Spotmau PowerSuite Review
Is It Really the Ultimate Emergency Repair Software for Your Windows?


Summary: Although it is not perfect, Spotmau PowerSuite can be your only life savior when Windows goes wrong. Its ability to boot up computer independently and let you run various recovery tools within its easy to use interface makes this sub $50 package highly recommended. Overall, it is for you who want a quick do-it-yourself fix to various critical Windows problems but don’t want to buy separated individual tools.

What We Like: It is filled with abundance arsenal of tools and utilities for your Windows maintenance, customization, and optimization needs. Its second to none BootCare console not only helps you boot up your troubled system but also gives various recovery possibilities. Buying the package is the least expensive alternative than buying separated individual tools that will cost hundreds of dollars

What We Don’t Like:  Some of its individual tools are not as good as premium software that are specialized for only one single task. There is no integrated antivirus feature.


Click Here to get the NEW Spotmau PowerSuite 2011

This year, Spotmau updates its all-in-one utilities series by releasing Spotmau PowerSuite 2009. The combination of its easy to use interface, abundance arsenal of tools and utilities, and ready to use bootable CD make it more recommended than its competitors. No matter what operating system you use, whether it’s Windows 98, 2000, NT, XP or Vista, this little angel can help you prepare various Windows recovery operations even when it stubbornly refuses to boot.

Downloading and Installation                   

 

There is no problem at all when downloading and installing Spotmau PowerSuite 2009. After we make a purchase, Spotmau will give us both the serial number of the product and the link to the installation package. Inside the package, beside manual and instruction sheets, we will also get an image (.iso) file that is intended to create a bootable CD. If you haven’t had a burning application already, there is also BurnCDCC in the package that will be enough to burn the image. This free software, as well as other tips and info, can also be downloaded from Spotmau support page. If you do not have CD burner, you can ask Spotmau to send the hard copy for an extra couple of bucks. But if you have, you just need to open the image file (.iso) with the BurnCDCC or your chosen burning application like NERO Burning ROM or Roxio Easy Media Creator and burn it into a recordable media like CD-R or DVD-RW that's compatible with your drive. I recommend to burn it to CD and not DVD since it only takes a couple hundreds of Megabytes.

 

With this bootable CD, you can run the application both inside and outside Windows. So for instance if your Windows fails to boot, you can use it to boot up your computer and do various recovery and maintenance operations from there. Just put the CD inside your CD ROM drive, make sure the boot sequence is in the right order (if not, configure it within your BIOS), and let it do the rest. If you want to use it inside Windows for doing normal activities like system tweaking, optimizing, or other maintenance purposes, you need to install it first into your hard drive. The process is simple: Just load the CD when Windows runs, let the auto-run begins, and choose Install Spotmau within the popup screen. If the popup screen does not automatically appear, just run the setup.exe file using your Windows explorer.


Features and Performance           

        

Fundamentally Spotmau PowerSuite 2009, as its tradition, is separated into two main consoles: WinCare and BootCare. The first console runs inside your Windows operating system. This is a traditional way most programs run. When it runs this way, it resembles utilities software like TuneUp Utilities, Advanced System Optimizer, or Ashampoo WinOptimizer. But it is the second console that differentiates it with others. BootCare allows you to run most of PowerSuite’s tools outside OS environment and make it possible to do various advance recovery operations in serious system problems. Fortunately, you do not need to be a geek to do this. With only clicks of a mouse, you can fix missing NTLDR problem, rebuild corrupted master boot record, reset your Windows login password, restore entire or a part of your disk, repair corrupted partition, or recover your deleted or formatted files. We are actually surprised by the possibilities of recovery this package can deliver. And unlike UBCD4Windows, you do not need to learn all night long to create and prepare the complicated bootable CD. With Spotmau PowerSuite 2009, you just burn the image and are ready to go.

Spotmau guarantees its PowerSuite can boot up any system. It will automatically identify each PC hardware configuration. In our testing, we tried to run the BootCare console using two different systems. First we tried it on our notebook with Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53 GHz, 2GB of RAM, 1x 160GB HDD, 1x DVD RW, 1x card reader slot, 3x USB ports, and a USB mouse. It ran easily and recognized all the devices. Second, we tried it on our desktop with AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, NVIDIA GeForce 6100, 2x 1GB of RAM, 2x 160GB HDD, 1x DVD RW Drive, 1x DVD ROM Drive, 5x USB slots, and a PS2 mouse. It also ran perfectly. So, as far as our test is concerned, there is no problem about system compatibility here.

Next, we will dig a little d
eeper into every feature Spotmau PowerSuite 2009 offers. We will also let you know whether the feature runs on BootCare, WinCare, or both console. Overall, there are 8 main features/functions with more than dozens of sub features that we will analyze.


1. Windows Recovery
(Run under BootCare and WinCare)

One of the reason original Windows System Restore is not that powerful is because it only monitors limited files in limited locations and nothing much else. It is why when more serious problems appear like disk partition table error, corrupted Master Boot Record, or missing NTLDR, it can do you no good. This makes Windows system restore more of a waste in disk space than a practical help. Besides, it also cannot do anything when your computer completely in halt. On the other hand, that is exactly the issues PowerSuite Windows Recovery has successfully dealt with. Using its Windows Backup feature you can save other important aspects of your Windows that is not normally recorded with the original System Restore. If your Windows halts completely in the future, PowerSuite Windows Recovery tool that runs under BootCare can save your life. With the feature, you can schedule a backup operation in a specified time as well as compress and split the image file to fit the size of your disk or partition.

2. Password Genius
(Run under BootCare and WinCare)

Spotmau is filled with unique tools and utilities. This one is for example. We have not found utilities software that bundles this feature yet and that includes major names like System Mechanic and TuneUp Utilities. What Password Genius can do is two things: Finding your Windows products keys and finding your Windows login password as well as other applications’. Under its Password Finder sub feature, you can reset the passwords of Windows login (both administrator and user account), Ms Outlook and Access, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, IE AutoComplete, and your dial up connection. If you lost your Ms products’ keys, which is needed for reinstallation, you can use Ms Key Finder sub feature instead. It will easily list your Ms products’ keys such as Office and Windows XP.

 

3. Partition Genius
(Run under BootCare and WinCare)

If you don’t know already, Windows does have internal partition manager that you can access using its Computer Management console. But this manager has limited function that an external third party partition application is highly needed for most partitioning operations. One of the biggest examples is its inability to resize a partition without corrupting the content of it. The parts which Windows leaves out are which Spotmau picks up. With its Partition Genius, you can split, merge, or resize partitions without losing your data. You can also convert between one and another file system as well as creating, hiding, scanning, and formatting partitions. Unlike Windows Disk Management, Partition Genius has easy to use interface, very graphical, and not much that technical ho-hum that will leave you wondering where to go next. As a bonus, all these operations can also be done easily outside Windows in case you haven’t already installed it.


4. Windows Optimization
(Run under WinCare)

Under this function, there are three main sub-features namely System Cleanup, System Speedup, and IE Management. With these features, you can make your computer runs more efficiently. PowerSuite will help you do this by several ways including cleaning up the registry, deleting junk files and temporary internet files, identifying and disabling hidden resource-consuming tasks, removing pop ups and unneeded IE toolbars, and removing unneeded startup entries. Under this function you can also optimize your network speed by finding the best configuration for your connection.

 

Although it is quite effective, we should address our concern regarding this function. Most of the tools inside are not more than shortcuts to internal Windows tools like Disk Cleanup, CHKDSK command, Disk Defragmenter, or ‘MsConfig’ Startup Manager. Yes it is true that some features like IE and Windows system settings tweaker are hidden by default and we are lucky to find it easily here. But we need additional value of functions that are basically already available inside our Windows. For now, the only good thing under PowerSuite Windows Optimization function is that it is where all of Windows important tools and hidden settings can easily be found in one place.



5. Data Backup
(Run Under BootCare and WinCare)

From a little disappointment of the previous function, we rather excited to continue to the next one. Under Data Backup, we have found important tools that if sold separately will cost us at least half the price of the package: Folder Backup and Clone Genius. With these two features you can save the content of your disk to other places. The possibilities are almost unlimited. With Folder Backup you can save a copy of your files or folder to another folder in any partition or disk. The available scheduled backup and automatic shutdown option makes an important part in backing up activity. For instance, we like to backup every end of the week our ‘My Document’ folders to make sure that all of our important files are saved. Automatic scheduled operation makes our job a lot easier. Other small but important additional options are incremental backup that is important to save time by copying only the modified and new files, compression that will save extra space, and automatic image splitting to adjust the size of the image file with the size your disk or partition.

Another tool under Data Backup function is Clone Genius. With this tool, you can back up the entire content of your disk or partition to another easily. What special is that this tool can be run outside Windows. So in a case of fatal system crash, the Disk to Disk restoration will turn back your whole system to previous state just like nothing has happened, no Windows or dozens of application reinstallation and reconfiguration. With this capability, Spotmau PowerSuite 2009 is the ultimate data backup solution for you. Fortunately, it comes with other functions as well.


6. Privacy and Security
(Run under WinCare)

What Spotmau PowerSuite 2009 is capable of in this expertise might interest you who own lots of sensitive data. It cares for small footprints just to make sure your private information is sealed. Some operations that you can conduct under this menu are permanent clearance of all your activity records, encrypting folder or files both on hard drive and any removable storage like flash drive, compressing files or folder with password, creating a ‘Personal Safe’ from separated partition to store or lock up your data, and permanently wiping out files. So now you no longer need to be afraid your boss or girlfriend finds out your secret.


7. Data Rescue
(Run under BootCare and WinCare)

PowerSuite Data Rescue is another tool that makes the whole package is highly recommended. Sure, the other competitors already put this in their regular list of featured tools in their own utilities series. But I doubt they can operate theirs outside Windows. This becomes important when someone mistakenly formats one of your partition or disk and screw up your computer at the same time. And that is exactly PowerSuite Unformat and Undelete can do. Beside this, there are Raw Rescue which is more through at searching and even can find in a damaged file system or partition table, and File Transfer which functions like emergency explorer to transfer files to other disks both external and internal. The last sub feature can only be run under BootCare. With the combination of all these tools, you can rescue your lost files no matter its file type or in which file system and media it resides. But make sure to immediately run data recovery as soon as you lost your file. Because if the lost file is rewritten by another file, it is almost impossible to recover it by any means.


8. Spotmau Secretary
(Run under WinCare)

Ok, this is a small additional feature that has no impact to the Windows maintenance aspect. But it does have some impact in the aesthetic and Windows productivity. Besides, any additional that fits the package would not hurt as long as it does not interfere others. Under this last main function, you can find features like event reminder, personal digital clock and calendar, desktop memo, and wallpaper changer. If you don’t have Windows Vista and a sidebar application already on your desktop, these tools can be helpful for you.

 

Summary                   

Spotmau PowerSuite 2009 has proven that it can give so many Windows recovery possibilities even in a time when it seems almost impossible to do so. It is not perfect though. Its limitation can be seen in some of its individual tools: They are not as good as premium software that are specialized for one single task. This can be seen mainly in its optimization function that mostly is filled with shortcuts to Windows tools. Its disk cloning and backup function should also be mentioned here. Although it is quite effective and sufficient for your need, it can’t keep up with premium disk cloning software like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost. Feature like automatic partition resizing in a larger destination disk is absence. It is small, but for some people this can be important. But then by doing this, we don’t do enough justice to PowerSuite 2009. How can we compare a sub $50 product with dozens of separated products that if they are bundled together will cost you hundreds of dollars? And that is not the essence of it. Spotmau PowerSuite 2009 is meant as a whole: An emergency repair software with various tools and utilities integrated inside for a bigger chance of recovery possibilities.

Finally, answering the tag line of this article: Is it really the ultimate emergency repair software for your Windows? Comparing with its competitors, Spotmau PowerSuite 2009 suits the place better than the rest.




 

 

 


 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 












 



 
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