pc-powershelltools

Windows maintenance, repair and network diagnostics: a PowerShell module with a GUI on top.

Disclaimer These tools are provided as-is. I am not liable for any system issues or damages resulting from their use.

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What is here

Component	What it is
PCTools module	Every action, as ordinary PowerShell commands. Supports -WhatIf.
PC Tools shell	One GUI over the module: Maintenance, Network, Preferences, Log.
pc-cleanuptool.ps1, pc-netdiag.ps1	The original single-file tools. Still work, no longer developed.
quickspeedboost.ps1	A console script. See the note below.

The module is the product; the GUI is a face on it. Anything the window can do, a console session or a scheduled task can do too.

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Install

Download the release archive, verify it, and run it from disk:

# 1. Download the current release and its checksums
$version = 'v0.4.0'
$base    = "https://github.com/likeBloodMoon/pc-powershelltools/releases/download/$version"
Invoke-WebRequest "$base/pc-tools-$($version.TrimStart('v')).zip" -OutFile pc-tools.zip
Invoke-WebRequest "$base/SHA256SUMS" -OutFile SHA256SUMS

# 2. Check the hash against the published list before running anything
$actual   = (Get-FileHash pc-tools.zip -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()
$expected = (Select-String -Path SHA256SUMS -Pattern 'pc-tools-.*\.zip').Line.Split(' ')[0]
if ($actual -ne $expected) { throw 'Checksum mismatch - do not run this file.' }

# 3. Extract and launch
Expand-Archive pc-tools.zip -DestinationPath .\pc-tools
.\pc-tools\pc-tools.ps1

From the PowerShell Gallery

Once a release is published there, this is the least ceremony:

Install-Module PCTools -Scope CurrentUser
Import-Module PCTools
Invoke-PCMaintenance -ProfileName Quick -WhatIf

The Gallery gives you signed-package verification, versioning and Update-Module for free, which is everything the irm | iex route does not. It installs the module only; the GUI comes with the release archive.

Or clone the repository and run .\pc-tools.ps1.

A note on irm | iex

Earlier versions of this README told you to pipe a script straight from the main branch into iex as Administrator. Those commands still work and are kept below so existing links do not break, but understand the trade: main is whatever was pushed to it most recently, so you are running unreviewed, unpinned, unverified code with full administrator rights.

If you use them, pin to a release tag rather than main:

# Legacy single-file tools, pinned to a tag
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/likeBloodMoon/pc-powershelltools/v0.4.0/pc-cleanuptool.ps1 | iex
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/likeBloodMoon/pc-powershelltools/v0.4.0/pc-netdiag.ps1 | iex

The verified download above is the recommended path.

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Using the GUI

.\pc-tools.ps1              # dark theme
.\pc-tools.ps1 -Theme Light

• Maintenance - pick a profile, press Preview to see exactly what would run without changing anything, then Run maintenance. Results show status, space reclaimed and detail per action.
• Network - a verdict banner naming the failing layer ("DNS is not resolving") rather than a table of pass/fail rows to interpret yourself, plus the adapter list and the common fixes.
• Preferences - checkboxes that reflect what Windows currently has set. Clearing one restores the Windows default.
• Log - everything the session has done. The full log is on disk; the path is in the log pane at startup.

Long-running work happens on a background runspace, so the window stays responsive during a DISM or SFC run.

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Using the module

Import-Module .\src\PCTools\PCTools.psd1

Get-Command -Module PCTools
Get-Help Invoke-PCMaintenance -Full

Preview before committing to anything:

Invoke-PCMaintenance -ProfileName Recommended -WhatIf

Run it for real:

Invoke-PCMaintenance -ProfileName Quick |
    Format-Table Action, Status, FreedDisplay, Detail

Diagnose a network problem:

$report = Get-PCNetworkReport
$report.Verdict.Verdict   # e.g. 'DNS is not resolving'
$report.Verdict.Advice
$report | Export-PCReport

Save and restore adapter configurations:

Export-PCNetworkProfile -Name Ethernet -ProfileName Office
Get-PCNetworkProfile | Format-Table ProfileName, Adapter, Dhcp, IPv4Address
Import-PCNetworkProfile -ProfileName Office -WhatIf

Define your own maintenance profiles in JSON:

{
  "profiles": [
    {
      "name": "Weekly",
      "description": "What I actually run on Fridays",
      "restorePoint": false,
      "actions": [
        { "action": "Clear-PCTempFile" },
        { "action": "Clear-PCBrowserCache", "parameters": { "Browser": ["Chrome"] } }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Import-PCConfiguration -Path .\my-profiles.json
Invoke-PCMaintenance -ProfileName Weekly -WhatIf

Action names are validated at import, so a typo fails there rather than partway through a run. A profile named the same as a built-in overrides it.

Individual actions:

Clear-PCTempFile
Clear-PCBrowserCache -Browser Chrome, Edge
Set-PCDnsServer -Name Ethernet -Preset Cloudflare
Set-PCPreference -Name DarkMode, ShowFileExtensions -Enabled $true
Set-PCPreference -Name DisableMouseAcceleration -Enabled $false   # revert
Repair-PCSystemImage -ScanOnly

Test-PCRoute -Target 1.1.1.1          # where does connectivity stop
Test-PCMtu                            # large transfers stalling?
Get-PCWirelessStatus                  # signal, band and rate

Maintenance profiles

Profile	What it does
Quick	Reclaim disk space. No repairs, no restart.
Recommended	Quick, plus the Windows Update cache and a health scan. Restore point first.
Full	Adds component-store and system-file repair. Can run for an hour; expect a restart.
NetworkRepair	Diagnose, then apply the standard network fixes. Requires a restart.

Prefetch cleanup and the network stack reset are deliberately not in any general profile. Both cost you something, and neither belongs in a preset someone runs without reading. They remain available as individual commands.

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Safety

• Every mutating action supports -WhatIf. The GUI's Preview button is the same code path that performs the work, so the plan cannot drift from the action.
• Restore point as a gate. Profiles that repair or reset take a checkpoint first, and abort if one cannot be created. Override deliberately with -SkipRestorePoint.
• Reset-PCNetworkStack is high impact and says so. Resetting Winsock removes third-party layered service providers, which is what breaks some VPN clients until they are reinstalled. Use -SkipWinsock to avoid that.
• Failures are reported, not swallowed. DISM, SFC, CHKDSK and winget exit codes are interpreted; a failed repair does not look like a successful one.
• Everything is logged to %LOCALAPPDATA%\PCTools\logs, rotated at 2 MB.

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Requirements

• Windows 10 or 11
• Windows PowerShell 5.1 (the GUI uses WinForms). The module itself also loads under PowerShell 7.
• Administrator rights for repair, network and system-cache actions. The shell runs without them and offers a Restart as admin button; actions that need elevation fail with a clear message rather than a cascade of access-denied errors.

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Development

./build/Invoke-Build.ps1 -Task All       # Pester suite, then PSScriptAnalyzer
./build/Invoke-Build.ps1 -Task Test
./build/Invoke-Build.ps1 -Task Release   # stage out/ and write SHA256SUMS

CI runs the suite on both Windows PowerShell 5.1 and PowerShell 7. Releases are built from a tag, checksummed, and Authenticode-signed when a signing certificate is configured.

Layout:

src/PCTools/      the module - Public/ by domain, Private/ for helpers
src/Shell/        the WinForms shell
tests/            Pester: syntax, module contract, unit, shell static analysis
build/            the single Test/Analyze/Release entry point

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About quickspeedboost.ps1

It is kept for reference, but most of what it does is counterproductive: EmptyWorkingSet on every process forces those pages straight back off disk, and purging the standby list discards the cache Windows built to make things fast. Killing dwm.exe is the sharpest edge in the repository.

The parts worth having - temp cleanup, DNS flush, a safe Explorer restart - are in the module as Clear-PCTempFile, Clear-PCDnsCache and Restart-PCExplorer. Restart-PCExplorer waits for the shell to come back rather than sleeping a fixed two seconds and hoping, which is how the original could leave you with no taskbar.

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Roadmap

See ROADMAP.md. Phases 0-5 are done - the Gallery publish step is wired up and runs on a tagged release once an API key is configured.

On the "portable executable" item: ps2exe output is unsigned and reliably trips SmartScreen and antivirus heuristics, which is worse for trust than the current script. The signed module plus the checksummed archive is the better answer unless a code-signing certificate is in the budget.

Suggestions and contributions are welcome.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.