Top 5 Best System Plugins for Windows You Don't Want to Miss Out
VhdAttach
Enables users to personalize context menu entries for VHD files by adding attach, detach, attach read-only, detach drives options, and others.
VHD Attach is an intuitive piece of software that creates new entries in the context menu of VHD files, allowing users to perform common operations like attaching or detaching them easily, without having to access the Disk Management console to do so.
The installation procedure includes intuitive steps and lets you pick the exact context menu entries you want to set up: open, attach, attach read-only, detach, and detach drive.
VHD Attach is wrapped in a user-friendly interface which consists of a regular window with a plain layout. You can add a new VHD file to the list by using either the file browser or drag-and-drop support.
It is required to allocate the virtual disk size (in MB or GB), select the type between dynamical expansion and fixed size, as well as choose the file format between VHD and VHDX.
The main frame shows the file path, name, size, attach patch, virtual and physical size, block and sector size, identifier, device and vendor ID, along with the provider subtype corresponding to the attached VHD item.
VHD Attach runs on a very low amount of CPU and RAM, so it does not affect the overall performance of the PC. Since it can be minimized to the taskbar, it does not disrupt normal user activity either. No error dialogs were shown in our evaluation, and the app did not hang or crash. All in all, VHD Attach serves it purpose and can be used by anyone.
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Win10 Widgets
Have the weather, the clock, the battery level, the resource usage, the Wi-Fi connections, and other important information on your desktop.
Many users fancy simple-to-use desktop widgets rather than full applications to provide them with the system information they need. With a look inspired by the modern interface of Windows 10, Win10 Widgets is a Rainmeter plugin that displays information at a glance regarding resource usage and other system details.
Deployed with Rainmeter for your convenience
Win10 Widgets is conveniently deployed along with Rainmeter but, if you already have the latter installed on your computer, you can simply download the RMSKIN file and then set up the widget collection.
The majority of widgets in the package are displayed by default, although there are some you must activate manually of you want them to be visible. A 'Welcome' widget offers one-click access to tutorial videos and other similar resources. And if you worked with Rainmeter before, you know that all the widgets are floating and easy to move around.
Weather forecast, resource usage and a Spotify player, all within reach
Win10 Widgets comprises a widget that shows you the weather prediction, including wind speed, visibility, humidity, and the time of the sunset and the sunrise. You can easily change the location and the unit type, or make the widget smaller if you think it takes too much of your desktop.
Alongside the weather, you can toggle the date and time, the battery usage, the Wi-Fi connections, and the volume control. Additionally, there are widgets to help you keep an eye on the CPU, the memory, the storage space, and the network traffic. However, all of these can be replaced by a combo widget, which monitors them all.
Last but not least, the collection includes a fully-functional player that integrates with Spotify, allowing one-click-away playback control.
Windows 10-inspired system information widgets
Whether you are already using Rainmeter or not, you should know that a skin such as Win10 Widgets delivers basic information about the system inside modern-looking floating widgets that are easier to handle than regular applications.
Although the array of widgets inside the collection can be improved and further enriched (for instance, a desktop search widget would come in handy to anyone), Win10 Widgets is worth a try, especially since its appearance completely blends with the Windows 10 desktop.
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Omnimo
A stylish and modern Rainmeter skin that resembles the Windows 8 Start Screen, helping you gain faster access to information and applications.
If you intend to transform your entire desktop into a news center, you can take a look at Omnimo. It's a stylish Rainmeter widget that provides you with news from various online sources such as BBC, CNN and Reddit, while giving you the possibility to customize it in detail when it comes to number of panels, colors and layout.
Turn your desktop into an elegant news center
To be able to set it up, you must have Rainmeter installed. During setup, you can opt for the Metric or Imperial system, along with dark or light interface mode. Then, you can pick a preferred theme and desktop resolution.
Omnimo mimics the Metro look, showing large flat buttons over a panel. You can check out the latest headlines, click links to read full articles, run Google searches, as well as quickly launch favorite apps.
Set up additional panels and addons
The Omnimo overlay is accompanied by a menu, which gets opened by clicking the hamburger button on the upper-right corner of the screen. From this area, you can temporarily hide the tool instead of exiting, set up additional panels, or install more addons.
As far as the style of the theme is concerned, it's possible to pick different colors, enable or disable Aero Glass effect, and adjust the opacity level of the overlay. In advanced mode, you can also change the font and sidebar colors.
Create and save different layouts
Different layouts can be arranged and saved to easily toggle them. Moreover, you can set a hotkey for toggling Omnimo, switch to another interface language, set a weather location, or ask the utility to automatically run on system startup and to hide the desktop icons on launch.
Taking into account its wide range of customization features as well as general ease of use, we think that Omnimo is capable of grabbing the attention of many users interested in creating a stylish news center on their desktops.
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VLC Media Player Backup4all Plugin
Once loaded in Backup4all, this backup plugin will allow backing up VLC Media Player languages, plugins, skins and configurations.
VLC Media Player Backup4all Plugin allows you to quickly configure the Backup4all application for backing up the VLC configuration. You can use it to create a backup without having to manually specify the files that need to be backed up.
When you need to migrate your applications to another computer or to reinstall the operating system you can preserve the configuration by backing up certain files. Unfortunately, not all the apps have the option to export the current settings which makes it hard to preserve your preferences.
Moreover, not all the user settings are saved in the same location. Some applications use the Windows user folder, others store the data in the registry or buried deep in the AppData folders which makes your task almost impossible.
If you are using Backup4all for creating regular backups, you require this plugin in order to tell the program where the important files are stored. It is a lightweight XML file which includes the location of the VLC plugins, skins, languages and OSD menu settings that need to be backed up.
It can save you a lot of time of browsing the files manually or searching the Internet for the default settings locations. You can also use this plugin to backup the registry files which complete the correct installation of the VideoLAN player.
The plugin can be used after installing it in Backup4all in order to create a backup job with its parameters. If you did not use a plugin for creating backup jobs you can read this tutorial provided by the developer.
Overall, the VLC Media Player Backup4all Plugin is a must-have tool for all the Backup4all users who want to back up VLC with minimum effort.
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RemoveDrive
Prepare removable drives for safe removal with just one click and without having to deal with various errors using this intuitive app.
RemoveDrive is a tiny piece of software that provides you with an efficient and quick method of safely ejecting removable drives from your system.
It allows you to use wildcards instead of the standard letters
The setup is straightforward and entails decompressing the archive in any desired location on your computer. While it does include an executable file, its role is mostly informative and you can learn more about the functions the app can perform. You can access the utility via the command line console, an option that some users can find slightly intimidating.
It is worth noting that the app is not dependent on the letters that are commonly attributed by Windows. As a matter of fact, you might as well use the device's ID string in your command to achieve the same result. Moreover, you can use wildcards, such as Flash, for instance, to eject the first drive with the keyword in the name.
It can help you detect the cause of the removal fail
You should know that you can even launch the program from the volume that you are attempting to remove by using the as drive command. Generally speaking, when trying to eject a drive in this manner, you are likely to get an error because the running EXE creates a temporary file that is running with the same parameters.
In the eventuality that the removal still fails, then the most probable cause is that an application or process is still accessing the drive. By employing the -h or -a parameters, you can find out more about the open handles on the drives along with the processes that prevent it from shutting down.
A useful tool for safely ejecting removable drives
In case you are on the lookout for a simple tool that allows you to remove your drives without having to spend extra time dealing with the errors that could pop up, then perhaps RemoveDrive could come in handy.
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