Ashampoo WinOptimizer 28 Review

Beyond the three automatic performance boosters covered just above, WinOptimizer 28 includes many additional and more specialised PC performance enhancing modules. These specialist tools each address specific performance related tasks including managing Windows services, background processes, internet connections and SSD drive optimisation (among various others). You can find these tools listed on the “All Modules” page as can be seen below.

With the automatic optimisation tools set aside, WinOptimizer also allows for these additional tools to be run manually, as required, alongside the other core optimisation modules found within the application. Out of the many additional tools available, some notable additions include:

SSD Wizard:

Whilst newer SSD (Solid State Drive) disks are undeniably very fast (much faster than their mechanical counterparts), they often still require some degree of maintenance, configuration and specialised optimisation in order to achieve optimal performance.

This is where the SSD Wizard module comes in useful, a tool which brings together the various settings required to optimise an SSD drive and get it running at its best. Once open and the initial analysis complete, we can study any selected features and enable them as required (with helpful guidance on each option available from within the tool itself). Note that the “recommended settings” button (highlighted in the screenshot) which can help in fine-tuning these settings automatically for any given system.

Boot Center:

The “Boot Center” module is a specialist tool which can be used to analyse and optimise the Windows boot-up process (Windows start-up optimisation). This optimisation works by analysing which processes are set to start automatically alongside the Windows operating system itself and then allowing for these processes to be turned on or off as required to increase performance.

As can be seen above, this tool provides a detailed analysis and breakdown of the Windows boot-up process and helps to shed light on any issues which could be causing delays. We also see (pointed out above) that the tool keeps historic records of previous boot times meaning any anomalies can easily be spotted and a baseline boot-up time established.

Alongside monitoring the performance of the boot process, the “Boot Center” tool also provides an in-depth look at the tasks and processes which are active during start-up and, for many of these, provides an assessment as to the impact it might have upon start-up time.

NB – Notice in the above image that WinOptimizer will in many cases also show the number of milliseconds it is estimated each entry is delaying the boot time. This is alongside an overall assessment of how much impact each entry is having (e.g., High, Medium or Low).

Firewall Manager:

Newly added in WinOptimizer 28, the “Firewall Manager” module aims to make easy and reliable the task of managing and modifying the built-in Windows firewall.

Supporting use across three modes (Basic, Normal and Extended), this firewall management module helps make the Windows firewall more accessible for users of all technical abilities. The basic mode allows anyone to easily block or allow a specific application by simply selecting the applications executable file (the .exe file), a direction (in, our or both) and then selecting to allow or block at the firewall level.

Whilst the basic operating mode focuses on applications (which can be very useful for ensuring certain applications can’t have internet access on a particular device), the more advanced modes show various Windows services and background processes as well. We can also, when making use of the Extended running mode, make use of the advanced rule filter (see below) which can easily help to highlight any firewall configuration issues including inactive rules and rules left behind for missing executable software or Windows services.

Altogether, this makes the new Firewall manager a nice addition for any Windows user seeking an easier method for managing the device’s firewall rules and enhanced control over the install apps and services which connect to the internet.

System Information 2:

The newly added (upgraded) System Information 2 module is a great way to easily see an overall of all hardware specifications and components which make up a Windows PC. This includes, at a glance, useful information including the system’s motherboard, processor and RAM, network adapters and storage devices (hard drives) plus USB devices and peripherals including monitors and printers.

Whilst this information gathering is not unique to WinOptimizer 28, this newly upgraded tool does conveniently gather a wealth of useful system information and displays everything within a single easy-to-use interface making it ideal for all Windows PC users who want to know a little more about their device.

HDD Inspector:

The “HDD Inspector” module provides a user-friendly interface for monitoring the health and status of any available hard disks. This includes viewing the SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) self-diagnostic information for each drive, information which can help identify potential problems before they become too serious.

In addition to providing valuable details about device health and SMART status, HDD Inspector also presents a wealth of additional disk information including:

• SATA supported standards (e.g., SATA III).
• Capacity and cache values.
• Condition and temperature information (when available).
• Make, model, and serial numbers of installed hard drives (when available).

The HDD Inspector also supports generating and exporting detailed reports containing a lot of useful details and statistics for each drive attached to a system. This can be useful for both reference and IT / tech support related issues for advanced users.

Benchmark Center:

The “Benchmark Center” module enables WinOptimizer 28 users to perform a detailed benchmark of their current system with ease. This is particularly useful when evaluating and comparing the performance of any new components or configurations on a Windows system.

As the screenshot shows, the System Benchmark module provides detailed benchmarking tools for both:

• The system itself: This focuses on measuring CPU and wider system performance.
• Installed hard disks: This assesses the read/write speeds and overall performance of any attached storage devices.

In order to gather a series of useful stats, the “Benchmark Center” tool will need to be run with the system otherwise unused and all other applications closed down (to minimise interference when assessing system performance). As can be seen in the screenshot above, once complete this system analysis shows various useful metrics including both Drystone and Wheatstone ratings for the CPU, RAMPerf measurements for memory performance and an overall WinOptimizer system score which can be useful for quickly comparing different PCs.

Context Menu Manager:

The “Context Menu Manager” is another useful addition to WinOptimizer 28. This is a module which helps remove any unwanted or excessive entries from the Windows context menu (this is the menu which appears when right-clicking on an element within Windows such as a file or folder). Keeping these menus tidy and uncluttered not only makes them easier to navigate, but can also reduce the slowdown sometimes experienced when opening bloated context menus.

As can be seen above, the “Context Menu Manager” module (accessible via the “All Modules” page) lists all currently enabled context menu extensions. Removing any unwanted or underutilised extensions from this list is then as simple as unchecking the item, it will then no longer be included within the relevant context menus going forwards.

NB – Should you require any disabled item to be re-enabled in the context menu, this is as simple as navigating back to the item in the above list and rechecking it.

Crash Analyzer:

Another new addition to WinOptimizer 28, the Crash Analyzer module aims to make straightforward the otherwise cumbersome and difficult task of analysing and decoding Windows system and application errors logs.

Expanding each entry provides access to individual crash logs and from these logs more information can be gathered as to why any given issue occurred. Although, in my own opinion at least, this still remains an advanced tool, the interface provided by WinOptimizer makes viewing log file information really easy (compared to the basic tools built-into Windows itself) meaning this module can useful for anyone looking to diagnose any system errors further.

NB – In cases when diagnosing a crashing or otherwise unstable application, having access to such log information and being able to “Google it” can often be of great help in diagnosing any underlying issues.