Way back in 1981, the Norton Utilities suite first hit the streets, giving us access to tools such as Unerase and Beep. A lot has changed since then. The utilities are now part of Symantec’s Norton SystemWorks, integrating the godfather of maintenance packages with tools to help you manage your files and your PC’s performance.

SystemWorks 2006 is designed to be a Swiss Army knife for those seeking performance nirvana, bringing all necessary maintenance tools into a single package, complete with scheduling capabilities. From reclaiming deleted files to improving disk performance, all common Windows maintenance and file-related tasks are addressed by a tool in this kit. Whether experienced users actually need what’s available in this toolbox is another story.

Almost every tool and capability included in SystemWorks 2006 is already available to Windows users in some form or another. Defragment your hard drives using Windows’ native tool and you’ll have little use for SpeedDisk. Download and install Eraser (www.heidi.ie), and you’ll have no time for the Wipe Info tool. Need the ability to reclaim deleted files, scan the registry for errors or keep your internet connection from dropping after a period of inactivity? SystemWorks 2006 includes bits that handle all these tasks admirably, but there’s little here that a practised user couldn’t accomplish for free with little effort. On the plus side, SystemWorks 2006 does include Symantec’s flagship AntiVirus software, as well as Norton GoBack. If you’re not familiar with the latter, imagine XP’s System Restore feature on steroids: GoBack enables you to return to previous system configurations, undo disk changes and even reclaim old versions of files as necessary.

Additionally, GoBack locks your system configuration so that changes made by other users can be reversed, and includes SafeTry Mode, through which you can download files or test software without making permanent changes to your clean system configuration. GoBack requires plenty of disk space to do its thing, however, so you’d better have a good 3GB of free disk space available for each drive you want it to work with.

Satellite tools
In a bid to entice users into opting for this something-for-everyone suite, SystemWorks 2006 includes many little extras. Process Manager offers an alternative way to highlight running processes, while System Optimizer offers the ability to tweak and tune Windows settings without the need for manual registry edits or the hassle of digging through Group Policy. Both tools improve on their native Windows counterparts, but are more akin to window-dressing, upping the cool factor for some users but offering nothing particularly enticing to others.

To its credit, Symantec has done a good job of assembling a broad toolkit with SystemWorks 2006. Every program it includes gets the job done. However, it’s still a bundle that will have greater value for novice users than those who have been working with Windows for years. If you’re already well versed in keeping Windows operating smoothly, you understand that installing a program requiring 256 MB of RAM isn’t going to result in performance miracles.

That said, the average user could do far worse. If you were planning to spend £40 on Norton AntiVirus 2006, for example, this is a bargain at only £10 more. If you tend to find yourself helping friends and family to keep their Windows boxes running, a dose of SystemWorks may be just what the doctor ordered. Long-time PC users may be better off self-diagnosing their way to cheaper, but no less effective, second opinions.