Ultimate Boot CD 5.3.9

Overview

Since the modern day, computer standards no longer include the floppy disk drive in their specifications, running diagnostic utilities without loading the operating system is not a viable solution without the help of Ultimate Boot CD. On the other hand, even though you may own a computer with a floppy drive salvaged from an older model, the speed of running such utilities is low and storing them requires several mediums. At the same time, with Ultimate Boot CD software utility, all these concerns are a thing of the past.

Installation

The downloadable Ultimate Boot CD kit is in fact an ISO image file, which you will be required to inscribe on a CD via Nero Kwik Media or the burning utility of your choice. Once you have inscribed the CD with the application bundle, all you need to do is reboot your computer and you are ready to diagnose your system. If the program does not start automatically, there are three possible reasons for it: either the boot sequence settings you have specifies that the system always prioritizes the hard drive boot, the CD-ROM drive is set as slave instead of master, or the CD you have burned is malfunctioning. Respectively, try to address these problems in exactly this order and you will be able to run Ultimate Boot CD. As a side note, apart from the CD, the Ultimate Boot CD can be run on USB flash drives on newer computer models that imbed this feature. 

Interface

The interface, as you can expect from a program that runs without the operating system, is minimalistic and resembles BIOS. However, you are able to browse easily between all the programs listed and run them without any problem. All programs are bundled in directories according to their functionality. Therefore, whether you are looking for a specific application for diagnosing BIOS, CPU or Memory, the clever indexing will facilitate your search. Moreover, Ultimate Boot CD interface enables you to access its own FreeDOS and reboot the computer once you are done diagnosing the system. All in all, the Ultimate Boot CD interface is built for functionality. 

Pros

The database of the Ultimate Boot CD is amazingly extensive, thus the greatest feature of the application is its ability to diagnose a wide array of system issues. Moreover, in addition to diagnosing, the Ultimate Boot CD provides a set of disk utilities that allows users to address the problems found in the system. This includes, but is not limited to, partition managers, disk cloning, disk erasing, boot salvaging and data recovery applications. Furthermore, since the program bundle is part of an open source project, you can expect new features to be developed every day, while the bugs and obsolete functions are fixed and removed. Lastly, if you know a thing or two about computers, the package is entirely customizable. Consequentially, you can add, remove and keep up to date all the applications in the bundle, until you achieve the diagnosis tool of your dreams.

Cons

First of all, it is worthy to note that using the Ultimate Boot CD usually implies you have a somewhat technical background and consequentially, at least an intermediate know-how. However, although using the application is by no means a difficult job, customizing the bundle and keeping the antivirus software up to date is important. Moreover, for those who use CDs instead of USB flash drives, it will require burning a new one every time you want to update the software.

Alternatives

If for some reason you are not satisfied with the imbedded applications of the Ultimate Boot CD you can also try out Emergency Boot CD, DiskInternals Boot CD, Boot Editor or Boot Snooze. However, more often than not, the features the aforementioned applications provide are limited compared to Ultimate Boot CD.

Conclusion

Ultimate Boot CD is an open source diagnostic tool that has seen a lot of improvements over the years. It is extremely efficient in finding and correcting issues with your computer’s operating system and components, without the help of the OS. Therefore, no tech savvy should miss out on it.