17 Top Free XP Software

17 Top Open Source XP Software

These software are free to use for personal use. Some software are not free for business use, can contain advertising or adaware.

There are a large variety of software available on the internet, alot of which are trial versions or not very useful. Here are some of the software we at PC Callouts use on a regular basis in our work.
Please Note:
Last updated 03/07/08.

Each software contains:
A link to the top of this page.
Please discuss any problems or view user comments in our forum.
01. CD/DVD Burning - CD Burner XP Pro
02. Media Player - Windows Media Player
03. Registry Cleaner - RegSeeker
04. TFT Dead Pixels - Dead Pixel Buddy
05. CD/DVD Loader - Daemon Tools
06. PNG Compression - PNG Optimizer
07. Text File Editor - Metapad
08. Graphics Editor - IrfanView
09. PC Hardware Checker - Belarc Advisor		10. Junk File Remover - Crap Cleaner
11. Browser - Internet Explorer
12. FLV files - FLV Convertor
13. Performance Viewer - EPC
14. PDF Viewer - Foxit Reader
15. Software Framework - .NET Framework
16. Registry Compressor - NTRegOpt
17. Internet Speed - TCP/IP Optimizer

1. CD/DVD Burning - CD Burner XP Pro 4.1.2.678 (2.83mb)


This small application is very useful for burning a variety of different cd/dvd formats, data verification and allowing bootable discs. Its layout is quite good but not as usable as Nero. It is quite reliable most of the time, however occasionaly an error occurs.

2. Media Player - Windows Media Player 11 (23mb)


This is a much improved media player as it includes newer codecs and a more usable design. It features a more effective way to organise music into groups as well more skins to choose from. It's main problem is that it is a little bloated for just a media player.

3. Registry Cleaner - RegSeeker 1.55 (439kb)


This application is able to complete a variety of tasks including searching for items, uninstalling programs, clearing browser history and registry. Other tasks include searching for duplicate files and orphaned shortcuts. Users should always select the 'Backup registry' checkbox before use.

4. TFT Dead Pixels - Dead Pixel Buddy 1.1 (26kb)


This is a very simple and small application which fills the entire screen with a chosen colour or a changing colour after every 10 seconds. The only problem with this is it does not automatically stop Windows from going into standby. Stuck pixels can sometimes be fixed by selecting a white background for several hours.

5. CD/DVD Loader - Daemon Tools 4.12.3 Lite (3.53mb)


Here is a program which is extremely reliable when it comes to loading any type of cd/dvd image. This includes ISO and MDF formats. It has a simple to use interface, however the main problem is that the installation process is started after a restart is initiated. It also tries to install adaware in the installation process which should really be unchecked.

6. PNG Compression - PNG Optimizer 1.6 (106kb)


This useful software has a extremely simple design which allows a user to drag and drop a PNG, GIF, BMP or TGA file into the program. It immediately compresses that file(s) without losing any noticable quality. It also creates a backup of the file in the same directory. It's only weakness is that it doesn't support more file types. A very popular format missing is JPG which is used on many websites.

7. Text File Editor - Metapad 3.51 (48kb)


The programs main feature is that it allows hyperlinks in a simple editor. This can be useful when downloading a large number of files which are split into parts e.g. Rapidshare. It also has other more powerful features then Wordpad.

8. Graphics Editor - IrfanView 4.10 (1.1mb)


This compact software is able to complete many simple image tasks. These include resizing, rotating, drag and drop, croping, slide shows, batch conversion and many more. It also handles all major graphics formats.

9. PC Hardware Checker - Belarc Advisor 7.2x (1.59mb)


This program shows a quick overview of a systems software and hardware. It may not be as advanced as SiSoft Sandra, but it is free and displays the data quickly in a browser. It can quickly inform the user if there are any hardware not installed or software that is not properly fully updated.

10. Junk File Remover - Crap Cleaner 2.09.600 (2.78mb)


This can be a useful program to remove the junk files from internet explorer, windows explorer and windows system. It also allows the user to remove junk files from applications e.g. temp files as well remove registry junk and tweak the startup list. It's only problem is that it tries to install Yahoo Toolbar by default.

11. Browser - Internet Explorer 7 (14.7mb)


In terms of security and features this is an improvement over Internet Explorer 6. It allows the use of transparent PNG's which are becoming increasingly popular on websites. However, what let's it down is that the new interface is not easy to navigate for novice users.

12. FLV files - FLV Convertor 1.0 (4.6mb)


This simple tool is very effective for converting flash files downloaded from e.g. youtube using a firefox addon called DownloadHelper. It allows files to be converted to avi, mp3, wma and mp4. The interface looks very poor if no windows theme is used. It uses a tab layout to switch between the two types of conversion.

13. Performance Viewer - EPC (615kb)


Extensible Performance Counter allows the user to view information about performance counter DLL's that are installed on XP. These values are stored in the registry. They can be useful for troubleshooting and optimizing. Large IT networks may find this useful but a home user can disable these to stop logging.

14. PDF Viewer - Foxit Reader 2.3.2825 (2.55mb)


This is a simple and effective replacement for Adobe Acrobat reader which has become extremely bloated in recent years. For opening and printing most PDF files it works fine. However occasionaly formatting issues may occur and printing may not always work.

15. Software Framework - .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 (615kb)


This is an essential pre requisite program needed for running certain software e.g. Nlite. It is mainly used for running web-based, smart client and xml web service applications. Only one version is able to be installed at any one time. .NET Framework 3.0 is newer but not recommended as it is very bloated. For more versions of .NET, see xp essential updates.

16. Registry Compressor - NTRegOpt 1.1j (472kb)


Using this program you will be able to shrink the size of your registry and increase perforamnce. This is possible because it compacts the registry without removing keys which could potentially stop software from loading on your computer. For best results, a registry cleaner such as RegSeeker should be used first to remove many invalid keys.

17. Internet Speed - TCP/IP Optimizer 2.0.3 (596kb)


This program will allow you to increase the speed of your internet connection slightly by setting optimizing Windows to use your current internet speed. It allows you to run a speedtest which allows you to configure your connection speed to optimal speed settings.


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17 Top Open Source XP Software

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