Applications I use on my work computer(s)
Pre-installed Windows applications and utilities that find daily or weekly use
View, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs, utilize cloud storage and freehand tools. Upgrade for editing and converting to other formats.
Standard PDF reader
Command Prompt, also known as cmd.exe or cmd (after its executable file name), is the command-line interpreter on Windows NT, Windows CE, OS/2 and eComStation operating systems. It is the counterpart of COMMAND.
C'mon.
The Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) is a host application for Windows PowerShell. In Windows PowerShell ISE, you can run commands and write, test, and debug scripts in a single Windows-based graphic user interface with multiline editing, tab completion...
I'm sure there are more advanced IDEs for Powershell, but I've really come to like ISE. Plus, it's pre-installed, and has IntelliSense. As my skill in PS gets better, I'm sure I'll find something bigger and better.
PowerShell (including Windows PowerShell and PowerShell Core) is a task automation and configuration management framework from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and associated scripting language built on the .NET Framework.
So great. I've finally outgrown AutoIt and now I'm playing... with POWER.
Usually portable and launched from a network path when working on other computers
Quickly take a snapshot of your registry and then compare it with a second snapshot. You can also specify folders (with subfolders) to be scanned for changes as well.
Lovely companion for finding obscure keys associated with Windows settings
WMI Explorer is a utility intended to provide the ability to browse and view WMI namespaces/classes/instances/properties in a single pane of view and is inspired by the PowerShell based WMI Explorer written by Marc.
Lovely companion for any scripting involving WMI
Advanced system info tool offering fast, lightweight scans and detailed hardware overview with real-time temperature monitoring. Portable and ad-free.
The Sysinternals Troubleshooting Utilities have been rolled up into a single Suite of tools. This file contains the individual troubleshooting tools and help files. It does not contain non-troubleshooting tools like the BSOD Screen Saver or NotMyFault.
A must-have for IT.
Disk analysis tool with treemap views, duplicate file detection, and cleanup actions. Works offline and ad-free on Windows as an open-source project.
Alternative to TreeSize Free for network paths
Analyze disk space usage with in-depth insights and interactive visualizations across local and network drives, including mobile devices.
Super-fast, lightweight way to tell where space is being taken up, especially on computers with many user profiles. Only bug I've noticed is that it reports Last Modified Dates as the current date as it scans each folder (but doesn't actually change them in the filesystem).
It differs from other defrag tools on the market, by enabling you to quickly and simply defrag the files you want to, without having to process the whole drive. You can defrag only if the computer is idle for a definable time, so Defraggler does not slow down the computer if you...
The more SSDs we have, the less relevant this is. But until we only have SSDs, it'll be useful.
Explorer++ is a free file manager for Windows. Available on Windows XP and above, it features the same familiar interface as Windows Explorer, while introducing several enhancements and improvements for a much richer file browsing experience.
Extremely useful since you can't really run an elevated instance of Windows Explorer while on another person's profile.
Open-source HDD/SSD utility for monitoring S.M.A.R.T. values, disk temperature and other information.
Very useful for checking HDD status. Anime girls are really starting to encroach on the developer's apps though. And their website.
Optimizes systems by removing unused files and cleaning registries, speeding up PCs. Features include automatic cleaning, driver update, privacy protection.
Not the smartest thing to use, but it can come in handy. Especially when I need to uninstall something without logging the current user out, but I'm too lazy to find the string in the registry and run it in a console. Should probably find an... ALTERNATIVE TO it, huh?
Things that aren't part of a standard image that I keep installed (i.e. non-portable) on computers I regularly use.
Password Safe is a password database utility. Users can keep their passwords securely encrypted on their computers. A single Safe Combination unlocks them all.
Having upwards of seven accounts (two domains, one standard and one elevated on each, plus multiple EHR accounts) along with many special user accounts, I've come to depend on this every day. The cmd and autorun features, as well as the ability to alias entries, makes it even better.
Web browser built on an open-source platform featuring multiple account support, integrated password manager, dark mode, real-time translation, and seamless cross-device syncing.
Because I've already signed my life over to Google, and IE is a pain to use. Although it's become resource-hungry as hell lately. It's almost like lightweight, non-bloated browsers can't exist in the current era of web design.
Locate files and folders by filename on Windows instantly, displaying all items on NTFS volumes and mapped network drives. Supports 19 languages.
The fastest and best file search program. Period.
Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they'll be instantly available on any of your other computers that also have Dropbox installed. Because copies of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile...
My primary backup service.
A lightning fast and flexible keystroke launcher for Windows. No installation required (portable). Extensible with Python3 plugins.
As primarily a keyboard-over-mouse user, having a fast application launcher/calculator/etc is indispensable alongside Everything (with which it integrates)
Free open-source code editor and Notepad replacement supporting multiple languages, featuring high speed, low resource usage, privacy focus, and plugin extensibility.
A must alongside Powershell ISE for scripting and general text file editing.
Efficient file archiver offering superior compression and encryption. Supports multiple formats such as TAR, ZIP, with a unique self-extracting feature.
Free and lightweight. Until Microsoft builds in support for more than just ZIP and CAB archives, this will be necessary should you come across a RAR archive. Wish they'd work on a nicer GUI though.
Free image editor for Windows, offering layer support, plugins, special effects, and portable use without installation. Lightweight and ad-free.
For simple image editing needs beyond mspaint
Lightscreen is a lightweight screen shooting application for Windows and linux used to automate the process of saving and cataloging screenshots.
Super-minimal screenshot app that has exactly enough features without going overboard. For that, there's ShareX.
Volume2 is an advanced Windows audio mixer, a complete replacement for the standard Volume Control. This application lets you easily change the sound volume just by rotating the mouse wheel or by using keyboard hot keys or just mouse move on screen border.
Basically just for the ability to change volume by scrolling over the taskbar.
WinMerge 2011 series is a fork of the original 
WinMerge application that compiles without ATL/MFC dependencies to enable zero-budget developers to build WinMerge from sources using Visual C++ Express editions.
Between Dropbox, my user profile, and multiple network paths, I eventually need to figure out what changes I've made to scripts and what the recent or best version of something is.
Fast and Simple. Users in over 200 countries have downloaded HashTab to use as a simple MD5 checker or for a more advanced file integrity check.
Supports a buttload of algorithms, and doesn't feel like a separate app since it sits in file properties as a tab. It could be a little faster, but it gets the job done.
SpeedCrunch is a free, fast, high precision open source algebraic calculator with an intuitive interface and many features, such as variables, syntax highlighting, functions, persistent input history & more.
Honestly this isn't totally necessary, but I always seem to find it installed.
Office suite offering productivity tools for document creation, collaboration, and AI-enhanced editing across various platforms and devices.
Because we're Windows and Exchange-based.
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