What can Microsoft PC Manager do for you?

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ISSUE 21.14 • 2024-04-01 BEN’S WORKSHOP By Ben Myers Microsoft’s PC Manager provides several easy-to-use tools to keep your computer running in good h
[See the full post at: What can Microsoft PC Manager do for you?]

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abbodi86, Geo, CR2, fisher75, lmacri, rc primak, DLivesInTexas

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It looks to me as there’s only an S mode PC Manager in the MS store.

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I can get the .exe but cannot get it to do anything except show me screeen describing PC Manager.

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Try logging into an MS account/as Admin, it might work, more likely for MS ‘Insiders’ though.

Don’t fret if you can’t get it yet, seek out an earlier topic for other opinions/discussions:

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/microsoft-pc-manager-beta-updates/

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/introducing-microsoft-pc-manager/

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I’m a PC tech. Been fixing PCs and laptops for twenty plus years. I am a big fan of Piriform’s CCleaner and IOBIT’s Advanced System Care, Uninstaller, and Driver Booster. I put these programs on every PC or laptop I service. They do a great job of cleaning up and optimizing computers. Buying the Pro versions (which is cheap) does a wonderful job without the nagging monthly version updates.

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Charlie, paulrob

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Not available in the Microsoft Store and the webpage (Antivirus, Cleanup PC, protection for your computer | Microsoft PC Manager) states: ‘Coming Soon’.  Maybe a geographic thing as I’m in the UK.  I could use my VPN and get it but it’s not that important to me.

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I don’t understand.  Microsoft PC Manager “Coming Soon”?

https://pcmanager.microsoft.com/en-us

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Yes…I am in UK.
I get transferred to the store page  after downloading the  exec file.
There it gives lots of info  but no full installer.
I also get the message “comimng soon”, where the blue download/instalation button is.

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This program is a wrapper for tools that already exist in Windows. There is no new functionality that I know of. It is an attempt to make it easier for users to access these tools and to compete with third-party programs.

--Joe

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paulrob, bbearren, windbg

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Unusual screen. “Coming Soon” hmmmm?

 

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Not available at my place in The Netherlands, most likely only for certain countries?

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On the Boost screen set smart boost, what does that do?

Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

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WSGaryCN

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I’ve been using jv16 Power Tools since 2015 because I wasn’t happy with any of the other programs available at that time. And yes, the GUI ain’t all that fancy but I didn’t purchase it ’cause it looked cool. If you RTM, it will really clean up you machine. In fact, I think you will be surprised what it finds. BTW, the file deletion programs alone (yes, plural) will certainly make you a happy camper.

And don’t forget, RTM. (Which is, of course, what we all do, right?)

Moderator Edit: Reference not allowed, removed.

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This link worked for me:

https://aka.ms/PCManagerOFL500000

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That’s version 3.1.3.0 (Public Beta). As already suggested, this appears to be a wrapper for existing tools.  I’m interested in how it “boosts” memory usage. Not much else seems that interesting.

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paulrob

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The Beta is now Version 3.8.10. You don’t get it from Microsoft directly.

-- rc primak

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AFAIK, The memory boost comes from releasing “orphaned” memory, memory that a program allocates, but fails to deallocate when the program terminates. Honestly, I can’t think of any other scenarios where available memory is increased. And only by a little bit.

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rc primak, computerab

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I follow Susan Bradley’s recommendations on pausing Windows Update until she gives a (mostly) all clear. So currently I have done updates and then paused until May 5.

But it looks to me like PC Manager will check for Windows Updates even if you have them paused.

PC Manager found a few updates even though I had Windows Update paused.

This behavior may be OK because PC Manager didn’t automatically install updates. I still had to click install.

 

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rc primak

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Thanks for the dramatic reminder that Microsoft remains what it always has been – a marketing company, not an R&D organization!

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Ben Myers, windbg

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For what it’s worth, the MS Store version of PC Manager is not the most recent version. I don’t see anything in the Beta version which is any better than the Store version, but if folks want to try the “new and improved” version of this app, you can download it from MajorGeeks:

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_pc_manager.html

I know some tech people who say this app is 20 years overdue, as it consolidates in one place some of the Windows settings which in Win 10/11 have gotten scattered all over the place in the user interface. But I also read Paul Thurrott trashing the app as shoddy. So you can take a look at it and decide for yourself.

Personally, I find CCleaner and Glary Utilities to be much better, especially with a few extra settings checked off.  I also use Geek Uninstaller to remove programs and avoid Registry Bloat.

 

-- rc primak

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TechTango

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Still, one must treat the Microsoft Store version as the “official” version. Or not, with Microsoft creating more confusion.

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rc primak

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rc primak wrote:

For what it’s worth, the MS Store version of PC Manager is not the most recent version. I don’t see anything in the Beta version which is any better than the Store version, but if folks want to try the “new and improved” version of this app, you can download it from MajorGeeks:

https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/microsoft_pc_manager.html

I know some tech people who say this app is 20 years overdue, as it consolidates in one place some of the Windows settings which in Win 10/11 have gotten scattered all over the place in the user interface. But I also read Paul Thurrott trashing the app as shoddy. So you can take a look at it and decide for yourself.

Personally, I find CCleaner and Glary Utilities to be much better, especially with a few extra settings checked off.  I also use Geek Uninstaller to remove programs and avoid Registry Bloat.

 

“Failed to download installation files”.  Sigh. Perhaps a VPN is needed.

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rc primak

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Ian wrote:

“Failed to download installation files”. Sigh. Perhaps a VPN is needed.

No VPN needed here, had to ease off my 3rd party security/privacy settings a little though.

Check firewall logs, try a different browser, …

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rc primak

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There may be regional availability issues. I live in the North American Region.

-- rc primak

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Re: The recent AskWoody Newsletter had an article on the ‘Microsoft PC Manager’. I scanned through their posting and gave it a try. The only thing I tried so far is the ‘Health Check’.

I ran it to clean up the items. I rebooted. Most all of them came back.
I re-ran it several times without rebooting between runs to be sure all items were cleaned.
I rebooted. Most all of the items returned and were not cleaned up as it seemed it should have been.

Then, with most of the items still there, I re-ran the process until, again, all the items were ‘cleaned up’.
Without rebooting, I re-ran the Health Cleanup and all the items reappeared and not cleaned up.
Again, rebooting, they all came back, not ‘cleaned up’.

What’s going on?

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Well, just another hack from Microsoft. In my decades of experience with computers, there has rarely been a time when Microsoft had anything of real value. 3rd party free software has always been available to do a better job than Microsoft ever does. That still holds true today. Pass on this.

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Back in the day, I used to tinker around with all sorts of software for PC optimization and whatnot. Those were the good old days, roughly between 2000 and 2003, when Windows 95, 98, and ME were the talk of the town. This article really took me back, especially reminding me of that cool program, Sandra by SiSoftware.

It’s disappointing to see Microsoft dropping the ball once again, isn’t it? It seems like they’ve always had their ups and downs. Almost feels like they assign these projects to unpaid interns for practice sometimes. On the other hand, third-party developers like SysInternals really step up to the plate, delivering solid and passionate work. There’s a real difference between just going through the motions and putting your heart into it, you know?

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SysInternals by Microsoft

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/

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wavy, rc primak, b

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Yes, useful stuff among the sysinternals.  Mostly written before Mark Russinovich became a Microsoft employee.

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rc primak, Microfix, Cybertooth

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Remember those well Ben, Wininternals and Sysinternals, used to frequent both sites regularly when using Win2k/ XP, back in the good ol’ days..

If debian is good enough for NASA...

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Microsoft’s PC Manager has some shady stuff inside

…By default, the Toolbox section contains two affiliate links (with tracking parameters) to Chinese software websites. Mind you, we are talking about an official Microsoft-made app under the “Microsoft Corporation label,” which promises to be “pure without disturbance.”..

..you still better think twice before using it on your system…

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David F, Cybertooth

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Whoa!  Where did you find that info?  Link?

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Neowin, on the 9th February, though that article seems to have been triggered by a user comment (maybe Aryeh Goretsky?) on a previous article a couple of days before (exact comment is showing a 301 for me currently).

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lmacri

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Hi Ben Myers:

Further to satrow’s post # 2656459, goretsky (Aryeh Goretsky) posted an update in the comments section of the 09-Feb-2024 Neowin article Microsoft’s app that promises Windows performance improvements has some shady stuff inside that says:

“I just reinstalled the program, and the two links no longer appear.

It is possible the app was silently updated to remove those links. Since it’s downloaded from Microsoft’s own app store, they are the only ones who would be able to confirm that.”

The Microsoft PC Manager app was initially released in the Chinese market, and an earlier comment by goretsky in the 07-Feb-2024 Neowin article Microsoft’s official app for improving performance in Windows 10 and 11 lands in the store stated :

“Looking at these URLs, they both appear to contain some kind of referral code links, which could mean that Microsoft, or at least the author(s) of this application, are collecting some revenue from visits to or purchases made through those web pages”

It’s always possible that the URLs to Chinese sites were remnants of the Chinese edition that Microsoft inadvertently (or perhaps even deliberately) failed to remove from the English edition, and that Microsoft was, or still is, trying to monetize the Chinese edition of the PC Manager app.

Even though those two Chinese URLs have now been removed from the English edition, I would still heed the warning in the 09-Feb-2024 Neowin article Microsoft’s app that promises Windows performance improvements has some shady stuff inside that states that:

“… one of the ways it “optimizes” your computer’s performance is by purging the Windows Prefetch folder. It is listed under the “Deep cleaning” option, suggesting more aggressive and effective results….Microsoft itself does not recommend touching the Windows Prefetch folder since messing with its contents may result in the opposite of what the PC Manager app promises. Instead of making your PC faster, cleaning Windows Prefetch could lead to apps taking more time to launch.”

————
Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.4170 * Firefox v124.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24020.7-1.1.24030.4 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.11.320-1.0.2302 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * Dell Inspiron 5583/5584 BIOS v1.22.1

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paulrob, Alex5723, satrow, Cybertooth

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Re the latter part of the quote above on cleaning out of the Prefetch, some commentard said the following on GHacks:

satrow said on February 9, 2024 at 5:06 pm:

It used to be the case that CCleaner claimed that it only cleared out those prefetch entries that hadn’t been used for some time (I think it was 2 months?), so eliminating all the installer entries that took up many/most of the 128 available slots. Not much of a time saver now, esp. given the take up of SSD/M2’s since then, but maybe a tiny boot-time reduction for users with 5400/notebook drives.

Removing all prefetch entries (which appears to be what PC Manager does) still isn’t a ‘good’ idea for anyone without SSD/M2 boot drives.

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Cybertooth

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Under startup, which can be accessed without any utility by typing startup at the search or start menu, IMO most users should have almost everything off.  Not mainly because of memory usage, but CPU usage and spyware concerns.  If you use Skype or teams regularly they might be exceptions. If turning off something removes an app icon you want you can always turn it back on and restart.

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I downloaded PC Manager from Microsoft and tried installing it but Norton deleted it saying it was not a safe program. Is this true? If not what should I do to be able to install it?

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Don’t tell me Norton got it right for once!

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wavy, paulrob, Graham, Alex5723

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NurhanB wrote:

what should I do to be able to install it?

Add the app to exclusion in Norton.

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rc primak

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I use Task Scheduler to take out the trash nightly with extended Disk Cleanup.  I also use Revo Uninstaller > Tools > Junk Files Cleaner > Scan > Delete about once a week.  It won’t delete any files that are in use, but it will find files that Disk Cleanup will leave behind.

Some time ago (there were a couple or three threads in Windows Secrets) I ran a two year comparison between extended Disk Cleanup running every night and CCleaner once a week (I kept CCleaner updated).  CCleaner never found anything other than Temporary Internet Files, which I wanted to keep, anyway.  I did not use the registry cleaner, but I scanned the registry with it, and it always found hundreds to thousands of issues.  I uninstalled CCleaner a few years ago.

Bloated registry is not really a “thing”, due to the way Windows actually uses the registry.  Further, if Revo Uninstaller is used to uninstall programs/apps, it can also remove all the registry entries related to those programs/apps.  But dead-ends in the registry don’t do anything, invalid processes in the registry don’t do anything, either, and in my experience, there’s really nothing to be gained by removing them.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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Perq, NaNoNyMouse, rChaz, Cybertooth

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Ben Myers wrote:

Whoa!  Where did you find that info?  Link?

https://www.neowin.net/news/microsofts-app-that-promises-windows-performance-improvements-has-some-shady-stuff-inside/

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All I did was go to the Microsoft Store to have the store install PC Manager for me. The difficulties others have had are, how can I say it delicately, on Microsoft. I have no idea what they are doing with this program.

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Tried it, don’t like it. Pulling it out and cleaning it off with CCleaner after…

Why?

See the screen snip which is what convinced me in the end (maybe took me 10 mins to get to it). While everything else is in English, when I clicked on “Free Office Template Resources” in the Custom links (in the OOBE installation), it took me to a fully Chinese (I think) website that’s completely unintelligibubble to me. Why would MS want to do that? I can’t print what I’d like to say about it.

As for the rest, there’s almost nothing this does that CCleaner doesn’t do as well or better. Except maybe the popup management which CCleaner doesn’t do, but mostly I control unwanted intrusions via uBlock Origin anyway.

 

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wavy, satrow, Cybertooth

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Ouch!  Didn’t click that button.  Even worse than I imagined.

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I looked at PC Manager when a previous thread about it showed up here on AskWoody. Didn’t care for it then, still don’t care for it. Right off the bat, the overly-simplified UI reminds me of some apps for smartphones. Or apps on the Microsoft Store. Or some of the features in Windows itself. “Click this button. Trust us as to what it actually does. We know what is best for you.” Even if it’s not what you want to happen.

That may be fine for the average user but sort of pointless for the power user or technically knowledgeable.

I prefer knowing exactly what a “button” is going to do. Granularity of control is important. I used to use CCleaner for years but changed to Privazer which, though it’s UI isn’t the most intuitive, does have the ability to drill down and select/deselect specific cleaning tasks at a granular level. Once the “buttons” are set up to do exactly what I want and don’t want , then clicking on them inspires confidence.  No surprises, thank you very much.

 

Win10 Pro x64 22H2, Win10 Home 22H2, Linux Mint + a cat with 'tortitude'.

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Cybertooth

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paulrob wrote:

it took me to a fully Chinese (I think) website that’s completely unintelligibubble to me. Why would MS want to do that?

The app is Chinese developed.

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rc primak

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Really appreciate this article. I am NOT a techie … but a semi-retired Sr., that does my best to keep things running smoothly … Still work a little as a Mortgage Originator. I was about to print all of that to follow along (I always like to see as I do!) However, at the end of the article … you recommend these as favorites. CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller – sure seems easier to me!
I’ve used CCleaner for years … are you saying you recommend using BOTH?
If Revo has any features that are better than CCleaner … I’ll install too
Much appreciate your wisdom!

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