Top free tools for Windows: Process Explorer
Download: Process Explorer
Purpose: Monitor and manage running programs
Platforms: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; Windows Server 2008, 2003
Cost: Free
The great granddaddy of program monitors, Microsoft's free Process Explorer just hit version 14. If you've never used Process Explorer, you've never seen what's really going on under Windows' covers. If you have used Process Explorer, this new version boasts a couple of new tricks and a much-needed makeover for the CPU and memory monitor.
PE shows you all running processes and subprocesses and with a click or even a mouse-over, divulging details about what's really going on. Want to know which program has a file locked? Click Find, Handle, or DLL; type some part of the file name; and click Search. To release the file, right-click on the process and choose Kill Process Tree. Curious about the origin of all of those svchost.exe programs running on your machine? A simple mouse-over shows you what command line started the program.
See every process that's running; its handle, process ID, and controlling DLL; the amount of CPU it's using; and much more. PE also tells you everything about CPU cycles, memory usage, and I/O.
Best of all, PE doesn't have an installer. It just runs, and runs well.
The new version of Process Explorer includes a greatly improved display of CPU, Memory, and I/O activity.
Top free tools for Windows: PicPick
Download: PicPick
Purpose: Screen capture
Platforms: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; Windows Server 2008, 2003
Cost: Free for personal or nonprofit use; $19.99, down to $7.99 each for 50-plus licenses
If you've ever tried to use the Windows 7 Snipping Tool to capture fleeting images on the screen -- notification boxes that go away when you click, or popover or context menus that disappear the minute you move your mouse -- you're in for a treat.
PicPick lets you take screenshots with the press of a key or key combination of your choosing. Pressing the key doesn't make ephemeral items on the screen run for cover. You can, depending on the key combination, capture a full screen, an active window, a rectangular or freehand region on the screen. If you need to shoot against a white or single-color background, the PicPick Whiteboard tool lets you "erase" convenient parts of the screen. Once shot, PicPick pops your screen into an editor, with tools for resizing and editing. Toss in automatic file naming, on-screen magnification at selectable levels, a pixel ruler, color picker, and a half-dozen other screenshooting aids, and you end up with a versatile, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink shooter.
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This story, "Top 15 free tools for every Windows desktop," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in Windows at InfoWorld.com.