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Windows IT Engineer Tools

Tools IT engineers use for diagnostics, remote support, recovery, bootable USBs, disks and administration.

A practical toolkit for supporting Windows PCs, combining built-in tools, Sysinternals utilities and trusted third-party software.

Part of the IT Engineer / IT Support and System Administrator toolkits, which explain when you would use each tool.

Networking

Connectivity, traffic and discovery tools.

  • ipconfigBuilt into Windows

    Check your IP address, gateway and DNS servers, renew a DHCP lease, or flush the DNS cache.

    Command Prompt or PowerShell:ipconfig /all

    All versions of WindowsMicrosoft documentation

  • Test-NetConnectionBuilt into Windows

    Test whether a specific TCP port on a host is reachable, with optional route tracing.

    PowerShell:Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 443

    Windows 10 and 11Microsoft documentation

  • Wireshark icon
    Wireshark

    Network protocol analyser for capturing and inspecting traffic.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • Nmap icon
    Nmap

    Network scanner that discovers hosts, ports and services.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • TCPView

    Shows active network connections and the programs using them.

    FreeWin

System diagnostics

System information, memory tests and system file repair.

  • System InformationBuilt into Windows

    Check hardware, drivers and system configuration in one place.

    Open:msinfo32

    All versions of WindowsMicrosoft documentation

  • Windows Memory DiagnosticBuilt into Windows

    Check whether faulty memory is causing crashes. Runs after a restart.

    Open:mdsched

    All versions of Windows

  • System File CheckerBuilt into Windows

    Repair damaged Windows system files. Run from an administrator terminal.

    Command Prompt or PowerShell:sfc /scannow

    All versions of WindowsMicrosoft documentation

Remote support

Remote desktop and remote support tools.

  • Remote Desktop ConnectionBuilt into Windows

    Administer or use another Windows computer remotely.

    Open:mstsc

    Connecting is available in all editions; hosting needs Pro, Enterprise or EducationMicrosoft documentation

  • RustDesk icon
    RustDesk

    Open-source remote desktop and remote support.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • TeamViewer

    Remote support and remote access software.

    FreemiumWin / Mac / Linux

  • PuTTY

    Classic SSH and serial client for connecting to servers and switches.

    Open SourceWin / Linux

Process troubleshooting

Investigate processes, file locks and startup items.

  • Task ManagerBuilt into Windows

    See what's using CPU, memory, disk and network, and manage startup apps.

    Open:taskmgr (or Ctrl+Shift+Esc)

    All versions of Windows

  • Process Explorer

    A detailed replacement for Task Manager.

    FreeWin

  • Process Monitor

    Real-time file, registry and process activity monitoring.

    FreeWin

  • Handle

    Shows which process has a file or folder open.

    FreeWin

  • Autoruns

    Shows everything that starts automatically on Windows.

    FreeWin

Event and log analysis

Event logs, reliability history and activity logging.

  • Event ViewerBuilt into Windows

    Investigate errors, crashes, sign-ins and service failures.

    Open:eventvwr.msc

    All versions of Windows

  • Reliability MonitorBuilt into Windows

    See when problems started and what changed around the same time.

    Open:perfmon /rel

    All versions of Windows

  • Sysmon

    Logs detailed system activity to the Windows event log.

    FreeWin / Linux

Disk management

Check, partition and analyse disks.

  • Disk ManagementBuilt into Windows

    Initialise disks, create, extend or shrink partitions, and assign drive letters.

    Open:diskmgmt.msc

    All versions of Windows

  • chkdskBuilt into Windows

    Find and fix file system errors. Back up important files before repairing a failing drive.

    Command Prompt or PowerShell:chkdsk C:

    All versions of WindowsMicrosoft documentation

  • WinDirStat icon
    WinDirStat

    Visual map of what is using your disk space.

    Open SourceWin

Bootable USB

Make bootable USB drives for installs and repair.

  • Rufus icon
    Rufus

    Creates bootable USB drives from ISO files quickly and reliably.

    Open SourceWin

  • Ventoy icon
    Ventoy

    Copy multiple ISO files to one USB and choose which to boot.

    Open SourceWin / Linux

  • balenaEtcher icon
    balenaEtcher

    Simple, safe way to flash images to USB drives and SD cards.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Recovery

Repair startup, restore Windows and image disks.

  • Windows Recovery EnvironmentBuilt into Windows

    Startup Repair, System Restore, reset and command prompt when Windows won't start normally.

    Open:Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced startup (or: shutdown /r /o)

    Windows 10 and 11

  • System RestoreBuilt into Windows

    Undo a problematic driver, update or app installation without affecting personal files.

    Open:rstrui

    All versions of Windows (must be turned on)

  • Clonezilla

    Powerful bootable disk cloning and imaging for pros.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • Rescuezilla

    Point-and-click disk imaging and recovery from a bootable USB.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • TestDisk and PhotoRec

    Tools for recovering lost partitions and files.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

File transfer

SFTP and SCP clients.

  • WinSCP icon
    WinSCP

    Transfer files securely between your PC and servers.

    Open SourceWin

  • FileZilla

    A graphical FTP and SFTP client.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Virtualisation

Run other systems safely.

  • Hyper-VBuilt into Windows

    Run virtual machines on Windows.

    Open:Turn Windows features on or off > Hyper-V

    Windows 10 and 11 Pro, Enterprise and EducationMicrosoft documentation

  • Windows SandboxBuilt into Windows

    Run untrusted software in an isolated environment that's discarded when you close it.

    Open:Turn Windows features on or off > Windows Sandbox

    Windows 10 and 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education

  • VirtualBox icon
    VirtualBox

    A cross-platform desktop virtualisation app.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Backup

Versioned file backups and system images.

  • File HistoryBuilt into Windows

    Keep versioned copies of personal files on an external or network drive.

    Open:Control Panel > File History

    Windows 10 and 11

  • restic

    Fast, encrypted backups to many storage backends.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • Rescuezilla

    Point-and-click disk imaging and recovery from a bootable USB.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

Hardware information

Processor, memory, sensors and drive health.

  • HWiNFO

    In-depth hardware information and live sensor monitoring.

    FreeWin

  • CPU-Z

    Shows detailed information about your processor, memory and motherboard.

    FreeWin / Android

  • CrystalDiskInfo

    Checks the health and temperature of your hard drives and SSDs.

    Open SourceWin

Terminal and PowerShell

Modern shells and terminals.

  • Windows Terminal icon
    Windows Terminal

    Modern terminal with tabs for PowerShell, Command Prompt and WSL.

    Open SourceWin

  • PowerShell 7 icon
    PowerShell 7

    Microsoft's cross-platform shell and scripting language.

    Open SourceWin / Mac / Linux

  • Sysinternals Suite

    The complete collection of Sysinternals utilities.

    FreeWin

More Windows tools