Third party system tools for windows XP

[techidave]

I was just reading the latest newsletter from Windows Secrets that was talking about some of these programs like Windows in a box and XP Syspad.  I was just wondering if anyone had ever researched any of these to know which one is the  best and if there are more out there that could be better.

http://bigdaddydesign.5gbfree.com/windowsinabox.htm

http://www.xtort.net/xtort-software/xpsyspad#features

thanks,
Dave

[Lashiec]

I have XPSysPad but I never used it since it was installed. I don't know why, either I know where it's everything in Windows, or maybe I find as painful as to search for the tools in Windows as to navigate the overcrowded menus. I'll probably uninstall it in a near future.

[techidave]

I tried the Windows in a Box and it was ok.  At least it didn't install anything which is good.  It runs from a menu and the menus aren't sorted alphabetical to make them easy to find but by how many characters are in the file name.  That is "Restart" would come before "Shutdown" since it has fewer letters.  Not exactly easy way to find something.  I also didn't see anyway of changing the sort order.

[lanux128]

Windows in a box has been updated since i last tried it but nevertheless i prefer XP Syspad slightly more. why? because it has this organized look and that makes things slightly easier to find. both tools are very handy to have when you're troubleshooting a PC over a phone.

[Ehtyar]

One thing I'd like between these utilities is a list of useful registry keys that don't have a GUI tool to manipulate.

Ehtyar.