There are countless tools that let you inventory the PCs in your organization--a critical step before deploying a new operating system--including Microsoft's own Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0.

However, not every tool will do exactly what you need it to do, which is why IT pros often rely on several different programs to accomplish various tasks.

Over at 4sysops, Michael Pietroforte has found his inventory/management tool of choice: the aptly named ManagePC. Here's how he describes it:

Take any machine in any AD domain and [ManagePC] will display a plethora of data about it as well as letting you control services, uninstall software, create scheduled tasks as well run standard stuff like MMC consoles, VNC etc. For such a small application it's amazing how many features are packed into it.

More specifically, ManagePC promises to inventory PC hardware, software, services, hotfixes, group policies, and more. It's a .NET-powered open-source program, so it won't cost your company a dime. Definitely worth a look!

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