Microsoft has released a new set of desktop management tools for its commercial customers.

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2008 includes a number of tools designed to make it easier for IT managers and system administrators to manage and maintain large, corporate PC environments.

The new pack features Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DART) 6.0 and Desktop Error Monitoring (DEM) 3.0 SP1.

DART provides tools that allow IT staffers to debug and troubleshoot unbootable PCs. DEM lets them monitor application and operating system crashes, according to Microsoft.

New in DART 6.0 is a feature called Standalone System Sweeper, an anti-malware program that can scan a machine even if its Windows OS is unbootable. It's also designed to detect rootkits -- bits of malicious code that invade PCs at the administrator level -- and it can be updated with the latest virus and spyware definitions through a thumb drive or online downloads.

Microsoft said DEM 3.0 SP1 features an "improved look and feel" for graphic reports that help companies identify the most common software crashes and errors in their IT environment.

The new version can also be upgraded to Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager 2007 utility. "This will allow IT departments a deeper level of monitoring for your machines and the added ability to monitor your servers," said Microsoft's Chris Flores, in a blog on the Vista team site posted Wednesday.

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack 2008 is available to customers who have purchased previous versions of MDOP, along with Windows Software Assurance upgrade agreements, according to Flores.