Product Description

System Mechanic Professional - Fix and Speed Up Your PC...Automatically, PLUS Internet Security & More! System Mechanic Pro, the #1 best-selling and award-winning all-in-one PC Tune-up and security software, automatically repairs errors and fragmentation, cleans out clutter, exterminates viruses, spyware, and worms – and automatically tunes up your PC so that it runs smoothly, reliably, and up to 300% faster! 5 Award-Winning Products in One: iolo AntiVirus: Rids your PC of annoying pests. iolo Personal Firewall: Blocks internet hackers and thieves. Search and Recover: Undeletes files, photos, e-mail, music, & more. DriveScrubber: Securely wipes data from any drive or device. Boosts Speed - PCs slow down over time due to everyday use. Simple tasks start taking minutes...or hours to complete. Repairs Problems - With normal use PCs accumulate problems that cause annoying errors, crashes and freezes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2047 in Software
• Brand: IOLO Technologies
• Model: 8010354
• Released on: 2007-12-03
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: .45 pounds

Features

• Makes your PC run like new again
• Fixes Registry errors, crashes & freezes
• Rids your PC of annoying pests
• Cleans up system-clogging clutter
• Boosts PC start time & web speed up to 300%

Customer Reviews

Does not work with Vista!
I purchased version 7 Pro in early May '08, because of the special pricing and because it had a three PC license. I installed it on my primary machine - a Dell desktop running Windows Vista. It installed fine but I noticed the virus database was marked as outdated. I tried to do an update, and went through the motions - the program indicating that it had updated, but afterward still indicated that the database was over 400 days old (how do you get that outdated on a fresh install)!
I contacted Iolo and they told me to uninstall and re-install, which I attempted. This created another problem. I had a prior version of the included Search and Recover 4.0 already installed on my system, so I did not install this component. I was unable to re-install the SM Pro as long as this program was there. The problem was that I couldn't uninstall S&R using the uninstall on my machine.
I have been in constant contact with tech support but they have only sent links to FAQ's that I have already read. I even got a link for a free upgrade to version 8 but it wouldn't install either. I finally found a means to do a "clean uninstall" via registry editing. This also did not remove the iolo services from my machine. I found a tool from Microsoft to disable these two services. I now had a "clean" machine. I installed SM 8 Pro with no problems - until I tried to run it. None of the applications would work - they needed the ioloSystemService running. I click on the "start service" link under the advanced button of the service tab of task manager, but neither service will start (the other is called "ioloFileInfoList").
I have been continually contacting Iolo tech support with my findings and was upgraded on June 25th to their "senior tech staff". Since then I have not heard from tech support, even though I have continued sending information, requested support, opened new cases, etc. - no word from them.
As part of my experimentation, I installed version 7 on my laptop (running XP) and don't seem to be experiencing any issues. However, my laptop is a backup machine that I rarely use, so it is not a good indicator of how well the program runs.
All in all, I cannot recommend this program. It has definite issues under Vista, it is almost impossible to remove all vestiges of the program once installed, and their tech support is abysmal. I gave Iolo notice that if I don't get any more than an automated response to my last support request, I will be demanding a full refund. The program had great reviews, but if it doesn't work, then it's worthless.

Version 8 Fixes all Vista issues
Tried Norton 360, Avanquest System Suite 8, IOLO System Mechanic Pro 7 & 8. Norton has fewer features in its suites every year and forces you to spend more by buying them independently. Avanquest had issues with Vista as did IOLO 7. My experience with VISTA has been that only programs issued after October 2007 were truely "designed for VISTA" instead of "will work on VISTA". IOLO Pro 8 works great on my VISTA Premium. Issues version 7 had are gone. Has every tool you need to keep PC tuned to top shape. Those of you old enough to remember all the features Norton Utilities had back in the 1980's & 1990's will feel that we have finally been given back all the tools that Norton gradually, 1 by 1, took away from us over the years. My only minor concern is that I know it is certified by renowned "Westcoast Labs" for virus protection, but have never seen its antivirus tests compared to others like Norton, Kaspersky, McAfee, etc. I would have liked a comparison. I have never received a virus and frequent updates do automatically take place - unlike version 7. I currently have complete suite on 1 PC and on other PC I have everything except the antivirus and firewall installed. For that I'm using Norton 360. The 360 v2.0 is getting so many bad reviews I'm likely going to uninstall Norton and have a complete install of IOLO 8 on both PC's.

Does NOT work with Vista!!!
The box makes the claim that this software works on windows Vista. This is a lie! I installed it on my machine with 32bit Vista Home Premium edition installed. It found over a dozen problems. So far so good. I push the button that said "repair problems" (or something similar). I get the blue screen of death... It takes some work considering the description of the error is sadly lacking along with a meaningful log. I manually fix the problem. I hit "repair problems", blue screen of death... I do this four times. After I manually hack the registry, kill system files, and manipulate the boot process using msconfig. (oh and I have to manually kill some services... ). Regardless, it doesn't work as advertised. If I didn't already have expert knowledge of the OS, I would have been screwed. This program is marketed toward people who don't have expert knowledge. I don't know about XP. This app may rock on that Windows version... All I know is that it doesn't work worth doodley squat on Vista...