Track File and Registry Changes with WhatChanged
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While the installation and uninstallation process for most programs is fairly clean and simple, there are some programs that hide leftover data that system cleaners are unable to detect even after removal. Or maybe you want to run a suspicious application but want to know what it exactly does to your system. WhatChanged is a simple piece of software that allows you to scan your disk and registry state, save it, and later, re-scan and compare with the original to see what changed.
WhatChanged consists of a straightforward two-step process: obtaining a baseline state, then finding the changes in a later scan. The software allows you to choose which drives you want to scan, and optionally, various parts of the registry as well. The time it takes to find a baseline state is based on how many files you have and how big your hard drive is. WhatChanged will save a (long) list of what it’s dug up in the same directory that the program is running in.
After you’re done fiddling with your computer and you want to see the changes, simply open WhatChanged again and run Step #2. This step takes significantly longer than Step #1 because it has to compare your new hard drive and/or registry state to the text files it saved last time. When it’s all done, a text file for your files and registry changes will be generated (if there are any) with paths to all the modifications between the baseline and new scan.
WhatChanged is really handy for those who like to completely wipe applications from their system, and can even double as a security tool by detecting changes in your files and registry when running a suspicious program. It’s a free, portable download that works on all versions of Windows – unfortunately, it is no longer actively maintained.
