Any computer running Windows needs a bit of maintenance every now and then, so let's take a ride into the world of freeware system utilities: startup managers, system information and other useful file management utilities.

Most computer newbies don't know that a lot of applications start when they innocently enter the wonderful world of Microsoft Windows. Even fewer know the impact that these applications have on the performance of their computer. To prevent useless applications from being launched at system startup, here are just a few examples of freeware startup managers that will allow you to select which program should run and which one shouldn't: AutoRuns, MSConfig Cleanup, Quick StartUp, Remove Startup Programs Buddy, StartupList, StartUpLite.

Sadly, Windows doesn't have a very powerful set of file management utilities, so it's up to you to find the right tools. For example, if you're not satisfied with the results of Windows Search, there is a variety of freeware applications that will help you find just about anything on your drives: Seeker, LookDisk, File Seeker, VK FileSearch, FreshFiles Finder. Furthermore, batch file renaming is impossible using only Windows Explorer, so here are some babies that will have you rename your files without paying a single cent on useless, expensive applications: Rename Master, Pfrank, ReNamer, Any#Rename, Wildcard Renamer, Batch Renamer.

Duplicate files can occupy a large amount of disk space, therefore scanning your drives for any dupes should be become a regular. Here are just a few utilities that will identify most of the duplicate files on your HDD: Duplicate File Slayer, Duplicate File Finder, Easy Duplicate Finder, Dup Detector, Duplicate Cleaner, Duplicate File Eraser.

It happens very often that a file is too big to fit on a certain type of media. To make things work, one of the solutions is splitting the file. If you're not certain which programs could achieve this task, we'll give you a hand in finding the right one. File Splitter and Joiner, File Splitter, splitnmerge.NET, Free File Splitter, Nawras Files Splitter, FileSplitter, Avya's File Splitter are just a few suggestions to jumpstart your way into the world of file trimmers and joiners.

To rapidly find out information about the software installed on your computer, but especially about its hardware components, it's highly recommended to use specialized software like Belarc Advisor, EVEREST Home Edition (although the development of this product has been discontinued in December 2005, it still offers precise computer information), PC Wizard, System Spec, WinAudit, System Information Viewer, K1 or Evonsoft SysInfo. Of course you can use smaller utilities that offer detailed information only on specific hardware components. For example, to find out as much as possible about the processor of your computer you can use one of these utilities: Cpu-Z, RightMark CPU Clock Utility, Roadkil's CPUID, GCPUID, CPUInfo or CPUMon.

Shutting down the computer may not always be a press of a button action. Additional tools are necessary when trying to shutdown the computer under certain conditions, like when a program is being closed or when CPU usage reaches a high peak. Feel free to choose from some of these freeware apps that will allow you to shutdown your computer whenever you desire: Shutdown Monster, PowerOff, dfg ShutDown XP, Timed Shutdown, Auto Shut Down, ShutDownPro, Cool Shutdown, Shutter, Shutdown Timer or SDS Shutdown Scheduler.