IT Engineer Tools & Software
Tools for diagnosing PCs, supporting users remotely, recovering systems and managing disks and networks.
Who this toolkit is for
For IT engineers, IT support and helpdesk staff who keep computers and users working. Most tasks start with built-in tools; add specialist utilities as your work needs them.
Essential (1)
Core tools that are broadly useful.
Networking
Confirm addressing and reachability before assuming a device or application is at fault.
- ping (iputils)
Open Source
Why you may need this: Check whether a device responds.
View official installation instructions
Recommended (9)
Useful for particular parts of the work or course.
System Diagnostics
Start with what Windows already records: system information, event logs and reliability history usually point to the cause.
htopOpen Source
Why you may need this: See what's using CPU and memory on Linux.
View official installation instructions
Remote Support
Help users without travelling to them. Use tools your organisation has approved, and always get the user's consent first.
RustDeskOpen Source
Why you may need this: Open-source remote support you can self-host.
View official installation instructions- OpenSSH
Open Source
Why you may need this: Administer machines securely from the command line.
View official installation instructions
Disk Management
Check drive health and free space early: failing or full disks cause many problems that look like something else.
GPartedOpen Source
Why you may need this: Partition management on Linux or from a live USB.
View official installation instructions
Bootable USB
A bootable USB drive is the standard way to reinstall operating systems and run recovery tools.
VentoyOpen Source
Why you may need this: Carry many ISO files on one USB drive.
View official installation instructions
Recovery
Get an unbootable machine running again, or rescue the files from it, without making things worse.
- Rescuezilla
Open Source
Why you may need this: Image and restore disks from a bootable USB.
View official installation instructions
Virtualisation
Test software, updates and fixes safely before rolling them out to users.
VirtualBoxOpen Source
Why you may need this: Test systems and software in virtual machines.
View official installation instructions
Backup
Make sure there is a restorable copy before you change anything significant.
TimeshiftOpen Source
Why you may need this: Take system snapshots before risky changes on Linux.
View official installation instructions
Terminal / PowerShell
PowerShell and the Sysinternals tools handle tasks the graphical tools cannot, and scripting repeat jobs saves hours.
PowerShell 7Open Source
Why you may need this: Automate administration with the current PowerShell.
View official installation instructions
Specialist / Optional · Show specialist tools (8)
Consider these for particular modules, tasks or environments.
Networking
Confirm addressing and reachability before assuming a device or application is at fault.
WiresharkOpen Source
Why you may need this: Inspect traffic when a network problem isn't obvious.
Flatpak (verified)flatpak install flathub org.wireshark.Wireshark
NmapOpen Source
Why you may need this: Find devices and services on networks you manage.
View official installation instructions
Remote Support
Help users without travelling to them. Use tools your organisation has approved, and always get the user's consent first.
- TeamViewer
Freemium
Why you may need this: Widely used remote support; commercial use needs a licence.
View official installation instructions
Process Troubleshooting
When a PC is slow or a program misbehaves, these show exactly which process is responsible and what it is doing.
btopOpen Source
Why you may need this: Detailed resource monitor for Linux.
View official installation instructions
Bootable USB
A bootable USB drive is the standard way to reinstall operating systems and run recovery tools.
balenaEtcherOpen Source
Why you may need this: Flash images with validation on any platform.
View official installation instructions
Recovery
Get an unbootable machine running again, or rescue the files from it, without making things worse.
- TestDisk and PhotoRec
Open Source
Why you may need this: Try to recover lost partitions and files. Recovery isn't guaranteed.
View official installation instructions
File Transfer
Copy logs, installers and backups to and from servers securely.
Backup
Make sure there is a restorable copy before you change anything significant.
- restic
Open Source
Why you may need this: Scriptable encrypted backups.
View official installation instructions
About this toolkit
IT support work tends to fall into a few situations: a slow or misbehaving PC, a machine that will not start, a user who needs help remotely, and preparing or recovering devices. The categories above are grouped around those jobs, and many of the most useful tools, such as Event Viewer, Reliability Monitor and Task Manager, are already built into Windows.
Check what your organisation has approved before installing anything on a user's machine, especially remote support tools. Choose the operating system above to see the tools available for it, with verified installation commands where Aptorise has them.
Build your IT Engineer / IT Support setup
Build My Setup lets you add or remove apps, combine roles, see why each app is included, and get a single install command where verified packages exist. Nothing is installed automatically.