Solved Opinions on System Mechanic software?

ICIT2LOL · May 20, 2023

I have come across this software in my browsing and am wondering if anyone has any ideas on it. The software is called System Mechanic and the website is System Mechanic Special Offer.
Any thoughts on it really appreciated and I have to say that in general I steer clear of software that proports to get your machine cleaned up.

DigitalGoat · May 20, 2023

Is there something the app does that you need but cannot achieve with Windows built in tools?
Most of these type of apps tend to just re skin Windows built in features, often using the same library of routines supplied with the operating system or claim to do things like 'clean the registry' for improved performance which is honestly snake oil at best and potentially damaging to your system.
You might be better off researching the built in tools offered by Windows, particularly through command and PowerShell options for managing your system.
There are some really well written and laid out tutorials and resources available on this and other forums for command and PowerShell, plus Microsoft Docs have a wealth of information and guides on using Windows tools and features.

Spartan · May 20, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
I have come across this software in my browsing and am wondering if anyone has any ideas on it. The software is called System Mechanic and the website is System Mechanic Special Offer.
Any thoughts on it really appreciated and I have to say that in general I steer clear of software that proports to get your machine cleaned up.

Avoid such snake oil apps like the plague. No software's magical optimize my computer button is going to make your computer faster.

Just take this note from their website as an example:

"Repairs Problems
Finds and fixes over 30,000 different problems using intelligent live updates from iolo Labs™ to keep your PC stable and error-free."

Wow, 30,000 different problems? Probably has an aggressive registry cleaner that will wipe off valid registry keys (false positives) and render some apps useless and might even corrupt your Windows installation to a point where only a full format would fix it.

The only apps I use is:

HiBit Uninstaller (allows you to uninstall apps and gets rid of their remnants after the uninstallation is done, it is better than RevoUnisntaller as it doesn't have false positives and is FREE). It also has a Junk Files Cleaner built in and is able to remove any Windows Store app that you don't need even if the said app has no uninstallation button. You can access these additional features from the top right drop down list.

Alternatively, you can use ccPortable which is a portable version of CCleaner to clean out junk files but doesn't come with the newly introduced system optimizer, driver updater, etc. bloatware

Winaero Tweaker to tweak Windows to my liking, disable automatically installing suggested apps, disable telemetry, disable Windows Error Reporting, and much more

Do not forget to right-click on the files you just downloaded, go to Properties, then check the unblock button at the bottom if it says it was blocked because it came from the internet. If you don't do this, it will lead to erroneous installation as the installer wouldn't have the proper privileges.

Porthos · May 20, 2023

Not even if I was paid to use it.

TraderGary · May 20, 2023

My first PC was the original IBM PC in 1981. Over the past 40+ years I've had many dozens of computers and most of Microsoft's Operating Systems. I make my living with my PC and I can't afford to have major problems. I don't purchase or need any tools other than those Microsoft supplies.

ICIT2LOL · May 20, 2023

Ok all I shall leave well alone I just saw it in a YouTube video and as it was paid for software thought it could not that bad. It dealt with stopping data collection by Microsoft but in all honesty I think they have to have a certain amount of your data even if only to install the OS eh?

Spartan · May 20, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
Ok all I shall leave well alone I just saw it in a YouTube video and as it was paid for software thought it could not that bad. It dealt with stopping data collection by Microsoft but in all honesty I think they have to have a certain amount of your data even if only to install the OS eh?

This is the proper way to do it, and for free

Winaero Tweaker:

O&O ShutUp10+:

Mister.T · May 20, 2023

Not worth it, I've purchased it before on a discount site and not used it above one per month. I try to stay away from Utilities or Tuneup Tools now. I usually get Antivirus Suites and Backup Software but that's about it, other than Adobe and Microsoft software.

ICIT2LOL · May 20, 2023

Ok Spartan mate I might give these a try and I am guessing that the green switch status means the setting is on and the reddish button shows that the setting selection is switched off??
Oh I missed Mister T suggestion I will not try anything at all.

Mister.T · May 20, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
Ok Spartan mate I might give these a try and I am guessing that the green switch status means the setting is on and the reddish button shows that the setting selection is switched off??
Oh I missed Mister T suggestion I will not try anything at all.

It's really personal preference, maybe try it (trial)?. But personally I don't think it's worth it.

Spartan · May 20, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
Ok Spartan mate I might give these a try and I am guessing that the green switch status means the setting is on and the reddish button shows that the setting selection is switched off??
Oh I missed Mister T suggestion I will not try anything at all.

Right, Green means the rule is active. You have to be careful what you disable just read them and there is an explanation in the tooltip what each rule does. Once you have set all the options as you like, you can export the configuration to a file to use it on another computer or reapply the tweaks later without having to go through all the settings again.

idgat · May 20, 2023

Two terms immediately come to mind .... one involves the words "fool", "money" and "parted". The other, "snake oil".

Always Why · May 20, 2023

Not worth it. Learning the maintenance features built into Windows is your best choice.

For various trusted Context Menu and UI tweaks Brink has many tutorials on how to adjust them. For instance - it was a big deal getting rid of the Network icon in the Navigation Pane in Windows 10. A tutorial in W10 forum showed us how. Windows 11 no longer needs a reg-hack to get rid of it. You just right click near the bottom of the Navigation pane and uncheck Network. In many areas W11 is simpler to customize then it's predecessors.

badrobot · May 20, 2023

All I ever use is Macrium.
I never waste my time fixing a problem or any signs of slow down and issues. I just revert back to the latest healthy backup image.
For protection, I never needed more than the Windows Defender and common sense online.
Most software like these do nothing more than give pop-up messages and notifications making you think that it is actually working. And most of the time, is just an annoyance.

ICIT2LOL · May 21, 2023

Ok may as well put this one to bed seeing the overwhelming cons of second party software.

Ghot · May 21, 2023

ICIT2LOL said:
Ok may as well put this one to bed seeing the overwhelming cons of second party software.

You shouldn't really need it.
The only program like that I run is an old version (5.78) of CCleaner.
And the only reason I use that, is that I can tell it which cookies to save and which to remove.

My Win 11 install seems to run fine with just that.

TM21 · May 21, 2023

Ok, here's the deal: If there is anything I hate worse than bogus software, it's those who scream "Snake Oil!" at or about anything that they know nothing about. I can cite many examples from my own experience, but I won't waste the time.

There are actually programs out there that can ASSIST you in keeping your PC clean, and running smoothly, but after looking at the link to the above mentioned program, my professional opinion is that it's something devised to sell to the PC nubies, and not to the more informed folks, like Most of the people on this forum. I'm actually kind of surprised that it was even mentioned here.
I won't cry "Snake Oil" because I don't think it's even that good. I would certainly NOT put out good money for it.

In my own work experience, I've had to remove many such programs from my customer's PC's, that were doing nothing but causing conflicts. Sort of like having multiple AV programs all running at once. A recipe for disaster.

I sincerely hope that nobody here wastes their money on the program that is the subject of this thread.

Cheers Mates,
TM

Always Why · May 22, 2023

Scanning System Files is important. I mentioned this is another thread and I am sure other members have posted similar tips on SFC.

Open a command prompt, run it as administrator then type sfc /scannow . Yes there is a space between sfc and / the forward slash.

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