dotTech Exclusive: Free WinUtilities Professional Edition (with free updates)!
February 5, 2010 128
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Update: The developer of WinUtilities Professional Edition has canceled free updates. Please see http://dottech.org/announcements/17765 for more details. v9.81 is still available for free via this promotion, though.
Update: Apparently the download of WinUtilities Professional Edition now includes Ask.com toolbar. Be sure to uncheck the options to install the Ask.com junk during installation if you don’t want it!
Long, long time ago in a galaxy not-so-far away, dotTech was one of the first (besides GOTD of course) to give users the ability to grab WinUtilities for free. Now YL Computing and dotTech have decided to further our cooperation and allow dotTechies to get WinUtilities Professional Edition for free!
For those people that have been living under a rock for the past two years (=P) don’t know what WinUtilities is, let me give a quick recap. WinUtilities is a system care suite which has over 20+ features which users can make use of:
Feel free to read my full review on WinUtilities Professional Edition to learn more about WinUtilities in detail.
WinUtilities comes in two editions: Professional Edition and Free Edition. Free Edition is, of course, freeware so users can grab it whenever they want. Professional Edition, on the other hand, costs $49.95. Now dotTechies can get Professional Edition for free! To make deal even sweeter, dotTechies will all receive free updates for Professional Edition!
That being said, to get WinUtilities Professional Edition for free follow these simple directions:
Version being given out for free: v9.81
Free updates: Yes! No
Supported OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP/2003 Server/2000/NT/98
- Download WinUtilities Professional Edition.
- Install WinUtilities – if you downloaded the installer version – or extract it if you downloaded the portable version.
- Run WinUtilities. You should be asked to register it. Register it with the following information:
regname: dotTech User
regcode: C1H0L9-B93A-90C9-1465-4935-W6Y1L3Note: This promotion is available to everyone – everyone may get it for free. However, this is a dotTech.org promotion. Please do not copy, paste, or reprint this registration information anywhere else including private or public forums, blogs, file hosting services, etc. If you want to spread information about this offer, you may link to this article by providing a permalink to your audience.
- After installation right-click on WinUtilities’ system tray icon, go to “Settings…” and uncheck “Automatically check for updates”.
- Enjoy!
If you have any trouble getting WinUtilities Professional Edition for free, post below and I will try to help.
So what exactly consists of the “Basic PC Care” that WinUtilities Free has? All of this:
About the author: Ashraf View all posts by Ashraf
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@Skye-hook: LOL! … Ahem, yes, I know it’s for the Vista product key but I thought maybe the super-smart, technically minded people out there like Karen might be able to tweak it somehow for use on other product keys.
And I, too, sincerely hope that no one removed their product keys. I’d be horrified if that happened! If they’re anything like me, then they’ll leave that stuff to the professionals and to the people in the know (of whom there are many on dotTech).
There are some areas on my comp that are no-go zones for me – like regedit. Whenever I hear the term “regedit”, the old adage “fools rush in … ” starts playing over in my head! :)
I definitely tip my hat (well, I would if I was wearing one) to those who have a command of those sections of their comps!
Re my post @ #9 / Ashraf’s @ #40 / Ozzie’s @ #41:
My apologies for any inconvenience inadvertently caused.
And not for the first time, either.
Some years ago, whilst journeying through France, Mrs R and myself found overnight accommodation at an isolated lodgings deep in the countryside. We’d driven almost 400 miles that day and were worn out. The accommodation turned out to be wonderful (er, um, “estupendo”. Or thereabouts.)
Having slept soundly for nine hours in a bed good enough for an emperor and on pillows big, soft, yet amazingly supportive, I thanked our hostess the following morning in so effusive a fashion she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.
She didn’t speak a word of English, so when I repeatedly used the term “good night”, as in “a good night’s sleep”, she thought I was saying “farewell”, and so kept responding in appropriate fashion.
Never has anyone said ‘au revoir’ so many times whilst still trying to serve them with coffee and baguettes.
My wife has long been aware of my impressive facility with languages other than my own, so I knew she wouldn’t mind if I resorted to impeccable French.
I therefore explained to our hostess, in her own language, what a great night’s sleep we’d had, how restful the bed, and how comforting the pillows.
This didn’t seem to get us very far either, because I couldn’t for the life of me remember what the French is for “pillow”, so opted to use “cushion” instead, as in: “how wonderful to be able to sleep on such large cushions.”
Our hostess stared at my wife in evident disbelief, then at me, and exited the breakfast room. I never saw her again.
By chance, her daughter, or daughter-in-law, happened to turn up just when we were about to leave. She spoke perfect English. She also seemed to think I was a raving lunatic and that my wife should divorce me forthwith.
Only then did it become clear that instead of letting it be known how welcoming had been the bed and its big (grand) pillow (cochon), I had actually revealed how much I enjoyed “going to bed to sleep on the fat pig.”
Ah well. One can but try.
:oops:
@MikeR: Truly estupendo, or perhaps muy stupido might be more appropriate! My own gaffes in the local lingo in the country in which I reside are far too numerous to mention! Thankfully, the lovely locals here are far more forgiving – they’re grateful that at least you’re learning the dialect.
I HAVE TRIED TO REGISTER WINUTILITIES WITH THE CODE YOU PROVIDED AND WHEN I RESTART IT KEEPS COMING UP WITH THE REGISTER, BUY, …PANEL WHY??
No problem registering dotTech version after uninstalling gotd version, but I encountered one strange problem: the portable version will only run if installer version is installed also. If portable version is run when installer version is not also installed, an error message appears stating that it was not possible to initialize dll, and suggesting reinstall. The installer version runs fine. Operating system is Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Has anyone else had any problems with the portable version? Does anyone have any idea what may be causing this problem?
thank very much
No problems, and thank you very much!
I downloaded, went through the registration process. It tells me to start the program to finalize(?) When I start the program, it brings me to the registration screen again, where I go through the same sequence. What am I doing worng?
@Allan: I tried the same without installing on my computer. Same dll problem with 9.37. Tried the “newer” 9.41 and wont extract
Thanks Ashraf, but after reading the above I’ll stick with the previous version. IT WORKS!!!
Yes Azrael 789 even if you have jv16
PowerTools 2009 it is still worthwhile
downloading 9.41 because:-
1) both apps catch different registry
cleaning issues
2) both apps have some different
functionalities compared to each other
when it comes to issues other than
registry cleaning.
This is based on my experience.
At present I have WinUtilities 9.38. I am
reading this blog to figure if its best to
uninstall 9.38 using Revo or its own
uninstaller. After the uninstall of 9.38
I’ll install 9.41.
Ramesh
Gosh there is a column width problem. Presently using Opera 10.10.
Ramesh
MikeR
Yes Revo Installer 1.85 does not remove all
registry entries of an uninstallation.
It leaves behind profile & context menu
items. Maybe the Revo Pro version does an
even more clean uninstall.The Pro version
claims that. But I don’t know since I
haven’t tried Pro.
This quirk of 1.85 perhaps explains
in part the diverse experience of users
in migrating from WinUtilities 9.38 to 9.41
Ramesh
thanks Ashraf. i love WinUtilities, and had missed the latest one on GOTD.
just to update, installed and activated with no problem at all :-)
@Allan: I am using the portable version, and this error you described did not appear.
@lee: This did not happen for me. Although, originally my copy was registered with GOTD info, I successfully “unregistered” and registered again with dotTech info.
Updating a giveaway without problems (WinUtilities 9.41 case study)
Thanks to Ashraf for the app & to the blog family for sharing the variety of migration difficulties while going from 9.38 to 9.41.
I intuited correctly that it was better to use the apps own uninstaller rather than Revo (in this case) even though whenever this choice is exercised you remove fewer file settings & registry settings than Revo. Obviously there is no such thing as an all time standard formula. I also intuited correctly not to do any registry cleaning between 9.38 uninstall & 9.41 install. I followed Samuel’s advice of a restore point before 9.38 uninstall.
Like many of you I admire & am grateful to our webmaster Ashraf because he is a combo of sharp intellect & honesty. All webmasters are not like that. Therefore I like the rest of you loyalists had trepidation & a sense of affront as to whether it would register to GOTD rather than dotTech.
Learnings
1) I felt migrating a giveaway is useful to document. After 9.38 uninstall I entered regedit, did a “Find & Find Next” & took jpegs of all the residues & their folders & paths. This is to have a generic clue about such issues for the future.
2) Even though I used the apps own uninstall I was still shocked at how little was uninstalled from 9.38. I thought that this is not a good sign
3) I expected a GOTD registration rather than dotTech because:-
a. So little had got cleaned
b. Even the install process got started not by Windows Explorer or by WinUtilities but by IObit Security 360 – a bad sign. My Spyware Terminator 2.6.5.111 (great app!) pointed the name of this process sponsor. This was an important insight.
4) I was pleasantly surprised to get a dotTech registration – a happy/ethical ending.
5) Point 3b shows that some apps act in concert with giveaways & to be careful about this. Obviously in business not only companies & nations but webmasters compete too. Obviously an app & a website draft a business agreement which includes registry residues upon uninstall & a non-disclosure agreement as well.
There is a commitment & a conscience towards Ashraf & our blog family. We wanted to register the app to dotTech. It was like “when one gets pick pocketed you feel bad not because you lost money but because you felt cheated”. Any way this drama had a happy fairy tale ending.
Posting this in the Forum too because other visitors might have figured out other ways to update giveaways painlessly.
I felt my approach (though successful) was not good enough because it was based upon inference & intuition rather than a standard operating procedure.
Ramesh
1. I uninstalled with Revo because I wanted to make sure it did not stay registered to GAOTD. Worked fine–came out registered to dotTech.
2. ASHRAF: The icon in the system tray used to give a full list of all the WinUtilities functions by r-clicking. Now it just gives a regular short menu and I then have to open the WinUtilities window….:-(….I wrote to the company twice about how to get this back but have not received a reply….Anyone know how to do this?
Thanks,
Janet
@ Ramesh / # 68:
What a fabulous post, Ramesh — as comprehensive as it is constructive. Sincere thanks for your efforts: they’re greatly appreciated. :D
MikeR – Thanks!
Janet – I am facing the same system tray slimmed- down-context-menu issue as you.Obviously this happens whether 9.38 was uninstalled using Revo or built in uninstall.
Neither the settings nor the help menu solves this issue.Have you tried the YL forum? You can get that by clicking the small pull down arrow on the right once you get the main app window open.Do let us know if the developer provides a fix on this.
I know what you ask for can be done by inserting registry keys manually in the registry.But I do not know how to do that.
It would be nice if a tech savvy blogger could either teach us or point us in the direction of a good html link which could teach us how to configure.The simplest, easiest present way is an answer from YL.
Ramesh
@Ramesh Kumar:
I wrote to support@ylcomputing.com twice but they have not replied….Don’t remember if I put it on the forum as well. I seem to be remember reading about this issue—I THOUGHT that Ashraf had mentioned it somewhere (?)….ASHRAF–ARE YOU HERE…? I’ll keep sending it into ylcomp until I get some response. I did get an automated email saying it was received and they would answer—I think it said within 48 (?) hours…..Will report back as soon as I hear something. They system tray menu is what had me using WinUtilities….:-)….
@janet: Say what? Sorry I have not been following recent comments once they got longer than 2 lines =(. (I have a notoriously short attention span.)
What’s up?
@janet: Okay I see what you mean about the right-click system tray issue. I think the revamping of WinUtilities made it so that feature was eliminated. If you want the feature back, I suggest contacting YL Computing (which I see you already have) and suggest to them to add it back in.
@Ashraf:
Any chance of you asking them…? They won’t answer me but they probably would answer you….:-)….