Locked Files

One utility that I found invaluable when running Windows XP was WhoLockMe. It is a small utility with one simple purpose - to unlock a file in order to perform an operation on it, usually a file delete.

Normally, Windows protects a file from deletion when it is being used by another process (and quite rightly so). There are times, however, when it is necessary to delete a file that is in use - when dealing with malware, for example, or when a process stubbornly refuses to quit or release the handle on a file. WhoLockMe always came to the rescue. This utility installs as a Windows Explorer extension, so a right click on the file to be removed allowed the file to be unlocked and then deleted.

I recently found out that it didn't install under Windows 7. It appeared to install but there was no option to unlock in the right click context menu.

Enter Unlocker from Cedrick 'Nitch' Collomb. This is also a small utility - the install file is 255KB - and it performs the same task. And it works perfectly with Windows 7.

I'm not recommending unlocking and deleting files as a regular practice, but when you need to, this is the tool you wish you had.

What's in the Box?

OK, so you need to start afresh with a reformat and reinstall. Maybe you got a stubborn rootkit, your hard drive failed, you want to install a new version of Windows. Whatever the reason, you've got all your data backed up and you're ready to roll.

Or are you? You know all your passwords? Got all the hardware drivers? If you are a computer 'tinkerer', do you know the model of that NIC you picked up at the computer fair last year? Sure you can get the tools out, open the case and check (for the hardware, at least) but why not make things easy with a little preparation?

One of my favourite applications is Belarc Advisor - run this one now and save (or print out) the report. You get details of hardware, attached peripherals, memory configuration, Windows updates, software keys - in fact nearly everything you wish you had checked before you reformatted.

In say nearly everything because there are some software keys Belarc does not, for some reason, pick up. So I recently found another utilility - SIW (System Info for Windows) - that may extract a few more keys. It also provides more technical information on your hardware, peripherals and network. Again, I recommend you save or print the reports from this application before the 'I wish ...' stage.

Both these utilities are free. Both will prove their worth the next time you have a major problem.

So what are you waiting for?!!