After playing around with Vista for a few months, I noticed that it is slowly eating up my hard drive space - and I couldn’t figure out where it is all going. A quick Google search made me realize that it uses a lot of gigabytes for ‘System Restore’. I rarely ever use this so it is really unnecessary for Vista to take 15+ GB for it - in my case. Here is what you can do to check how much space Vista is using for System Restore and to decrease it.

To check how much space is being used, go to command prompt with administrator privileges:

1. Click Start - All Programs - Accessories. Right click on ‘Command Prompt’ and click ‘Run as Administrator’.
2. Type the following in the command prompt:vssadmin list shadowstorage The results shown will be similar to this:

   Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 2.702 GB
   Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 2.933 GB
   Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 5 GB

3. If you feel like Vista is taking up too much space, then use this command to lower it:vssadmin resize shadowstorage /On=[Drive Letter]: /For=[Drive Letter]: /Maxsize=[space]For example, I executed this command to lower it to 2GB:

   vssadmin resize shadowstorage /On=C: /For=C: /Maxsize=2GB

This saved me more than 10 gigabytes, which I can use to store more essential files on the hard drive.

Source: Watching The Net

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Windows Vista is the new Operating System from Microsoft. It comes with many application that are already installed with it, but people tend to overlook them. These programs are incredibly useful and can keep you from buying expensive software that do the same thing.

Here are the top 5 applications that come pre-installed with Vista:

5. Windows DVD Maker

Ever wanted to make DVD’s to send to family and friends? This program allows you to do just that. As the name implies, it is a DVD creation program. Record videos with your camera, and easily make professionally looking DVD’s with menus.

4. Windows Media Center

Turn your computer into a media center. Windows Media Center makes it easy to access videos and music on the hard drive. It also has support for two dual-tuner cards, which allows you to watch TV on your computer. This can extend to turning your computer into a DVR - and recording any shows you want.

3. Windows Movie Maker

Did you see a really cool video on youtube and dreamed of making one yourself ever since? This programs allows you to create and edit your videos to make them look exactly like you want them to. Features include: titles and credits, transitions, effects, importing music and much more.

2. Snipping Tool

An easy to use screen capture tool which enables you to take screen shots of any place in the screen. After the screen shot is taken, it can be easily modified, saved, and even emailed. Very handy tool! (The screen shots that you see in the post were taken with this tool)

1. Windows Sidebar

Want to know the weather without having to browse to your favorite weather site? Add a weather gadget to your Windows Sidebar for instant access to weather - right on your desktop.
Windows Sidebar is a sidebar panel which allows you to add desktop gadgets. These are like small applications which can have various features. Some gadgets can show how much CPU or RAM a computer uses. Others can show you ebay items that you have your eye on. Still others can just show random pictures that you choose. The capabilities are endless because anyone can make a gadget and share it.