Icon Ontrack SystemSuite 3.0 Icon

by Dale Farris, President, Golden Triangle PC Club
January 2001

Ontrack SystemSuite 3.0 primarily consists of a collection of six (6) different utilities packaged together to work and act like one software program. As computers become more complex and powerful, suites of utility programs have also become more powerful, as these vendors strive to respond to the need for programs to help keep computers operable.

As computer users become more comfortable with their system and more knowledgeable about how their operating system and program files work, gradually they begin to get interested in taking charge of their system, in an effort to head off system crashes, lockups, and of course, protecting their system from computer viruses. While Symantec's Norton SystemWorks or Network Associates' McAfee Office may be more well known in this line of programs, Ontrack's super suite of super utilities is well designed and destined for more attention and interest.

The six (6) primary utilities built into SystemSuite 3.0 include the following:

Fix-It Utilities
VirusScanner
CrashProof
EasyUninstall
DataEraser Personal Edition
Crisis Center

In addition, the suite also includes the professional version of PowerDesk 4 Pro, an add-on file manager shell that in my opinion is alone worth the price of this package.

Fix-It Utilities

The core program, Fix-It is designed to help keep a system running, fight slowdowns, speed program launches, detect hard drive problems early, optimize a drive, and diagnose and fix potential points of failure. Included is a high powered disk defragmenter, 1-step maintenance and fixing, a disk cleaner, and the early warning system.

VirusScanner

This program includes virus protection that allows you to scan on demand, or automatically. Included is 1 year of free virus definition updates.

CrashProof

Stopping application crashes is the focus of this program, as it will attempt to interrupt application and program crashes to give you time to save any work in progress.

EasyUninstall

Removing programs and files from a system is better supported in this component. Also, you can remove Internet clutter, move programs to a different drive or computer, and find larger files taking up disk space.

DataEraser Personal Edition

Recycling your pc? Need to wipe clean your entire hard drive? This program will overwrite all of the data on a hard drive, so you can feel confident that information has been eliminated.

Crisis Center

This is a super aid for data recovery that may be necessary after software corruption for example, and represents one of the strongest aspects of Ontrack's many programs. Data recovery is a big business now, and many companies have found the investment in recovering their important files worthwhile. This is a specialized area of emphasis of Ontrack, and you can get more information about this service at Ontrack's web site listed below.

This component presents a personal version of this process, focusing on a desktop environment, with different levels of recovery steps to follow depending on the severity of the data loss. For most home users, the focus will obviously be on recovering files from system crashes due to software corruption or hard drive failure.

Other Features

In addition to these components, with the purchase of SystemSuite 3.0, you also receive an emergency rescue diskette, a bootable CD, and access to Ontrack technical support.

New Features in SystemSuite 3.0

There are actually 50 different tools and features built into these utilities, with the following new features available in the new version 3.0.

Jet Defrag - high performance defragmenting tool
SMARTDefender - early warning system for hard drive failure
EasyRecovery Professional Lite - do-it-yourself data recovery tool
DataEraser Personal Edition - allows safe recycling of a hard drive
PC Diagnostics - improved testing of problem hardware and hard drive test
Bootable Rescue CD - boot a system when normal boot is not working
Customizable Install - choose which tools to install and further customize
Customizable Interface - "opt out" of some tools
PowerDesk 4 Pro - now included in the suite

Ontrack Data International, Inc.

Ontrack Data International, Inc. and its subsidiary, Ontrack Data Recovery Europe Limited, has its headquarters in Minneapolis, with offices around the world. Originally begun as a 1985 offshoot from Control Data Corporation, Ontrack Computer Systems, Inc. focused on the data storage market, and the company has continued to expand ever since. With the increased need by so many computer owners for data protection and recovery, due to mechanical, software, or virus problems, this led to the data recovery initiative that has also continued.

With the emphasis on data recovery, this naturally led to ways to prevent data loss, with the end product being this suite of utilities. In July 1999, Ontrack acquired the Mijenix Corporation that allowed them to further expand their utilities for problem solving, file management and productivity. 

Now, their lineup is fully developed and sold through offices in 9 cities on 3 continents.

Operational Features

SystemSuite 3 is designed to aid users who might be experiencing some of the following types of problems.

Sluggish, slow computer operation
Computer freezes or hangs, no mouse or keyboard control
Computer will not boot
Computer exhibits erratic, unpredictable behavior
Disk drive making unusual grinding noise
Application files are not being correctly saved to a drive
Programs crash a lot
System cannot find a program you have been running before
Not enough room to install new software
Not enough room for programs to write temp files
Files left over on disk after uninstallation
Unwanted files left in cache after using a web browser
Old files left around when changing to a new directory
Old files that are forgotten and unnecessary
Duplicate files accumulate when programs are moved or re-installed

These are just a few of the types of practical matters users may need help with. This program will help fix, tune-up, diagnose, protect against viruses, protect against system crashes, recover data, erase files, uninstall programs, erase entire hard drives, remove Internet tracking information, zip and unzip files, and update the system. In addition, the program now provides an entirely new file management shell in the PowerDesk 4 Pro program.

In one simple interface, users can now access all these utilities that are usually activated by different programs for different reasons. In the System Suite 3.0 interface, you can launch all these, and almost everything runs inside one window.

The EasyWizard checks for viruses, defragments a hard drive, fixes System Registry errors, and performs other similar pc maintenance duties. JetDefrag uses the IntelliCluster technology to organize a hard drive the way you use it most, and DiskFixer finds and fixes hard drive errors.

PC Diagnostics diagnoses a wide range of hardware types, including storage devices, memory, I/O ports, system boards, and CPU's. SystemMonitor tells you what's going on and helps oversee system health.

The uninstall feature helps you more closely monitor installed files, in order to regain disk space when uninstalling the program and to be sure all the relevant files are removed. RegistryFixer is a powerful tool to clean junk and errors from the Windows Registry, and you can optimize your registry with RegistryDefrag.

The included Emergency Rescue Diskette may be of help when a system is down. You would boot from this disk and then start the recovery process. VirusScanner provides different scanning options, depending on your needs, and you can "tweak" your OS with WinCustomizer. With this utility, you can tailor many Windows settings to suit your tastes, like changing your startup and shutdown logos, or add folders to your desktop.

CrashProof helps to intercept many types of Windows crashes, and when possible, gives you a chance to save work that might otherwise be lost. 

Now in this new version 3.0, SystemLifeline gives NT administrators an optional command prompt during the early NT boot process to help bring back a crashed NTFS system. This command prompt provides DOS-like commands, such as COPY, MOVE, or DELETE.

For file recovery, you work in the Crisis Center module, with several levels of data rescue and recovery. For additional fees, you can set up direct access to expert remote and in-lab data recovery services.

Accidentally trash a file? Now, with SystemSuite 3 you may be able to get it back. With FileUndeleter, you can recover deleted files that Windows cannot, even after you have emptied the Recycle Bin. The optional Deleted Files Bin preserves deleted files for recovery, and the Undelete Plus module can scan FAT, FAT32, and NTFS disks to recover data from deleted files that might otherwise have been lost.

 PowerDesk 4 Pro

If you have grown tired of the limitations in the standard Windows Explorer interface, this add-on utility is designed to provide many more features that are not now capable in Explorer.

The Pro version integrates FTP, includes a customizable toolbar for fast access to your favorite files and programs, provides extensive file viewing capabilities for over 200 file types, provides a tool to help you convert graphic files from one format to another, a Size Manager that shows you which files are cluttering up your drive, and much more.

For the minimal $19.95 price, this program is a good bargain, especially for more experienced Windows users, and for those not interested in the entire SystemSuite 3 package.

After some time with PowerDesk 4 Pro, many users never go back to Explorer. While the PowerDesk program is available free via download, the Pro version supercharges Windows with a powerful file manager that overcomes the deficiencies of Windows Explorer.

The PowerDesk 4 Pro program is important and powerful enough that I suggest folks concerned about these other utilities highly consider adding this one utility that will have less impact on a system than running the other tools. This program can be run when desired, and will not completely replace the existing Windows Explorer.

Other Similar Products

SystemSuite 3.0 is Ontrack's approach to providing an integrated suite of system maintenance and problem solving utilities that competes with the likely more well known products from Symantec, Norton SystemWorks, and Network Associates, McAfee Office. All these suites are basically designed to support the same functions, namely diagnosing problems, preventing crashes, and recovering from disasters.

When Ontrack acquired the Mijenix company, this enabled Ontrack to merge the Fix-It utility suite into their existing program. While this latest release continues the strong work of Fix-It, Ontrack has expanded the program with the other utilities now in SystemSuite 3.0.

All three programs are very good utility suites offering basically the same features, but of course each differs in their interface and how each works on a system.

SystemWorks offers more features and control, while SystemSuite 3.0 programs are much more easy for novices to use in a better designed user interface. Also, SystemSuite will provide you with the very valuable PowerDesk 4 Pro shell, which neither of the other two utility suites offer.

The interface for users in SystemSuite is seamless, easy to use, and better integrates the many tools in the program. Updating these is very simple, via the Internet, with one-button updating that will update all files in the suite. However, some of the SystemSuite tools offer less controls than you can work with in Norton SystemWorks, while SystemSuite will allow you to verify disks other than a hard drive, such as a floppy drive or a zip drive, something you cannot now do in SystemWorks.

At this point in time, SystemSuite 3 also offers support for Windows 2000, a feature not yet built into these other two utility suites. However, look for a soon to be released new version of these that will cover the need to work with W2K. Also unique to SystemSuite 3 is the Crisis Center, providing various tracks to Ontrack's highly regarded data recovery services. 

With these three utility suites now struggling for the market, as is always the case with the nature of the competitive spirit, users are the ones to gain as these three companies continue to improve their programs and further strengthen their usefulness.

 Install and Setup

Once you load this program, you will quickly be able to both register the program, as well as update it. With the virus scan tool, this single utility will be the one you will want to more regularly update at Ontrack's update site.

The presentation to the user is built on the acquired Mijenex Fix-It Utilities graphical user interface, and the utilities are all readily accessible via icons in the program. The entire package is loaded without offering an option to choose individual modules, an indication how completely integrated are these different features into this one program. This design results in operational efficiency and less hits on system performance, while presenting a very easy to user browser-style interface.

Organized by function, rather than name, are the many program modules, and a unified, tree-structured Undo window lets you reverse changes made by any of the modules.

Concerns Regarding Operations

As this super package from Ontrack is added to the system utility market, we have now entered a time when owning a personal computer means running some of the utilities built into these programs. The question becomes whether to stick with what is built into Windows, or to go with add-on products from other vendors that strive to exceed the capabilities of Windows-based programs. These add-on utility products vary from single purpose programs, such as WinZip for a zipping and unzipping utility, to these suites of multiple utilities that do different things.

Some readers may wonder why all the fuss with these system utility products. They will quickly find the answer if they talk with someone who has recently had to suffer through a complete system crash that made their computer inoperable. As powerful as computers may be, we are long from the day when these machines never crash.

Also, as some readers may know, utility software, while designed to help folks get out of a jam, can also be among the more intrusive and system resource hogging programs you can load on your machine. Although we have certainly come a long way with these utility packages, in my opinion we are far from when we can stop worrying about file conflicts and other operational problems that some of these utilities can cause.

While it may sound somewhat paradoxical, in truth, many of these types of utility programs, while designed to be of help, can in fact turn out to cause more problems than they are designed to fix.

With SystemSuite 3.0, Ontrack has made great strides here, with their focus on integrating all these many tools into one seamless program. I think most users of this program are probably less likely to experience crashes caused by the program.

When using a virus scanner for example, many folks have learned, some the hard way, that in order to be sure the programs functions well, does not take forever to complete, and is not endlessly re-starting, you should close all other existing programs and files, before they begin to scan their hard drive. Now, with the latest real-time scanning capability built into most of the newer virus scanners, including the ability to work in the background, scanning incoming email messages for infected messages or attachments, this means still further complexity involved now when running a virus scanner.

This just means that companies like Ontrack ought to be commended for working to create these utilities that have to be designed to function in this market filled with ever increasing software complexity. This presents a world of potential problems, such as file conflicts, not enough RAM, challenges to system resources, and processing power, all further complicated when we load a package of utilities like SystemSuite 3.0.

The goal is to create a utility that will operate as designed, is easy to use, while at the same time not interfere with all the countless other things users are likely to do on their machine. This is the main reason why I think the state-of-the-art in these utility packages may never be reached.

SystemSuite 3.0 is going to be less of a potential headache in this area than the two packages already mentioned, and users can employ greater control over the features in the program. While some may think manual activation of some of these utilities is a flaw, I think this is a key to the success of the program.

My principle in using computers is to load as few programs as possible when the system boots. When I want to activate a utility, I will open it. In the meantime, I work to keep few open active files, a particular concern when running utility programs.

Personally, I am more concerned about the many efforts by so many software vendors to code their programs to do so many things with no user intervention. This becomes a special concern when a program is designed to automatically load and run when a system boots. I was especially pleased to find the msconfig utility built into Windows 98 SE, which allows me to manually stop all the many files from loading when my machine boots, all of which is of course exactly NOT what the software was written to do.

Therefore, those considering this or any utility package should be very careful with the program, because there just is no way the vendor could ever guarantee the program will NEVER be the cause of file conflicts, system crashes, or other related system problems.

While SystemSuite 3 has certainly strengthened their effort to prevent these types of concerns, nevertheless users are cautioned to carefully read the included users guide and thoroughly understand how to manage these programs on their machine.

Control over the use of system resources will also be a significant concern, regardless how much RAM you want to add to a system. Once again, by controlling which features are activated, you can more closely manage these potential problems.

The other main issue with these packages is whether any of these offer any more features than are already built into Windows, or available in separate programs designed to do specific things. For example, many readers are probably very familiar with not only the McAfee and Symantec anti virus programs, but likely already have a great deal of experience with WinZip as their zipping and unzipping utility.

The Windows Add/Remove utility generally does a pretty good job of removing applications, but if you do want to use the greater degree of control and clean-up in these utilities, the program will likely need to run in the background as you do other things, such as load or unload programs.

What it all boils down to in my opinion, is the design of all these many utilities into one integrated package, that will enable the user to activate the many utility commands from within one program. While this may appeal to many users, I have for so long used individualized utilities to perform their specialized function, that I frankly feel little need for many of the utilities in this program.

However, for owners with newer computer systems that have not yet begun to add the many utilities that are so necessary now, I do think SystemSuite 3 will be an asset to them. With SystemSuite 3.0, they can vastly simplify the number of other utility programs they need to consider, staying for the most part always in SystemSuite 3.0 when then need to implement the various utility features. In my case, I am very well satisfied with my utility for file compression, that is different from my utility I use for virus scanning, that is different from my utility I use for viewing file formats, and so on.

SystemSuite 3.0 also offers many specialized "fix-it" utilities that do not usually show up in specialized, focused programs, but do show up in other suites of utilities. For those who have not yet purchased a suite of utilities, SystemSuite 3.0 is a very good program to start with.

 Price

$59.95 download only, download and ship, ship only, for SystemSuite
$29.95 upgrade price for SystemSuite

$19.95 download only, download and ship, ship only, PowerDesk 4 Pro
$  9.95 upgrade price

"Download Only" means you do not receive the printed user guide.

Separate Component Pricing

CaptureIt - $49.99
Data Advisor - Free
Data Eraser - $29.95 for personal version, $199.95 for professional version
Disk Manager DiskGo! - $59.95
Easy Recovery - $89.00 for personal version, $489.00 for professional
Easy Uninstall - $29.95
Easy Update - $299.95
Fix-It Utilities - $49.95
Internet Cleanup - $24.95
PowerDesk 4 Pro - $19.95
WizManager - $39.95
ZipMagic - $39.95

 System Configuration Requirements

486 or faster PC (Pentium recommended)
Win 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000
16MB RAM (64MB recommended)
CD ROM drive
Floppy drive to create the System Rescue Disk and Easy Recovery Disk
15-60MB free hard drive space (more for certain utilities)
25MB free hard drive space for PowerDesk

NOTE: There are reports from users that this program does not support SCSI devices, such as SCSI drives. If you have SCSI drives, you will want to talk with technical support staff with the company before you purchase this suite of utilities. I suspect that soon there will be a minor upgrade that will correct this concern.

 Contact

Ontrack Data International, Inc.
6321 Bury Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55346
800-872-2599
612-937-5161
FAX 612-937-5750
 www.ontrack.com

 Acknowledgments

Thanks are in order to the excellent supplemental material supplied with the program that was of great assistance in the preparation of this review. Viewers are encouraged to also seek out other comments and suggestions from the reviews of this application found in the online versions of PC Magazine, PC World, and Windows Magazine.