I recently needed to extract all the pages from a PDF file into separate documents. Previously, I had an old version of Adobe Acrobat. This was lost during a recent rebuild, and I could not justify paying for the latest version. Thus, I had a look into freeware and online tools. Since I do this quite infrequently, I decided to try out a free online service. This service has 6 functions:

• Split – http://www.splitpdf.com/
• Compress – http://www.pdfcompress.com/
• Merge – http://www.pdfmerge.com/
• Unlock – http://www.pdfunlock.com/
• Protect – http://www.pdfprotect.net/
• Rotate – http://www.pdfrotate.com/

I tried out the PDFsplit. It was a simple and quick process – Drop the file into the line, make some choices, click Split. The file is extracted accordingly and a ZIP file is produced with the desired results.

Would I recommend this for sensitive and confidential PDFs? No. But if you have open and simple PDF files that need to be processed, this is a great service.

From time to time, I have been asked to provide a review of software for evaluation. I found products from Kernel Data Recovery (www.kerneldatarecovery.com) to be simple to use and well worth the reasonable purchase price.

If you have ever lost data on your hard drive, or on a camera flash card or similar, the Windows Data Recovery tool (USD $49) will come in handy.

Using the tools is as easy as 1, 2, and 3.

ONE: Start the program and select Quick Scan.

TWO: Select the Drive to recover data from.

Confirm the Drive Information.

You will see the progress of what the program has found.

When it is done, click OK to acknowledge that you can use the more advanced tools to recover even more data if required.

THREE: Select the Files and Folders to be recovered.

Point the recovery path to another location on your computer.

Let the magic begin!

And when the process is complete, all the recovered files will be shown in the location that was selected.

The cost of losing data is often priceless, especially when considering that many digital photos could be the only memories from an event or of a loved one. If you have no backups, Kernel for Windows Data Recovery may be your only course of action.

Notes:

• Before you run the tool, did you look in the Recycled Bin?
• Run the tool as soon as possible BEFORE trying any other invasive data recovery techniques.
• This is a good time to remember to back up your data to other locations.

We’ve previously looked at this subject when Windows 7 was released. With the release of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012R2 on MSDN and Technet, there are many who will want to begin testing and checking out the final RTM versions of the products. For some, this usually means reformatting the USB drives and transferring the ISOs back to the USB disks.

I found a free new tool today – WinUSB Maker by Josh Cell Software. (http://joshcellsoftwares.com/products/winusbmaker/). This is a simple, easy to use, portable application, which works fast.

The process is simple.

1. Right-Click and Run the EXE with Administrator privileges
2. Select the USB drive
3. Select Setup to USB, then browse and choose the ISO
4. Click on Make Bootable
5. Click OK (or Enter) to acknowledge that the application will format the USB drive.

That’s it. In a few minutes, the process will be completed.