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Inspector Gadgets: Windows 7 Gadgets for Monitoring Your PC

August 20, 2011 by admin

It’s been nearly two years since Windows 7 was released, and yet there are still some features that Windows 7 users may not be taking full advantage of — such as desktop gadgets. Similar to the Mac’s Dashboard Widgets, Windows desktop gadgets are mini-applications that reside on your desktop and can display live data, perform simple functions like search or password generation, or give you a sneak peek inside the inner workings of your PC.

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Of all the gadgets I’ve seen, O&O DiskStat is the best looking; it displays the right amount of information without seeming cramped. There are two skins that can help this gadget fit into your desktop decor, and you can remove the O&O logo for a minimalist approach. You can’t adjust its size, but the gadget lets you choose whether you want the temperature displayed in Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Download O&O DiskStat (134KB)

Drive Meter

Those who have multiple hard drives or multiple disk partitions on a single drive should consider running Drive Meter as well. It shows how much data is going into and coming out of each drive as well as its percent utilization.

It doesn’t watch the drives’ temperature or show you how much space is available, but it provides a good way to keep an eye on disk activity for up to three drives or partitions simultaneously.

Download Drive Meter (33KB)

An eye on graphics

GPU Monitor

Unlike general system gadgets, GPU Monitor cares about just one thing: your graphics processing unit and how well it is running. A fount of information about your system’s graphics and video, this gadget can help pinpoint problems whether you have a budget PC with integrated graphics or a high-end system with a discrete GPU.

In addition to showing which accelerator chip your system uses and key stats such as video memory used and graphics processor load, GPU Monitor shows the chip’s and graphics board’s temperatures. You can have the gadget warn you with an audio alarm if the graphics subsystem starts overheating, although it can’t initiate a system shutdown to prevent damage.

For those experiencing intermittent problems with video, GPU Monitor can keep a log file containing info on any of five main graphics parameters, such GPU temperature and if the fan is on, along with time stamps to help troubleshoot the issue.

GPU Monitor presents a lot of data and can seem crowded, but you can customize it by limiting the types of data it shows, showing data in separate graphs or a single one, and changing the gadget’s size and color combination.

Note: Some users with integrated graphics systems might need to load the RivaTuner software, which collects the data that GPU Monitor shows. It’s free, and you can download it from within the gadget.

Download GPU Monitor (1.2MB)

Firewall status check

Windows Firewall Profile

Buried inside the Windows Firewall settings page (accessible via the Control Panel) is the ability to set your firewall profile as Public (for unsecure networks, like caf hot spots) or Private (for your secure home or business network). Each profile involves a different mixture of which incoming connections are allowed or blocked.

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