Shelf 01 — Utilities
Utilities &
system tools
The small programs that do one job faster than the operating system does. Six we keep coming back to, with the licence and the official source for each.
Shelf notes
Six tools, not sixty.
A long list is easy to write and useless to read. This shelf holds the utilities we would install on a brand-new machine before doing anything else, in the order we would install them.
Every one is free to use for personal work, actively maintained, and available directly from its developer. Where a paid tier exists, it is noted — you will never be pushed toward it here.
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01
7-Zip Archiving
Opens practically every archive format you will be sent, including the awkward ones, and creates well-compressed 7z or zip files. Adds a context-menu entry and then stays out of the way for years.
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02
Everything File search
Indexes filenames from the drive's own change journal, so results appear as you type instead of after a progress bar. The fastest way to answer "where did I put that file" on a large disk.
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03
WizTree Disk space
Draws a treemap of what is eating your drive in seconds rather than minutes. Useful the moment a system disk reaches ninety per cent full and you need the answer before deleting anything.
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04
ShareX Capture
Region screenshots, scrolling capture, screen recording and annotation in one open-source package, with configurable rules for where each capture is saved. Overkill for casual use, ideal if you document things.
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05
Rufus Bootable media
Writes an installer image to a USB stick reliably, with sensible defaults for partition scheme and firmware type. The tool to reach for when you are reinstalling an operating system or running a live environment.
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06
Notepad++ Text editing
A fast plain-text editor that handles large log files, remembers your session, and never silently reformats what you paste. Sits comfortably between a basic notepad and a full development environment.
Before you install anything
- Download from the developer's own domain or repository — the first search result is often an ad, not the source.
- Prefer the portable build if one exists; it can be tested and removed without touching the registry.
- Read the installer screens rather than clicking through. Optional bundled offers live on the third or fourth page.
- Where the developer publishes a checksum, verify it. Our guides section walks through the two-minute version.
Next shelf
Hardware behaving oddly? Start with what is actually inside.
Before chasing a driver, identify the component. The drivers shelf covers inventory and sensor tools, disk health checks, and the safe order of operations for a clean graphics driver replacement.