PowerDesk for Windows

User Reviews

• How the mighty have falllen

  MartySBNovember 17, 2015

  Pros

  Still works great on Windows XP!

  Cons

  No longer functional on Windows 10. Will not install correctly. Crashes when it does install when trying to register.

  Summary

  Back in the 90s, I received a free copy of PowerDesk and quickly learned to use it as a replacement for the wimpy Windows File Manager. PowerDesk was fast, versatile and made moving / copying / synchronizing files easy and actually fun. It worked great with Windows 3.x and XP, but as Windows became more complex, PowerDesk became more and more stubborn. It would crash when trying to check the properties of a directory and the file sync sub-program became finicky. I upgraded to Windows 10 and finally said goodbye to PowerDesk. Avanquest has put nothing into maintaining the program and now it simply does not work. After nearly 20 years, I'm parting company with an old friend.

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• Does not work in Windows 10

  mrmikehAugust 11, 2015

  Pros

  Good file manager

  Cons

  Does not work in Windows 10

  Summary

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• Still a solid product

  jurgfellaJuly 2, 2015

  Pros

  Lots of useful features, including archiving, searching, renaming, synching, FTP, mapping network drives, etc.

  Cons

  Does crash sometimes, although I've found it to be reasonably reliable. Biggest drawback is that in age of software usually licensed for 3 to 5 computers, this program may only be installed on 1 computer. Even then, it occasionally wigs out and tells me that my installation is not licensed.

  Summary

  Good solid file manager, comparable to Directory Opus, although not quite as powerful. If you've been accustomed to it, as I have, much more comfortable to use than Windows explorer.

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• Better than Explorer but plenty of problems

  DK44June 3, 2015

  Pros

  East to view multiple drives

  Cons

  Often moves files when asked to copy. Often reports that a drive needs 'administrator-level' access but then fails to respond.

  Summary

  Adequate for many uses, clearly better than Explorer, but often has glitches for trivial tasks.

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• Buggy but better than WE by far.

  Phaedra_March 17, 2014

  Pros

  Fast searching Accurate searching User friendly interface

  Cons

  Buggy! Doesn't seem to play nice on a network. If you (or anyone else on your network)have done any searching until you close the program you hold all of the files "open" and no one else can either delete or open them. Tech and customer support is a JOKE and for that reason alone, I will not EVER purchase another license.

  Summary

  I preferred the previous version, fewer problems. Just dealing with sales/customer service to purchase made me not want to buy it. It is a great concept but not worth the headache.

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• unnecessary

  drdcmathisMarch 12, 2014

  Pros

  panes, firm delete rather than to recycle bin, ftp

  Cons

  terrible tech support slow ITS NOT FREE

  Summary

  get most of the same functions for free with explorer ++

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• Would not live without it!

  michaeltg09February 7, 2014

  Pros

  I have used PowerDesk for many years. Everything is at my fingertips versus having to jockey around in My Computer. Day to day computer operations are much simplified with PowerDesk. As for one user complaining about copying moves file, you need to hold down the Ctrl key when copying to prevent the file from moving.

  Cons

  It has problems moving or copying huge files sometimes and crashes occasionally, but all a person needs to do is close out of it and reopen it. Then, move the huge file with My Computer.

  Summary

  This is a tool that I would not do without.

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• When COPYING files it MOVES them Instead!!! AVOID!

  CrucialFeedbackJanuary 25, 2014

  Pros

  Lots of features. Great dual pane window. Version 7 and earlier were more reliable.

  Cons

  When you try to COPY files (by clicking the COPY icon or using shortcut keys) it MOVES the files instead. NOT TRUSTWORTHY!!! It's problematic at best. Liked version 5, 6, and 7 but v8 and 8.5 are trouble. Terrible, apathetic tech support.

  Summary

  After 3 weeks of using v8.5 I discovered that when COPYING files it would MOVE them instead. I didn't notice this with small files; I only noticed it when copying large files because the copy window appears, whereas with small files it barely even flashes on the screen. However, instead of saying "Copying" it said "Moving" in the window title dialog box. I freaked out. I have no idea how many files I moved from my PC to a backup drive which are no longer on my PC. When I first contacted Avantquest they told me they'd look into it. When I kept pressing tech support about the issue, I finally got an email stating they were aware of this problem as other users reported it too. I thought this was such a significant bug (for a file manager) and suggested they inform their unsuspecting users. But they never did. They never issued any fixes or updates either. They also refused to refund me because I was past the refund period. About 9 months later they issued v9. The copying/moving issue SEEMS to be resolved but I just can't trust it anymore because feel I have to double-check every time I copy a file whether I really copied it or moved it--which is a waste of time. I went from using PowerDeskPro exclusively to avoiding it. Thank goodness I discovered Directory Opus and XYplorer on Bits du Jour from comments made by other users.

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• Interface 9/10. Tools 8/10. Stability 1/10!

  Satviewer2000October 16, 2013

  Pros

  1. Excellent interface. 2. Good collection of features. 3. Useful tools and apps.

  Cons

  1. Frequently crashes and locks up Windows. 2. Frequently prevents Windows from shutting down. 3. If closed during a session, it frequently refuses to restart! 4. Why did they get rid of the floating tool bar from version 6???

  Summary

  I will say it again ... Oh why ... WHY does every version of this program cause crashes, lock-ups, and ESPECIALLY prevents Windows from shutting down properly?! Whenever I try to shut down Windows and it refuses to shut down, it is ALWAYS this program which freezes it up!

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• Definitely not worth it. Too frustrating

  RUKnight1990January 21, 2013

  Pros

  * Nice organizational view. * Easy to copy files from folder to folder * Incorporates in other programs, such as CCleaner. * Easy to format external drives.

  Cons

  * Crashes way to often, very frustrating * Unable to manage folders with large numbers of files. I have a music folder with over 3800 songs. It takes an ungodly amount of time to load. God forbid I need to leave that folder and go into another...might as well go get a cup of coffee while it reloads.

  Summary

  There are some positive features but the slow loading times and frequent crashes really make this program not worth paying for. If it were free, I could maybe rationalize the inconvenience.

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