Best Windows Xp Software Package

[satyanjoy]

I have recently formatted my Pc and installed windows xp sp2.
My major activities are :

1.Gaming
2.DVD watching,Ripping,Decodigng
3.Downloading - iso files generally
4.Music

I need your suggestions on the following:
1.Security:
a) what is the best antivirus software should i use?
-I allready used AVG Free edition and Avast-both are good as free software- however after a month or so they start pestaring me prompting me to go for full paid version

b)Firewall - do I need one?
-I recently installed commodo firewall on my pc- after that my pc start giving problem and finally i need to format and reinstall

c)Spyware -adware removal tool - since i do surf internet a lot and try various shareware software- do i need one-if yes which one is the best

d)Peer Gurdain - I found this software somewhere and use it during torrent download
2.DVD Ripping/Codec

-If I installed VLC player do I need a separate codecpack(like K-Lite Mega Codec) to be installed separately
-Do I need windows media player 11 after installing VLC player or media player classic
-I use MagicISO for extracting ISo file which i have downloaded from internet- I also use it to compress the iso files to its propertery format.
-I use a software called -SUPER to decode video file-I can convert from any to any format.
-I use ANYDVD to play region free dvds
-I use DVD decrypter to burn my backup ps2 dvds.
- Can you suggest me FREE DVD/CD Burning Software - I dont need a heavyweight like NERO?

3.For music I prefer to use Winamp with Jammix pluggin installed.

----
Please suggest

 

[neomustdie]

for codecs requirement : get vista codec pack
music player : media player classic video - WMP 11 audio

for security : windows firewall + avg free version + antispyware or any other free version of popular products

downloading: rapidshare and others FDM and utorrent for torrents. stay away from P2P

defrag : perfect disk
zip : winrar
CDburning : nero essentials / lite version
Office: MS ofcourse
Tweakers: Tuneup 2007/08 and tunexp
Internet tweaker: Xp antispyware + tcpoptimizer
virtual drive: deamon tools
dvdrip for home and mobile: pocketdivx Encoder
graphics: fireworks for web and photoshop cs3 for high quality
editor: notepad++

i mostly use portable apps and try freeware where ever possible.. ;-) my main goal is functionality + less system resources + ease of use. Think this should help you.

regards
neo

 

[The Sauron]

Include VLC player for audio/video also.Media player classic is awesome multipurpose player.

 

[SidhuScorpion]

File Archive : WinRAR

PDF Viewer : Foxit

Video Player : KMPlayer

Audio Player : Foobar2000

CD/DVD Burning : ImgBurn

Internet Browser : Mozilla Firefox

Intenet Firewall : Comodo

AntiVirus : Avast Home

AntySpyware : Javacool Spyware Blaster + Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE

Disk Defrag : Diskeeper

P2P Client : uTorrent

Essential Tools : Java Runtime, MS .NET Framework

Internet Utilities : mIRC, Ai Robo Form, Lime Wire

ISO Image Viewers : Daemon, Power ISO, ISO Buster

System Mechanic : Ccleaner + PCTools Registry Mechanic + Undelete + Ontrack Easy Data Recovery

System Utilities : HJSplit, PC Auto Shutdown, Unlocker, DFX

Download Accelerater : Orbit

Microsoft Power Toys : Clear Type Fonts + Tweak UI + Alt-Tab Task Switcher

Image Editor : ACD See

HDD Benchamarks : HD Tune HD Tach

CPU Benchmark : Super Pi + Cinebench R10

GPU Benchmark : 3D Mark + Vantage + Fur Rendering + Crysis

Temp Monitoring : Lavalys Everest + Core Temp + Real Temp + GPU-Z + Riva Tuner

Hardware Tools : CPU-Z, CPUID, Orthos, Prime 95, OCCT, Super Prime, Intel CPU Burn, Memset

 

[neomustdie]

nice list...

image editor: picasa for basic stuff... faster and easier
defrag: disckeeper is heavy, perfect disk 7 is still teh lightest

dont use benchmarking tools, but nice to know the ones.. i missed the powertoys and VLC.. how good is imgburn compare to nero..???

regards
neo

 

[The Sauron]

nice list...

image editor: picasa for basic stuff... faster and easier

defrag: disckeeper is heavy, perfect disk 7 is still teh lightest

dont use benchmarking tools, but nice to know the ones.. i missed the powertoys and VLC.. how good is imgburn compare to nero..???

regards

neo

imgburn comparatively simple and more reliable software then nero when it comes to burn finalized image or disk only.

 

[satyanjoy]

nero essentials / lite version --> is it a freeware??

 

[satyanjoy]

imgburn comparatively simple and more reliable software then nero when it comes to burn finalized image or disk only.

++ for imgburn

 

[d@rK nEmEsIs]

File Archive : WinRAR
PDF Viewer : Foxit
Video Player : KMPlayer
Audio Player : Foobar2000
CD/DVD Burning : ImgBurn
Internet Browser : Mozilla Firefox
Intenet Firewall : Comodo
AntiVirus : Avast Home
AntySpyware : Javacool Spyware Blaster + Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE
Disk Defrag : Diskeeper
P2P Client : uTorrent
Essential Tools : Java Runtime, MS .NET Framework
Internet Utilities : mIRC, Ai Robo Form, Lime Wire
ISO Image Viewers : Daemon, Power ISO, ISO Buster
System Mechanic : Ccleaner + PCTools Registry Mechanic + Undelete + Ontrack Easy Data Recovery
System Utilities : HJSplit, PC Auto Shutdown, Unlocker, DFX
Download Accelerater : Orbit
Microsoft Power Toys : Clear Type Fonts + Tweak UI + Alt-Tab Task Switcher
Image Editor : ACD See
HDD Benchamarks : HD Tune HD Tach
CPU Benchmark : Super Pi + Cinebench R10
GPU Benchmark : 3D Mark + Vantage + Fur Rendering + Crysis
Temp Monitoring : Lavalys Everest + Core Temp + Real Temp + GPU-Z + Riva Tuner
Hardware Tools : CPU-Z, CPUID, Orthos, Prime 95, OCCT, Super Prime, Intel CPU Burn, Memset

+1 even I use most of the softwares mentioned above.hyeah:

 

[main_trouble]

well now am onto Ubuntu , remember those xp says too
File Archive : 7zip(open source , all format decompress,7 zip format is virtually crack proof , splits/joins files , extracts iso's)
PDF Viewer : Foxit(but now adobe is not so bad either)
Video Player : mplayer(open source,all format,played 720,1080p moves with low cpu , smplayer.exe is a kikass frontend)
Audio Player : wmplayer
CD/DVD Burning : cdburnerxp pro(dropbox feature is a killer)
Internet Browser : Mozilla Firefox(need i say more)
Intenet Firewall : inbuilt if no p2p , for p2p , zone alarm or comodo for black belt security
AntiVirus : avira(best among free , but bugs with a popup after update)
AntySpyware : spybot SE(not needed if using comodo)
Disk Defrag : auslogics disk defrag
P2P Client : uTorrent(smallest,fastest , no fuss)
Essential Tools : Java Runtime, MS .NET Framework
System Mechanic : Ccleaner + regseeker
System Utilities : Unlocker,
Image Editor : irfan view(all the formats , ridiculously small)
image manager : picasa(best manager,blogging,email , minor retouching )

 

[satyanjoy]

well now am onto Ubuntu , ......

This is offtopic--still like to comment on it//

so you are completly on ubuntu--> how is life now ?? I got ubuntu for a while in my office lappy(intel centrino 1.5 ghz,1 gb ram)..my lappy become slower,,and not able configure our soft phone -xlite for voip calls and finally back to windows xp. One of the bad part of opensource software is the resource sharing and usage//for example with windows xp,,ms office is the best office suite,right now i am using open office and the performance is not the same as m$ office..I am using mozilla thunderbird..in one my recent mail to client -half of the mail is not visible in my coworkers m$ outlook client,then I forward the same mail to one with thunderbird on with m$ outlook in vista..in m$ its not showing the whole mail but in case of thunderbird its showing the whole mail.there is some problem in bullet that i use in the mail - then i format it in the notepad and send back//this is my expereience and viewpoint,although i like the look n feel and ease of use of ubuntu- this is the most friendly linux distro i have user..earlier i used to use red hat and mandrake.

 

[neomustdie]

unlocker.. how could i miss it.. very good one.... for xp

gonna try imgburn...

nero essential... a freeware or not no idea.. google it out...

other useful software are driverescue / eraser / partition magic / WD and Seagate Tools / Tformat - all related to Harddisk (except tformat for floppy)

hjsplit - for splitting files

cccleaner - dusting out hard drives

filezilla - if you have a webaccount

thunderbird portable - to carry your email with you

firefox portable + google reader and bookmark - you rss reader and bookmarks apps

utheme - for changing the custom style

xpize - very light xp theme improvement

keep them coming

regards

neo

 

[satyanjoy]

unlocker.. how could i miss it.. very good one.... for xp

gonna try imgburn...

nero essential... a freeware or not no idea.. google it out...

other useful software are driverescue / eraser / partition magic / WD and Seagate Tools / Tformat - all related to Harddisk (except tformat for floppy)

hjsplit - for splitting files
cccleaner - dusting out hard drives
filezilla - if you have a webaccount
thunderbird portable - to carry your email with you
firefox portable + google reader and bookmark - you rss reader and bookmarks apps
utheme - for changing the custom style
xpize - very light xp theme improvement
keep them coming

regards
neo

google reader,xpize--new one ++

 

[main_trouble]

This is offtopic--still like to comment on it//

so you are completly on ubuntu--> how is life now ?? I got ubuntu for a while in my office lappy(intel centrino 1.5 ghz,1 gb ram)..my lappy become slower,,and not able configure our soft phone -xlite for voip calls and finally back to windows xp. One of the bad part of opensource software is the resource sharing and usage//for example with windows xp,,ms office is the best office suite,right now i am using open office and the performance is not the same as m$ office..I am using mozilla thunderbird..in one my recent mail to client -half of the mail is not visible in my coworkers m$ outlook client,then I forward the same mail to one with thunderbird on with m$ outlook in vista..in m$ its not showing the whole mail but in case of thunderbird its showing the whole mail.there is some problem in bullet that i use in the mail - then i format it in the notepad and send back//this is my expereience and viewpoint,although i like the look n feel and ease of use of ubuntu- this is the most friendly linux distro i have user..earlier i used to use red hat and mandrake.

hmm.. slower

one thing i came to know bout linux , is people expect it to be a miracle and dump it when it isnt the genie they imagined it would be.

ubuntu is the best u can get for ur computing needs if u compare out of box experiences(better than even mac i think). but we may sometimes need to sort the things out and work with them.

like the slowness thing u mentioned.

it can be caused by a lot of things. just join a forum , a little experiment , and thats it.

eg.

1. remove all unnecessary software from startup using session manager(eg bluetooth manager etc)

2. try uninstalling all the software which u r not going to use

3. slowness may be caused by improper placing of swap file. swap file must be placed on first part of hard disk(outermost physically and the fastest)

4. may also be caused by default values used for "swappiness" , try changing that.

if there are some things that u still cant run on ubuntu,try using , virtualbox , till u find a soln.

also have a look around ubuntu forums the hugest,best,baddest linux community out there,trust me , any problem u r going to run into with ubuntu has already been reported by some user there and solved by helpful guys at their forums , u just have to search it.

it is initial hard work , but unlike windows , it is not a recurring practice.

like i tuned my swappiness some time ago , and now i have completely forgotten how to do that , as i never had to look at it again.

in windows , there is constant fear at back or our minds bout pen drives and what they may bring.

bout email attachments.

bout defragmenting

bout registry cleaning.

etc etc.

u can forget bout above in linux.

ahh.. and updating

in windows i had to update xp separately

other softwares separately

anti virus separately

anti spyware separately

in ubuntu it has been a breeze all the things are updated with a single click.u just have to config repo just once.

also all the dependencies/conflicts will already be worked out but guys who maintain these repos , so u never have to worry , if updating a thing i going to break something on ur system , or cause conflicts.

that is why i moved to ubuntu.

 

[neomustdie]

okie please keep linux speed/booting discussion to of this thread....

other softwares i have used and liked (read light on system, ease of use)

Foobar for audio

MS photo story / Photodex for converting photos to video

swishmax for flash animation

moviemaker 2 for TVv recording on xp

Moviemanager for keeping track of my movie database

Powerdvd / windvd for viewing dvd (system resource hungry)

Virtualdub for video conversion

windowpaperXP - background changer for winXP

Webshots for wallpaper

Folderlock for hiding data

replacer - for replacing system files in XP

where is it - my cd / dvd database catalog

MS synctoy - for syncing

audacity - cutting / editing mp3 / wav files

SnagIt - screenshots

camtasia - screencast

Colorpix - for getting color values form pics

Get data back - runtime software - lifesaver in hdd crash or format

disk space report - for viewing graphically free hdd space

Misc tools

MDI viewer

Gogole web accelerator

only use now what is necessary to me.

regards

neo

 

[The Sauron]

okie please keep linux speed/booting discussion to of this thread....

other softwares i have used and liked (read light on system, ease of use)
Foobar for audio
MS photo story / Photodex for converting photos to video
swishmax for flash animation
moviemaker 2 for TVv recording on xp
Moviemanager for keeping track of my movie database
Powerdvd / windvd for viewing dvd (system resource hungry)
Virtualdub for video conversion
windowpaperXP - background changer for winXP
Webshots for wallpaper
Folderlock for hiding data
replacer - for replacing system files in XP
where is it - my cd / dvd database catalog
MS synctoy - for syncing
audacity - cutting / editing mp3 / wav files
SnagIt - screenshots
camtasia - screencast
Colorpix - for getting color values form pics
Get data back - runtime software - lifesaver in hdd crash or format
disk space report - for viewing graphically free hdd space

Misc tools
MDI viewer
Gogole web accelerator

only use now what is necessary to me.

regards
neo

+++ for get data back for ntfs/fat.Your choice for data recovery is good.No one seems interested in suggesting Microsoft office version.Well MS 2003 suit has great compatibility and MS 2007 has many new features and benefits in handling Excel and Access files over MS 2003.

 

[mod-the-pc]

File Archive : IzArc (Freeware). Opens Rar & Zip files
Image Editor/Manager : XnView (Freeware). Lots of features. Can use photoshop plugins.

 

[satyanjoy]

hmm.. slower

one thing i came to know bout linux , is people expect it to be a miracle and dump it when it isnt the genie they imagined it would be.

ubuntu is the best u can get for ur computing needs if u compare out of box experiences(better than even mac i think). but we may sometimes need to sort the things out and work with them.

like the slowness thing u mentioned.
it can be caused by a lot of things. just join a forum , a little experiment , and thats it.

eg.
1. remove all unnecessary software from startup using session manager(eg bluetooth manager etc)

2. try uninstalling all the software which u r not going to use

3. slowness may be caused by improper placing of swap file. swap file must be placed on first part of hard disk(outermost physically and the fastest)

4. may also be caused by default values used for "swappiness" , try changing that.

if there are some things that u still cant run on ubuntu,try using , virtualbox , till u find a soln.

also have a look around ubuntu forums the hugest,best,baddest linux community out there,trust me , any problem u r going to run into with ubuntu has already been reported by some user there and solved by helpful guys at their forums , u just have to search it.
it is initial hard work , but unlike windows , it is not a recurring practice.
like i tuned my swappiness some time ago , and now i have completely forgotten how to do that , as i never had to look at it again.
in windows , there is constant fear at back or our minds bout pen drives and what they may bring.
bout email attachments.
bout defragmenting
bout registry cleaning.
etc etc.

u can forget bout above in linux.
ahh.. and updating
in windows i had to update xp separately
other softwares separately
anti virus separately
anti spyware separately

in ubuntu it has been a breeze all the things are updated with a single click.u just have to config repo just once.

also all the dependencies/conflicts will already be worked out but guys who maintain these repos , so u never have to worry , if updating a thing i going to break something on ur system , or cause conflicts.

that is why i moved to ubuntu.

I have recently downloaded the ubuntu for my amd pc//we have experimented with ubuntu in our office but somehow as i mentioned its not succeeded - i have done the exact measures that you have mentioned above and keep the minimum-still sometimes i face sudden freezing-boot failure-..i am not a ubuntu hater nor m$ fanboy- i just want a good breezing smooth computing within my reach//in one of our pc in office with very very good cofig- ubuntu run smoothly and the graphics looks so cooool//ubuntu is a remarkable piece of software nonetheless and still need to climb more heights to be OS for masses/ i will ping you later once i installed ubuntu in my pc---one question do i need a Router to use internet connection in ubuntu at home-since my ISP - You telecom doesn't have a linux dialer

 

[satyanjoy]

I hardly use other software for viewing video once I started using VLC player.I use Foobar and love the TAB feature .Now a days using Winamp+jamix with my creative ep630--its really sweet man

 

[main_trouble]

I have recently downloaded the ubuntu for my amd pc//we have experimented with ubuntu in our office but somehow as i mentioned its not succeeded - i have done the exact measures that you have mentioned above and keep the minimum-still sometimes i face sudden freezing-boot failure-..i am not a ubuntu hater nor m$ fanboy- i just want a good breezing smooth computing within my reach//in one of our pc in office with very very good cofig- ubuntu run smoothly and the graphics looks so cooool//ubuntu is a remarkable piece of software nonetheless and still need to climb more heights to be OS for masses/ i will ping you later once i installed ubuntu in my pc---one question do i need a Router to use internet connection in ubuntu at home-since my ISP - You telecom doesn't have a linux dialer

ok

to avoid running into problem , here ar few tips

1. one thing to have for linux is , donot go for cutting edge hardware in grafix/mobo chipsets as the drivers are usually integrated into kernel in next upgrade , give it say 6 months.

2. try not to gofor addon grafix card.

since ubuntu in office is not going to b used for gamin , stick to onboard grafix(usually much better support in linux)

3. stick to intel/ati chipset boards.

intel is the best as they have open sourced all their drivers , works out of the box.

amd/ati chipset boards are also fast catching em up.

4. use as fast hd as possible(sata2) on ahci mode. seems to get more response jump than when upgraded to fast hd on xp.

5. have home folder in a separate partition , so that u got ur settings etc safe on/after upgrades.

6. use as much standard things as possible like

gofor ps2 keyboard/mouse than for a usb fancy 10 button mouse or a usb keyboard with 200 keys

7. finally , the most important , goto ubuntu forums , u will find linux brains of top order there , search for ur problem.

guys there r really helpful

i am using ubuntu x64 on e6550 system with g33 chipset mobo for bout a year now.

all things till now working fine .

yet to hang/crash/kernel panic.

bye.