Although it would be easy for suites such as this to appear like a lucky-dip of individual programs, V-Com has done a reasonable job keeping the majority of tools tidy and organised.

A single user interface integrates the utilities, with a Quickstatus panel keeping track of what maintenance tasks you’ve run and what needs to be updated.

These include antivirus scanning (based on Trend Micro’s software), hard drive fragmentation and health and anti-spyware.

A personal firewall is provided courtesy of Sygate Technology, which was recently acquired and subsequently discontinued by Symantec.

Systemsuite’s individual diagnostic tests and utilities are quite complex and detailed but four one-stop tools provide simple, wizard-driven routines that clean, repair or speed-up your PC.

The fourth wizard (and one has to question why it isn't the first) is an all-in-one option that applies all the solutions in one go.

Other tools include a registry optimiser, atomic clock synchronisation and hardware diagnostics. You also get a hard drive failure early warning system, file recovery program and secure eraser.

A desktop file manager, anti-spam and Web privacy utilities are also thrown in, but sadly none are integrated with the rest of the suite.

Despite its range of features, there are other products that do a better job of integration such as Iolo System Mechanic Pro , which can run multiple simultaneous high-level operations in the background.

With System Suite you must run tools one at a time.

While System Suite 6 is a comprehensive and powerful toolbox in the hands of an advanced user, the interface needs to be more confidence-inspiring for less experienced customers to get the most from it.

System Requirements:
32MB Ram
115MB disk space
Windows 98/Me/2000/XP