The best free tools for windows. Please share your experiences here.

1.) Malwarebytes - AdwCleaner
- The world’s most popular adware cleaner finds and removes unwanted programs
and junkware so your online experience stays optimal and hassle-free.
www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner

2.) JDownloader 2
- With jDownloader 2 you get a program for downloading large files from one-click hosters,
which offers many advantages over downloading via browser, such as higher speed.
https://jdownloader.org/jdownloader2

3.) CrystalDiskInfo
- A HDD/SSD utility software which supports a part of USB, Intel/AMD RAID and NVMe.
https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/

 

1 - Handbreak: HandBrake: Downloads (open source video transcoder)

2 - Microsoft PowerToys: Microsoft PowerToys | Microsoft Docs (Microsoft PowerToys is a set of utilities for power users to tune and streamline their Windows experience for greater productivity)

3 - Foxit Reader: Free PDF Reader & Viewer - Online Download | Foxit Software (best free pdf reader and editor I've used)

4 - Calibre: calibre - E-book management (calibre-ebook.com) (self explanatory)

5 - Voicemeeter: VB-Audio VoiceMeeter
(Voicemeeter is Audio Mixer Application endowed with Virtual Audio Device used as Virtual I/O to mix and manage any audio sources from or to any audio devices or applications.)

6 - DaVinci Resolve: DaVinci Resolve 17 | Blackmagic Design (well featured video editor, has a free and a paid version and the free one is pretty good)

7 - AIMP: AIMP 5.00.2344 for Windows - Download (uptodown.com) (well known audio player, music bee is my favorite but aimp was and is a classic along with winamp and foobar)

8 - MSI Afterburner: Afterburner (msi.com) (well known GPU manager, I prefer to use it instead of the AMD Radeon, for example)

9 - Bitwarden: Bitwarden Open Source Password Manager | Bitwarden (free and open source password manager, it's perhaps the better pass manager I've used)

 

Last edited: Dec 9, 2021

Everything by Voidtools. Search your files fast, really fast.

QuickLook, macOS style quick preview in file managers. Just tap space and that's all there is to it.

AltDrag. Drag/resize windows without having to hit borders with alt held down.

Sandboxie Plus. Run questionable/uncertain applications sandboxed.

 

APTuner - Best Tuna

 

Hardlinks ShellExt https://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html
Set up Hardlinks via right mouse click. usecase: move any directory/file to an (external) harddrive preserving the old path for apps.
Absolute lifesaver.

calibre https://calibre-ebook.com/
Great ebook manager for extensive book collections

Ditto https://ditto-cp.sourceforge.io/#Change History
Powerful clipboard manager. Copies virtually any object to clipboard and stores it in a searchable list. works even over the network

Virtual box https://www.virtualbox.org/
Virtual machine environment (installl OS of your choice) e.g. for testing Apps.

Batch-to-exe https://www.heise.de/download/product/bat-to-exe-converter-42769
converts any .BAT file into a x64 or x32 .exe file

Sordum Defender Control https://www.sordum.org/9480/defender-control-v2-0/
Manages WIndows defender. Can disable defender completely. Even for Win 11

 

Last edited: Dec 11, 2021

SpaceSniffer for used disk space analysis. Very useful

 

You should try sumatra pdf super light weight and very fast, opens 1000+ pages and finds words and exact pages in seconds

 

1.) Speed up & Optimize your PC with CCleaner
- CCleaner has been downloaded over 2.5 billion times!
www.ccleaner.com

2.) Google Earth
- Google Earth is a computer program, formerly known as Keyhole EarthViewer,
that renders a 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery.
http://google.com/earth

3.) CPU-Z | Softwares | CPUID
- System information software
www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

4.) FileZilla - The free FTP solution
- Welcome to the homepage of FileZilla®, the free FTP solution.
The FileZilla Client not only supports FTP, but also FTP over TLS (FTPS) and SFTP.
https://filezilla-project.org

 

Last edited: Dec 8, 2021

EDIT: Not all of these tools are free. I'm sorry. Some of the ones that you have to pay for are included on distros like Sergei Strelec's boot CD though if you want a fully functioning demo before you buy them.

PowerIso and UltraIso for Iso files.
InfraRecorder for converting to disc images so Ableton Sampler can automatically read Akai format discs.
Awave Studio for opening and converting various sampler formats.
CDExtract for opening and converting various sampler formats.
FreeFileSync for copying and comparing files/folders.
AllwaySync for comparing files/folders.
WinMerge for comparing files/folders.
WaveShop as an ultra light alternative wave editor for instant opening of (small) files.
Terabyte Image For Windows/Linux for a robust backup solution for your system/os drive.
HWiNFO64 for a rundown of all your internal components in your PC down to type of RAM you have.
VMWare virtualisation software.
Hitman Pro for a second opinion scanner for viruses.
Emsisoft Emergency Kit for second opinion for viruses and adware removal.
Sandboxie for safer browsing and running keygens.
Comodo container sandbox for running keygens that sandboxie won't.
Personal Backup for fast and robust file/folder copying that can be scheduled as jobs.
Sergei Strelec windows boot disk for booting up via a USB stick. Hundreds of utilities that are handy.
Active File Recovery for recovering lost partitions and folders when a HDD goes tits up. Best I've used.
Autoruns for taking crap off your startup in windows that you don't need.
GSmarControl for checking disks for SMART info and doing tests on HDDs.
MiniTool partition wizard for partition work and disc testing and fixing.
DiskGenius for loads of various HDD tools in one program. Can do just about anything disk related.
EMXP for converting samples so Akai sampler can read them.
WinSCP for FTP'ing in to websites such as Steinberg's FTP. This functionality is removed from browsers now for security.
Process Hacker 2 as a Task Manager on steroids. Shut down nuisance apps. Check what dll files are used.
CoreTemp for checking disk usage and CPU usage.
WinHex Forensics and data recovery, Hex editor and Disk editor.
SampleSort for sorting samples.
XLN XO for sorting drum samples.
Argonaut Atlas for sorting drum samples and plugin with excellent step sequencer.

 

Last edited: Dec 8, 2021

Share x : Best screen shot/screen record / GIF maker ever made , it has incredible editing tools as well it saves me alot of time + its open source
https://getsharex.com/
Xournal ++ : I use it all the time to annotate and edit pdfs , has the ability to organize the pages and delete / re arrange them + stylus compatability and latex , use it all the time in work open source as well https://xournalpp.github.io/
Simplenote : simple Quick note taking tool sync to all your devices https://simplenote.com/

 

Are they all FREE? Are you sure?

 

https://freefilesync.org/

Create and manage backups, super easy to use and really handy for copying only needed files for backups

 

did this used to be called spacemonger?
because it looks very familar

 

Maybe they are free with "trotters independent traders"

 

noted. thanks for the suggestion, foxit is a bit heavy (imo) so I'll definitely try this one out.

 

Unreal Commander, file manager, I use it all the time.
https://x-diesel.com/

XODO, PDF editor with very, very good functionality for free. (Downloads in "App" menu.)
https://pdf.online/ru?from=xodo

SyncThing synchronizes files via bit-torrent
https://syncthing.net/

CryptSync, encrypted backup
https://tools.stefankueng.com/CryptSync.html

SyncBack Free, backup
https://www.2brightsparks.com/welcome/backup/freeware.html

CudaText, text files editor. Not worse than Notepad++, really light and fast, universal, and I like GUI way more.
https://cudatext.github.io/

 

Last edited: Dec 14, 2021

Doesnt Windows already have a similar function (win+v)? I'm guessing this one should be better (?)

 

HiBit Uninstaller - http://www.hibitsoft.ir/Uninstaller.html

Installable and Portable versions available. Active development from a very responsive developer.

Features (Apart from the obvious uninstall features, bullet point 4 can be very useful too):

• Fully uninstall programs without leftovers
• Forced Uninstall removes any stubborn software
• Remove multiple programs at once
• Monitoring installation of programs
• Program quick search function
• Uninstall windows store apps
• Remove browsers' extensions
• Shred sensitive files
• Fix registry problems and boost your PC performance
• Remove junk files and unnecessary program files
• Delete invalid shortcuts in your system
• Find the empty folders in your hard drive
• Easily manage programs and services that start with Windows
• Easily manage windows system restore points
• Easy-to-use user interface
• Automatic update to the latest version

He's also developed a Startup Manager and System Info utility. All Freeware.

 

lots of apps were already named here but I would add:

Process Explorer - better than windows default one
Universal Extractor - extracts most of archive files and installers
Libre Office - free office
XnView - pics viewer
KeePass - store our passwords
Foobar + MusicBee - audio players

^All free and portable

Soulseek - peer-to-peer file-sharing network for musiс lovers