Free CD Recovery Toolbox

CD and DVD disks are one of the most popular means for data and media storage. They are rather capacious, all-purpose, durable, and inexpensive. The only problem with their use is in its relatively low reliability. A small scratch or dirt can result in a failure to read the information recorded on the disk. Disk might be damaged by careless handling or storage, overheating, or sun lights exposure. That is why practical tools for emergency recovering information from CD and DVD disks are of high demand on the market.
The CD Recovery Toolbox Free tool has a complete set of data recovery features for all types of disks on the market: CD, DVD, HD DVD, and even newcomers Blu-Ray. You can recover inaccessible information lost as a result of some mechanical damage of the disk (scratches, chips, different spots on the surface) or as a result of incorrect recording. Software scans any CD and DVD disks and redefines recorded data structure - finds files and folders located there. Definitely, the damage might be too severe and there can be some information on the disk that cannot be recovered. Therefore, the CD Recovery Toolbox Free tool finds the possible maximum amount of information. After that, it shows a list of all files and folders available for recovery. Now the user can select the files and folders to be recovered. Those specific objects will be recovered while the others will be ignored.
Program features:

• Recovering information from any CD and DVD disks.
• Recovering files larger than 4 GB.
• Detecting possible lack of free space on the hard disk for storing the recovered files.
• Compatible with any Windows Operating system Windows 98 and higher, including Windows Vista.
• Software is very user-friendly. The program interface is designed as a step-by step wizard, where the user has to perform a single action on each page of the wizard.

Developers Web Site: http://www.oemailrecovery.com/cd_recovery.html
Screenshots:

Direct Link for Downloading: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1792920/CDRecoveryToolboxFreeSetup.exe.html

Check your Hard Drive with CheckDisk

Following the hard Operating System crashes and incorrect computer shutdown, it is recommended to test Hard Drive for the possible corruption of the informational clusters.
CheckDisk is a powerful, fast, and portable application for searching and repairing disk errors. It does not require installation and can be run from small external USB drive for easy operations with multiple computers. It is quite similar to the ScanDisk tool or chkdsk.exe, supplied with the Windows operating systems, however, per experts’ feedback, its operational speed and processing quality is quite higher. Software can be used for the Windows Operating systems 2000 and higher, and is able to run on Vista as well.
You can select either standard or full tests, depending on problem character and time available. Software is capable of finding bad sectors on your disk and marking them as such to avoid their use to record data from now on.
The program works with hard disks (including SCSI and RAID), removable media, and CDs as well. This software can be used with no limitations as for private, as for commercial use.
Program screenshot:

CheckDisk Screen

Direct Link for downloading: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1783419/checkdisk.zip.html

CraigsList Reader - Freeware Assistant to CraigsList Searches

CraigsList is one of the top visited websites in the world. It is the most effective for the big metropolitan areas in the United States, but its significance is going up in other geographical areas as well. While it is free for most of the available services for ads readers and ads submitters, it is occasionally a challenging task to gather necessary information. The freeware - CraigList Reader - will be your valuable assistant with all your CraigsList related activities.
The main features of this nice application are:

1. Enhanced search capabilities:

Your search will be based on multiple locations and multiple categories. There are no limitation for a single category and location. Fast searches are performed by using concurrent connections. You can also only search for titles or for the jobs that have image. Just keep in mind that for many small and mid-sized organizations, CraigsList is the only announcement board for its available openings.

2. Automatic notifications:

If you want CraigsList Reader to be looking out for new postings as soon as they appear on craigslist.com then just setup notifications. Once you add the notification, you will never have to perform searches on your own. It will check the site at given time interval, and will notify you (on the screen and /or through your email) as soon as it finds a new post which fits your criteria.

3. Items count:

When you search for a keyword, you can easily see how many items are found based on your search.

4. Search cancellation:

When you search for a keyword, the "Cancel Search" button gets active. You can click this button anytime to cancel the search.

5. Search categories:

You can now search through all the categories and sub-categories. A section "Categories" is provided in the left menu so that you can easily select multiple categories and sub-categories.

6. Local searches:

You can search through the entire world, or just some Country, State or City. A section "Locations" is provided in the left menu so that you can easily select multiple locations.

7. Advanced search settings:

In the left menu, a separate section "Options" is provided for you to manage your search settings. You can set the maximum thread count value and also you have the option to "Save settings when exit" or "Save Search result when exit".

8. Results sorting:

You can easily sort items by location, category or heading.
Developers Web Site: http://www.motiont.com/craigslistreader.aspx

Direct Downloading Link: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1759745/CLReader.zip.html

UnderCoverXP - Printing Professional CD and DVD Labels

I like nice professional look on CDs and DVDs, I have burnt myself. With the small and features-rich freeware UnderCoverXP you can also organize your collection with covers that just look like originals.
UnderCoverXP is a free program specifically designed for easy printing covers and labels in various formats and for several supports: front and back covers for CD or DVD, CD booklets, round labels for discs, etc. The program also allows you to add other formats through a graphical format editor. Software is very user friendly: choose the picture you want to use as cover and customize the program’s configuration as you wish.
It supports JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP formats and can automatically scale all labels to the correct sizes.

UnderCoverXP Screen

UnderCoverXP is written in C++ using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and doesn’t need a .NET framework or any other external libraries.
Software is available in 25 languages: English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Portuguese, Polish, Macedonian, Russian, Greek, Turkish, Romanian, Hungarian, Brazilian, Czech, Latvian, Chinese, Japanese, Catalan and Arabic translations are included in the setup.
Direct link for UnderCoverXP downloading: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1750391/undercoverxp.zip.html

The best online collection of ready to use CD and DVD covers: http://www.cdcovers.cc/covers

Imagicon - change icons to spice your Windows look

If you want to change look of your Windows, the small freeware program will assist you in replacing standard generic icons with those you will prepare personally from favorite clipart or your pics.
Imagicon is a graphics utility designed to convert multiple image files from BMP, JPG or PNG image formats into any of the following image formats (24-bit): Windows or OS/2 Bitmap (BMP), Independent JPEG Group (JPG), Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and Windows Icon (ICO). Options are available to transform images (Scale, flip, etc.) and enable alpha transparency of icons. The interface window of Imagicon can be personalized with custom designs. The user can select to save icons with the following dimensions in pixels: 16 x 16, 32 x 32, 48 x 48, 64 x 64 and 128 x 128. Imagicon also features the ability to drag ’n’ drop multiple images in the program window for faster processing.
Full instructions are included with the software, explaining each of the possible settings and the function that they perform. Program is user friendly and instructions are easy to follow.

Imagicon Screen

For those, who prefer to use portable versions of the software, might be useful the instructions on how to make this installation version portable:

• Download the installer and install to the default folder C:/Program Files/Devious Codeworks/Imagicon.
  
• Then copy all files (except Uninstall.exe) to a folder of your choice.
  
• Uninstall the program.
  
• Launch the program by double-clicking on Imagicon.exe. Your portable version is ready and can be moved to any other location.

Authors: Devious Codeworks
Direct Downloading Link: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1715853/ImagiconSetup.zip.html

Freeware PDF Creator - PrimoPDF

There are many occasions in the office when it is necessary to provide document that will be viewed by recipient “as is” with no relation to the viewer software settings. Regular Word document does not work, since it might depend on the software version, fonts installed, etc. Besides, recipient might edit the document you sent, and even see the history of changes, that is completely unadvisable in the touchy corporate environment.
So, you are looking for a quick, easy, and definitely, free way to convert Word files to PDFs for screen viewing, printing, ebooks, and even pre-press use? PrimoPDF will provide a suitable solution, for free, and with some nice extras such as security options. PrimoPDF resides in your printer list as a virtual printer driver, and when you "print" a document to it, the main PrimoPDF window comes up. The options are simply laid out: You can create a PDF for screen viewing, print, ebook, or pre-press (which embeds your fonts). You can include document properties like author name and keywords. You can encrypt your PDF using 40-bit and 128-bit encryption - useful if you are publishing ebook you would like to protect from free distribution or an internal document you only want certain people to see. Then select the destination, where you want to save your new PDF to, and click OK.
After PrimoPDF creates the PDF file, it can be opened by any PDF reader software, and it goes to your default PDF viewer unless you set the options to do otherwise.
The security features are indeed a strongest trait of the program. You can choose whether users can print, copy text and graphics from the PDF, add comments, and make changes to the PDF. Since virtual printer should be integrated in the system structure, the portable version of this program does not exist.
Review the video presentation for the PrimoPDF use:

Freeware PDF Format Creator - PrimoPDF

More information you can obtain on the developer’s site: www.primopdf.com/
Latest software version can be downloaded from the direct link: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1670406/FreewarePrimoSetup.zip.html

Unlock files and folders with Unlocker

Sometimes, when you want to delete unneeded file or folder, you get some annoying messages from your Windows Operating System. I am sure you are already familiar with this error message:

But related error messages might be quite different. For example:

• Cannot delete file: Access is denied.
• There has been a sharing violation.
• The source or destination file may be in use.
• The file is in use by another program or user.
• Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

In some cases, the reasons, Windows do not allow you to perform this legitimate operations, are making sense, and can be considered as a safety precaution. But, in other cases, user has already closed all windows, and the file and folder is not practically employed in the drives and software scheme. However, for some reason, Windows does not releasing the file for the future operations. You try again and again…

Unlocker is freeware software that will solve the problem. This is the list of actions, among others, performed by this utility:

• Close handle.
• Kill process.
• Unload DLL.
• Delete index.dat.
• Delete Rename / Move command.
• Reset invalid names operations.

Why this software use is important for computer well-being? If you cannot delete locked file or folder, you leave it as is. Later, you forget about it, and eventually your Hard Drive becomes a cemetery of unneeded blocks of data, clogging the drive and capturing valuable space.

The software is free for personal use and can be downloaded from the direct link: http://www.ziddu.com/download/1644793/unlocker1.8.7.exe.html.

Freeware world - Freeware reviews Blog Carnival- July 11, 2008 - 4th Ed.

Welcome to the Fourth, July 11, 2008 edition of "Freeware world - Freeware reviews" Blog Carnival. I want to thank all the authors contributing to the issue. Some articles were excluded from the review, since their topic of discussion did not match the main target of the carnival. I am sorry, that not all submissions were accepted, as some of the excluded articles carried a significant value.

WM Media presents How to Build a Website If You Don?t Know HTML posted at Buy And Sell Websites, saying, "Even if you don’t know HTML, you can still build a very nice website."

Brian Terry presents 259+ Great Resources for Great Web Design posted at Big Selling Website Design.

Jimson Lee presents Free or Cheap Help Desk Support Software posted at CRM Help Desk Software.com, saying, "A quick review of the 2 best free Open Source Help Desk Support Ticket software."

Mark Graybill presents Trying Out LiveCDs posted at An Infinite Number of Cats on Keyboards, saying, "Brief looks at some LiveCD distros for teaching a programming class,"

Matthew Boyd presents Positivity! Warning Forever posted at Kwanzoo, saying, "A review of the freeware shooter Warning Forever."

SomeAudioGuy presents The Ramblings of Some Audio Guy: Traverso Free Audio Recording/Editing Software - Simplicity = Virtue? posted at The Ramblings of Some Audio Guy, saying, "This is a review I wrote for the free multi-track audio editor Traverso."

Raymond presents Best Locations To Blog With Free WiFi Internet Access posted at Money Blue Book.

MBB presents Best Locations To Find Free Wireless Internet Access (WiFi Hotspots) posted at Money Blue Book: Personal Finance Blog.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of freeware world - freeware reviews using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Recovering Corrupted MS Word Files

One of the worst nightmares of the modern computer user is the situation, when the backup files cannot be opened. Some common error messages which can prevent user from proper opening a Microsoft Word document include:

• "The document name or path is not valid. Try these suggestions. Check the file permissions for the document or drive. Use the File Open dialog box to locate the document."
• "Word cannot open the document."
• "Word cannot open the document: user does not have access privileges."
• When you attempt to open a Microsoft Word 97 document into Microsoft Word version 6.x or 7.x, the document contains garbage characters.

Repair My Word is a data recovery program designed, as you might see according to the name, particularly for Microsoft Word documents recovery. It can restore text from damaged or corrupt Word files (.doc files) that cannot be opened through the normal procedure. The recovered text can then be saved as an error free Microsoft Word document. Note that the text file restoration approach determines saving it in rich-text format, therefore, the original document formatting will be removed. Graphics, tables, numbering/bullets and text formatting is lost during the recovery process. But, you do not need to recreate the text again, which can cause a lot of complications.

Repair My Word can be used successfully for the following software versions: Microsoft Word 6.0, Word 95, 97, 2000, XP, and 2003 for Windows. It is completely portable, and a single executable file can run from any small USB stick. Operation is extremely simple: open the corrupt file, preview, and save it again with easy recognizable name a repaired file.

Did I forget to mention that the utility is unconditional freeware?

Screenshot:

Developer Web Site: http://www.repairmyword.com/

Direct Downloading Link: http://download.getdata.com/WordRepair.exe

VDownloader - Online Video Download Manager and Converter

On the hot market of the online clips finders and download managers, VDownloader from Spain provides a simple and competitive solution. In fact, the site offers to pieces of the portable freeware, available for downloading. One is a regular download manager - actually called VDownloader - offers search and video files capturing and conversion on the fly from the most popular sites as Youtube, Google Video, DailyMotion, MySpace, Veoh, GoFish, Porkolt, Metacafe, Break.com, 123 Video, Bolt VSocial, Lulu TV, Guba, HideBehind, and Dale al Play.

The second - VxDownloader - represents adult version of the download manager, covering the following free porn video sites as PornoTube, Yuvutu, YouPorn, Shufuni, XVideoHost, Pornkolt, PacoPorn, Pornhub.

Each utility is able to:

• Save videos in many formats, including AVI, MPG, iPOD, PSP, 3GP, VCD, SVCD, DVD, FLV and MP3 (audio only).
• Search and find videos in many sites with just one click. Its integrated search engine can search for videos in several sites at the same time.
• Browse videos. Its web browser allows you to visit video sites and download videos directly from the browser.
• Supports batch downloading and clipboard monitoring.
• Does not require installation and can be run from the portable USB Drive. Each download manager occupies just 3.5 MB of disk space.
  

Review screenshots:

Direct downloading links: VDownloader and VxDownloader