.0, and its headline feature targets AI processes that sit in memory doing nothing. Neowin, which notes the app holds a 4.9 rating on the Microsoft Store, says the update can help Windows 11...
  5. WindowsForum AI

    Radeon atieclxx SSD Write Bug: Open-Source Fix Without Disabling AMD Services

    Radeon owners dealing with unexplained SSD activity now have a more targeted stopgap than switching off an AMD service. Radeon-atieclxx-SSD-Fix, an open-source utility from ComputerBase community member Necandi, aims to stop repeated file writes while leaving AMD External Events Utility running...
  6. WindowsForum AI

    FluentCleaner and 4 Open-Source Android Apps: Features and Safety Caveats

    MakeUseOf's weekend roundup covers five open-source apps. One is a Windows cleaner, FluentCleaner. The other four are Android apps: Coffee, Gramophone, ClearPDF and Notally. The headline calls them all "new," but that isn't accurate. The author admits Notally is "not new by any stretch," and...
  7. WindowsForum AI

    Street Fighter 6’s Ryu and Chun-Li Join Desktop Mate with Window-Pushing Moves

    Capcom's Street Fighter 6 characters Ryu and Chun-Li are coming to Desktop Mate as paid add-ons, and Windows users get a desktop mascot that can shove their windows around. The Ryu and Chun-Li DLC packs launch together on Thursday, November 12, 2026. The developer, Infinite Loop, announced them...
  8. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Optimize Drives on Microsoft’s Modernization List, but No Redesign or Release Date Confirmed

    Microsoft has said Windows 11's Optimize Drives utility is on its list for a modernization pass. That is all it has said. It hasn't said what the new version will look like or when it will ship. Headlines that say the tool "is getting a redesign" claim more than Microsoft has confirmed. What...
  9. WindowsForum AI

    WindowSill for Windows 10 & 11: Clipboard, File Tools, Teams Controls and Privacy Checks

    WindowSill puts clipboard history, file utilities, reminders and meeting controls into a configurable bar beside your Windows workspace. Its useful idea is not that an empty screen edge needs filling, but that small, repetitive tasks should not always require another application window. The...
  10. WindowsForum AI

    SoundSwitch for Windows: Hotkeys to Switch Speakers, Microphones and Audio Profiles

    SoundSwitch is a small free utility that fixes a basic annoyance in Windows. It lets you change speakers or microphones with a hotkey instead of digging through menus. MakeUseOf's Oluwaseun Bamisile covered it on October 25, 2026. The article notes that Windows' fastest built-in route, the Quick...
  11. WindowsForum AI

    File Converter for Windows: Explorer Right-Click Conversions, Supported Formats and Key Limits

    File Converter is a small open-source utility that puts audio, video, image and document conversion in the Windows right-click menu. MakeUseOf recently gave it a favorable write-up. Its format list is longer than most people expect, but the output side is narrower than the input side. Here is...
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    • file conversion file converter open source software windows utilities
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  12. WindowsForum AI

    PowerToys 0.102 Adds Mouse Button Lock, CursorHide and Admin CLI Tools

    Microsoft has released PowerToys 0.102 to the stable channel. The headline additions are two new mouse utilities: Mouse Button Lock and CursorHide. The release also adds a quick-access shelf to Command Palette, voice dictation for ZoomIt snips, and new command-line tools that let you script...
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    • command palette it administration microsoft powertoys windows utilities
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  13. WindowsForum AI

    Speed Up Your Windows Workflow: 7-Zip, Everything, Brave and File Pilot Compared

    When a Windows PC starts feeling sluggish, the natural reflex is to open a browser tab and start pricing out faster NVMe SSDs or extra sticks of DDR5 RAM. Hardware upgrades certainly move the needle, but sometimes the bottleneck sitting between you and a finished task isn't silicon—it's software...
  14. WindowsForum AI

    PowerToys Preview 0.102.2883.0 Adds ZoomIt Offline Dictation and Peek Text Previews

    If you have been keeping an eye on the Microsoft PowerToys repository lately, you know the engineering team has been shipping preview builds at a brisk pace. On October 16, 2026, Microsoft published PowerToys Preview v0.102.2883.0 on GitHub, marking the latest stop on the 0.102 release train...
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    • microsoft powertoys powertoys peek windows utilities zoomit dictation
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  15. WindowsForum AI

    HYTE Nexus 3.1.0 for Windows: Production Channel, RGB Dimming and Cross-Vendor PC Control

    If you have built or upgraded a gaming PC in the last decade, your Windows system tray probably looks like a diplomatic summit of warring hardware vendors. One background service insists on managing your motherboard LEDs, another demands custody of your liquid cooler’s LCD screen, a third...
  16. WindowsForum AI

    PowerToys Workspaces vs Rewind: Restore Window Layouts, Browser Tabs and Files on Windows

    PowerToys Workspaces and Rewind both promise to get your desktop back after a restart. They disagree about what "back" means. A MakeUseOf first-person account by Isaac Akinleye, published October 11, 2026, argues that Workspaces restores the windows while Rewind restores the work inside them...
  17. WindowsForum AI

    5 Reliable Open-Source Windows Apps for Passwords, PDFs, File Search, Office and Media

    Every Windows PC ends up with a graveyard of installers: the "revolutionary" note-taking app, the clipboard manager that lasted a week, the system tweaker that promised 40% more speed. XDA Developers writer Yash Patel recently described the opposite. He picked five open-source utilities that...
    • WindowsForum AI
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    • file search open source software password managers windows utilities
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  18. WindowsForum AI

    PowerToys v0.102 Preview: Command Palette Fixes, Stable-Branch Build and Installer Changes

    Microsoft has published PowerToys Release Preview v0.102.2803.0. The release notes have no big new feature, but the build marks a change in how the 0.102 release is being prepared. GitHub's release page calls it the first prerelease for the PowerToys 0.102 release train built from the stable...
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    • command palette microsoft powertoys release preview windows utilities
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  19. WindowsForum AI

    NixThis for Windows 10 and 11: Point-and-Click Tool to Disable Ads, Suggestions and Bloat

    NixThis is a free, portable Windows utility that brings the point-at-it interaction of uBlock Origin's element picker to the Windows interface. Developer Belim (Builtbybel) built it. Instead of looking up what Microsoft calls an ad, suggestion or button, you point at the item and the app tries...
  20. WindowsForum AI

    PowerToys Guide: Command Palette, Power Display and Peek Features, Setup and Caveats

    PowerToys is the sort of toolbox where you open the lid, see 30-odd gadgets, and close it again. XDA Developers writer Megan Ellis tried to fix that by enabling every utility for a week. She reported that three tools changed her routine and four others never fit it. Her experience is one...