Does your Windows computer give you more problems than it used to? Over time, it seems to exponentially increase its errors and junk files. Keeping up with this can be a pain, but the right software makes it easy.

We've shown you our recommended way to clean Windows 10. If you're still searching for the best PC-cleaning app, iolo System Mechanic 16.5 promises to speed up your system and fix problems automatically. Let's check it out and see if it delivers.

Why This Tool?

You might ask yourself, "Why should I trust MakeUseOf's recommendation, and why is System Mechanic the right tool for the PC cleaning job?"

At MakeUseOf, we've been putting tools like System Mechanic through their paces for over eight years. Whether free or paid, we've seen enough tools to know which ones are good and which aren't worth using. We've shown the best Windows software and which apps you shouldn't pay for.

And iolo, the company behind System Mechanic, has been around since 1998. They specialize in PC cleanup utilities, and have spent many years turning their products into the best tools they can be for you. System Mechanic has received outstanding reviews from PCMag, Tech Radar, and Tom's Guide. The software also has an excellent review history from ends users. The new version 16.5 is specifically designed to make your Windows 10 PC faster than ever.

Meet System Mechanic

Installing System Mechanic couldn't be any easier. Visit the download page, get the installer, and launch it to start the process. There are no options to configure or garbage toolbars foisted on you during the process. What's better, System Mechanic's Whole Home License policy means that one purchase lets you use the software on multiple machines.

Once you launch it for the first time, System Mechanic tells you that it needs to perform a quick analysis on the Dashboard. This won't change anything on your system, so let it take a look.

After its first run, it told me that my computer's status was Poor. You can click the arrow next to Remove and choose View details in wizard to see a complete breakdown. The issues it finds are as follows:

  • Internet junk files, including browser cache and expired cookies. Over time, these can take up a lot of space on your hard drive.
  • Windows Junk files holds temporary files, error logs, the Recycle Bin, and items on your clipboard. These are useless most of the time and just waste space.
  • Registry issues catches unused software keys, invalid file type associations, and other incorrect entries.
  • Available memory defragments your RAM for better stability and usability.

The software also provides you with recommendations after you run a scan. System Mechanic lets you Show Details for a lot of options. This explains each entry and how it affects your PC. If you're a novice user, this is much appreciated.

During my testing, these claimed that my internet connection settings weren't optimized. The software alerted me that I didn't have Windows 10's telemetry features disabled, as well. It also highlights unnecessary programs that run on startup, showing a Community Choice score for some entries. This gives you some advice on whether you should pull a program from startup without having to look it up separately.

You can click Repair all to quickly apply the recommended fixes, or uncheck items that you don't want to change and automatically fix the rest. As we'll see, System Mechanic also does this in the background for you so you don't forget.

The Toolbox

The Dashboard gives you an overview of what System Mechanic is doing, but the sidebar tabs let you dig into everything the app has to offer.

The Clean tab is a collection of junk cleaning tools. If you don't want to clean everything, you can try individual Internet, Windows, or Registry Cleanup tools. You'll also find an Advanced Uninstaller here, which runs the built-in Windows uninstaller.

Speed Up contains some utilities that increase your machine's speed. NetBooster lets you optimize internet connection settings for your speed. You can also customize them yourself if you wish. Let the software handle these automatically -- many of you won't even know what settings like DCA and NetDMA State are, much less what they should be tuned to.

The other tools in this section are a disk defragmenter and a program optimizer that you shouldn't run if you're using an SSD, as well as a memory cleaning tool and the Startup Optimizer.

Next, Protect has some tools to keep your system safe. The Security Optimizer fixes vulnerabilities in your hosts file, Internet Explorer, and networking settings. Privacy Shield will turn off some of Windows 10's privacy-invasive options, and the Incinerator lets you securely delete files so nobody can recover them. If you to completely destroy files when you purge them from the Recycle Bin, you need this.

The Recover tab helpfully collects a few links to built-in Windows features. You'll find a shortcut to the built-in Windows Troubleshooter here, which can automatically fix some PC problems that pop up. There are also shortcuts to System Restore and the PC Reset feature if you need to roll back some changes.

The last panel, Manage, opens up a link to the God Mode shortcut with every Control Panel entry. This gives you many more options than are available by default in Windows and will be great for power-users.

Other Features

System Mechanic has a couple of further tricks to round out its package.

The ActiveCare feature automatically runs most of the above processes when you're away from your PC. You can toggle individual options, like repairing the Registry, disabling unneeded startup programs, and removing junk files. This lets you keep your system clean without having to worry about running everything manually, so it's quite convenient.

LiveBoost is a collection of features that seek to improve your system's processor, memory, and hard drives. CPU optimization prevents background tasks from monopolizing CPU resources, while the RamJet feature takes memory that's being wasted by background apps and gives it to your active programs. AcceleWrite increases performance by making your computer write to the hard drives more quickly.

The Security tab makes sure that you have all the security tools you need. It verifies that you have security software installed and gives you the all-clear if so. If you're interested, this tab also provides a link to System Mechanic Pro, which includes its own antivirus. This section also ensures that you have an operational firewall.

You can click the arrow icon at the top of the window to open SafetyNet, which allows you to roll back any changes you've made with the software. This is a nice way to make sure that an accidental cleanup doesn't mess up your system.

It's a good idea to click on the Settings gear to customize how System Mechanic runs. Here you can set how often System Mechanic runs an automatic analysis and repair, prevent the software from running when your laptop is not plugged in, and lets you exclude files from junk removal.

System Mechanic's Value

System Mechanic is normally $50, but if you click here you'll get 15 months for the price of 12, plus take 50% off. That's $24.95!

While there are many free PC cleaning apps available, System Mechanic offers a lot of extra value.

System Mechanic is simple to use. The dashboard and ActiveCare make PC maintenance easy, even if you don't have much computer experience. Simply click one button to fix everything and you're good to go. Turn on CPU and RAM optimization and your machine will run better.

Whether you just got a new PC and want to keep it running smoothly or want to boost your older machine, System Mechanic is a great choice. It offers powerful cleaning to remove junk files, boosts your PC's performance, and runs on a schedule so you don't have to worry about it. Novice users get useful descriptions of what everything does, and you get a nice, clean system.

Download it now and see if System Mechanic will boost your computer to new levels of awesome.

Let us know if you'll give System Mechanic a try down in the comments!

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