AMN Refrigerator - Software Review and User Report
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A cool CPU cooler (pun intended). This little utility installs as a 6 kB virtual driver (vxd file) and executes a halt (HLT) instruction each time the processor is idle. Reportedly, this doesn't slow down the computer, while keeping it cool and prolonging battery life.
Software Review - Pros
At first, there were several free utilities of this type available on the Web - Rain, Waterfall and CPUIdle for instance - but then they all sold out (i.e. were not free anymore, not to mention the rumours about CPUIdle trying to establish an outgoing Internet connection). So the only uncrippled, "nagless" free CPU cooler that I could lay my hands on was this russian cutie. My only problem is my machine (a Compaq Armada M700 notebook) doesn't have any hardware temperature sensors so I can't verify if the cooler works at all. Personally - by touching the casing - I can't tell the difference, it always seems to me that the computer is much hotter than I would like it to be. Anyway, I have a distinct feeling that the hottest part, at least in my case, is not the CPU but rather the HD, particularly after a prolonged use - or a defrag;P ... Besides, external (room) temperature is a major factor here. So I just keep using AMN Refrigerator, relying mostly on favorable reviews I've come across on the Net. All I can positively confirm is that it doesn't slow down the computer (at least not perceptibly). Anyway, it's one of the few remaining useful utilities that are still free and that hasn't been copied yet neither by Microsoft neither by Symantec's Norton Utilities.
Software Review - Cons
None whatsoever. Well, actually, now that I think of it... The English readme file. And I thought my English was bad!
User Report - Tips, Tricks and Tweaks
Remove Amnrefr.exe from the Registry
In the good ole HKLC\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run key of the Registry, Amnrefr.exe gets installed, so it runs every time you start Windows. It's of no use whatsoever (except for monitoring the percentage of time the HLT instruction gets executed and for freezing/unfreezing your computer on pressing the pause key - a rather useless functionality, I dare say), so it's best to remove it from inthere. Do not worry - the vxd virtual driver runs independently and will go on cooling your CPU none the less.
