Whether you use your PC for work or play, there’s a high likelihood that you use either Windows 11 or 10. But what do you do if your PC fails at delivering the seamless experience you’re expecting? What do you do when it starts lagging, takes forever to load, and stops being an effective tool? PC repair tools come to mind, but like driver updaters and third-party antivirus, these usually come at a cost.
Below, we’ll take you through the best free PC repair tools on the market for Windows 11 and Windows 10. You don’t need to break the bank in order to have a PC that runs like it just came out of the box.
What are PC repair tools?
PC repair tools are a class of software that identify and neutralize specific issues your PC may encounter. This, more often than not, results in better overall performance and user experience. Your PC is permanently performing operations in the background. It’s constantly occupying disk space, rewriting disk registry entries, and saving files. All this takes a toll on a PC eventually, causing it to malfunction. PC repair tools essentially flush your PC’s system and, in many cases, leave your PC performing like it’s brand new again.
The best free PC repair tools for Windows 10 & 11
Below is a list of all the best free alternatives to holistic PC care and repair that we could find. We haven’t ranked them in any particular order, but we’ll give a basic overview of each, along with honest, objective thoughts.
IOBit Driver Booster
Windows may be the preeminent operating system for over 72.9 percent of PCs (Statista), but the OS doesn’t always handle updates with the greatest care. Sometimes while your PC updates, the OS leaves out essential driver updates. Therefore, when your PC starts giving issues, sometimes the best first course of action is to check if your drivers are due for an update.
IOBit Driver Booster is really easy to use and claims to update and repair over 1,000,000 drivers. The utility also creates a system restore point before it initiates any updates, in addition to providing options for an automatic reboot and shutdown once the updates are complete. Finally, you can run updates before you head to bed without having to wait for them to finish and you can shut your system down. IOBit also has numerous other utilities you can explore and download within the Driver Booster interface.
FixWin
FixWin is primarily marketed at Windows 10 users, but the utility is so versatile you can use it to repair issues on Windows XP, 7, 10, and even Windows 11. The utility also claims to be able to fix virtually any issue you have with your Windows OS.
The FixWin interface is cleverly divided into six organized sections, letting you target specific problems wherever you may encounter them. Each section subsequently contains at least 10 options for repairing your system. Some of the fixes will require your system to reboot, but luckily the utility informs you of this if you hit the Fix button. You also have access to an Additional Fixes and Troubleshooters section for even more PC repair options.
Boot-Repair-Disk
Sometimes, the problem with a PC goes far beyond anything that can be repaired from the home screen. In those extreme cases, it’s essential to have a tool like Boot-Repair-Disk on hand. This is a tool that fixes boot-related issues on Windows systems. It achieves this by using a bare-basics version of Linux. The utility doesn’t provide much else apart from boot-repair capabilities, and it isn’t open-source, so you can’t see exactly what it does and how it operates. The pros are that it’s incredibly easy to use and is compatible with a vast array of PC hardware.
Tweaking.Com
This is another free, holistic approach to Windows system repair, claiming to fix a vast number of Windows issues. Some of these are registry errors, Windows updates, file permissions, and issues with Internet Explorer.
Tweaking.Com does place emphasis on systems affected by malware, though, so if that’s your problem, this is the solution. There isn’t really anything else on the market right now that deals with this specific issue. Tweaking.Com works toward fixing errors caused by malware by forcing changes to your PC’s settings. These settings are usually the first port of call for malware as they’re a hub for getting your PC to operate exactly how the threat actor behind the malicious software can use it to their benefit.
PC repair tool FAQs
Does Windows have a built-in repair tool?
Yes, Windows 10 and 11 have tools dedicated to PC repair. Sometimes, however, these aren’t adequate enough to fix the issues you may have with your PC.
Why do I need a third-party tool if Windows provides one?
Windows repair tools are brilliant for common issues you may run into with your PC, but third-party tools usually target much wider problems. You also usually have access to more features and fixes if you opt to use a third-party repair tool.
Are third-party tools safe?
We test and review all the apps we host comprehensively so that we can give you only the safest downloads. Sticking to those we mentioned is a good way to know you’re truly protected, and you should always research any tool you plan to introduce into your computing ecosystem.
Repair Windows quickly
PC repair is one of those topics we all eventually will have to deal with. Whether your system is bogged down by residual junk or whether you inadvertently infected your PC with malware, it’s always good to have a list of PC repair tools on hand. Since our computers perpetually process so much information, it’s remarkably easy for systems to become overwhelmed and start to malfunction.
But, the light at the end of the tunnel is that, in most cases, there is a fix for what you’re experiencing. All you need to do is find a dedicated tool, and it doesn’t have to be overpriced premium content. Free tools are more than good enough. Alternatively, you can read our guide on how to Factory Reset Windows 10 & 11.
