Luckily Microsoft has made many PC maintenance procedures much more accessible and user-friendly in Windows 7. This includes the process of reducing the space allocated for restore points.

Here are the steps to change the hard disk space allocated for restore points in Windows 7:

In the Start menu, select Control Panel.

In the Control Panel, select System and Security, and then click System.

Next, click the Advanced system settings in the navigation panel on left-hand side.

In the System Properties dialog box, select the System Protection tab.

Then select drive in Available Drives and click the Configure button.

In the System Protection dialog box, use the Max Usage slider to adjust the space used for restore points. You can check Current Usage value to see how much hard disk space is in use for restore points at the moment. I would not recommend making it too small, 5% to 10% of the hard disk space is best.

If you want to reduce the amount of disk space used for restore points, you can also use the Delete button to remove all current restore points. Keep in mind that you cannot restore the system to a previous configuration anymore. Alternately use the Disk Cleanup option to remove all but the last restore point. This is exactly the same as cleaning up restore points in Vista.

Needless to say that the system restore logic needs a lot of hard disk space. In general, with modern, large hard disks this is not a big deal. But if you upgraded an older system to Vista, or even Windows 7, you might want to limit the size that Windows uses for the system restore.

How to Find Out the Disk Space Used by the System Restore in Vista

The first thing you want to do is find out how much disk space is actually used by Vista for the system restore function. Once the disk space is used by system restore, it is not available for any other use.

Start a command prompt window with administrator rights. The simplest way to do this is to type CMD at the Start menu and press the Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys at the same time. If you have a command prompt icon on the desktop, you can also right-click that, and select Run as administrator in the popup menu.

You might see the UAC message, where you need to click Continue before the command prompt window opens.

At the command prompt, type the following command:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

The result of the command will show the currently used shadow copy storage space, as well as the allocated and maximum shadow copy storage space.

By default Windows Vista will use up to 15% of the hard disk size for the system restore function.

How to Change the System Restore Space

The next step is to actually reduce the amount of disk space Vista will use for the system restore. This can be done with the same command, but with different parameters.

The command syntax is as following:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C: /maxsize=10GB

The command will show the successful execution of the command, after which you can close the command prompt window.

In this example I changed the system restore size on disk C, by limiting it to 10GB. The minimum size is 300MB, and if you omit the Maxsize parameter, there is no limit, Vista can use all free disk space for restore points. Not that we would want that!
And although the command parameters imply that it would be possible to create the system restore points for disk C on a different drive, this does not appear to be possible. You will receive the following error:

Error: The specific volume shadow copy storage association was not found.

Warning: Do keep in mind that when you reduce the maximum restore point size, you could be removing actual restore points. If the allocated shadow copy storage space is larger than the maximum size you specify, Vista needs to remove some restore points.

If you want to free up some disk space, you can also start by cleaning the older system restore points, which won’t change the maximum space used, but it will free up most of the current disk space used by restore points.

Removing old restore points can actually free up several gigabytes of disk space, since restore points can take up a lot of space. And if your system is running stable for quite some time, you have no need for the older restore point anyway.

Steps to Remove Old Restore Points

In the Start menu, click on My Computer.

Next, right-click the disk (generally the C: drive), and in the popup menu click Properties.

In the Properties window, click the Disk Cleanup button.

If you have more users, you will be asked whether you want to run the disk cleanup for all users or only for the current user. Select Files from all users on this computer. If the UAC comes up, click Continue.

Now wait for the Disk Cleanup window to appear, which can take a bit while Vista analyzes the space that can be freed up by compressing files.

Once the Disk Cleanup window shows up, click the Clean up button in the System Restore and Shadow Copies section.

This will bring up a warning about the impact of removing the older restore points. Click the Delete button to continue.

The removal process can take a few moments, so don’t be surprised if the OK button in the Disk Cleanup window is not immediately responsive. Just click it and eventually the regular Disk Cleanup confirmation window will show up. You can either select Delete Files or Cancel, this does not affect the restore points anymore.

Now have a look at the free space on the disk again to see the impact of removing the restore points.

If you have used Windows computer a little longer, you will also know the drawback of installing a lot of software. Your hard disk grows fuller and fuller, and, probably worse, the Windows Registry also gets larger and larger. With today’s hard disk sizes, the disk usage is not a big problem anymore, but a growing registry will make Windows slower.

The bigger problem is if we uninstall software, as program cleanup is not the strongest side of most software manufacturers, while the Windows architecture also does not help. Again, the disk cleanup is not a big problem, as long as you regularly defragment your hard disk.

But since most programs install settings and configuration in the Windows Registry, cleaning up the registry is also important. And most programs do not do a good job there for various reasons. Some software makers just don’t think it is important, and in other cases things are left in the registry deliberately to track trial periods or keep version history.

Although it is possible to uninstall a program, manually remove all files, and clean up the registry, it is a lot of work and you can not always be sure everything is gone. So why not use a program to do all this for you? In the past we reviewed Perfect Uninstaller, and today we are taking a look at SecureUninstaller.

Installation

The SecureInstaller program can be downloaded from the SecureUninstaller website. Installation is a matter of running the downloaded installer, and going through the steps in the installation wizard.

The program will create a desktop icon which can be used to start the program.

Main Screen

The program window that comes up when the program is started is simple, and shows a list of all the software installed on your computer.

You can select a program to see the Program Information, which may or may not be available, depending on what the software manufacturer made available during the installation.

A very nice feature of SecureUninstaller is that you can actually Restore Programs after you uninstall them. The program keeps track of whatever is removed, even in the Windows Registry, and is able to restore the complete program using those details.

If we look at the Settings, we see that SecureUninstaller has three different modes of operation. Each level does a more thorough job of cleaning remnants of the software of your computer.

The uninstall process will be slower for a more thorough cleanup, but it will also do a better job of cleaning the files and registry settings belonging to the uninstalled software.

Uninstall a Program

To test the program, we tried uninstalling a few program using SecureUninstaller.

When a program is selected, all that is required by the user is to click the Uninstall button. After a confirmation, the program creates a Restore Point and starts scanning for all traces of the program.

This can take a while, depending on the mode of operation selected in the Settings. From what we can see, it will check a number of folders commonly used for application files, as well as the Windows registry.

Once the scan completes, the SecureUninstaller invokes the standard program uninstall to complete the process.

When done the uninstalled program will show up in the Restore Programs list in case the user changed his mind and wants to restore the uninstalled software. We also tested that, and in the cases we tried, the software ran as before! I am sure these will be exceptions, where the certain software uses a licensing mechanism that does not allow it to be uninstalled and restored easily, but in most cases the folders, files and registry settings will be sufficient to restore the program.

One aspect that is confusing in the SecureUninstaller interface is the presence of both an Uninstall and a Delete button. Only by hovering over them with the mouse did we see what the difference is, the Uninstall button actually invokes the software uninstall, while the Delete button can be used to simply remove the software title from the Add/Remove Programs list in Windows. The latter can be useful in case a program was removed, but still shows up in the Add/Remove Programs list in the Control Panel.

Conclusion

SecureUninstaller appears to be a handy little program to remove software from your computer. It is not free, but at a price of US $29.95, it does what you would normally need a registry cleaner for anyway.

We especially like the option to restore programs after you uninstalled them, as it has certainly happened a few times that we had to reinstall software we previously thought we would not need anymore.

The SecureUninstaller program has a local help file with clear instructions on how to use it, and it has a link to a dedicated support site, which we have not needed, nor tested.

But since a lot of people are now also buying eBooks, and audio books, the All My Books software needed an update to include support for these two new book types.

All My Books version 2.0 now supports eBooks and audio books, in the most popular eBook formats (including PDF and EPUB), and MP3, OGG, and WMA formats for audio books. Another new feature is that you can print your book collection from the program using a variety of templates.

Cataloging your books has never been easier. Create your own personal collection, add books using online title and ISBN databases, and rate each book once you read it! You can even share your book collection with friends by sending them a CHM file (similar to a Help file).

The program has a very user-friendly interface and possesses all features required for a good book cataloging program. Users can download a trial version on the Bolide Software website, and a full version can be purchased at US$39.95.

Basically the installer cannot open part of the installation package. This can be an NTFS access issue, a problem with the downloading of additional install components, or a problem with the Windows Installer version.

Solving Installer Error 1619

The first step is to make sure you have the latest service pack installed on your Windows version. This should ensure that you have the latest Windows Installer. If you still have problems with the Windows Installer, try downloading and installing the latest Windows Installer version manually.

Updating the Windows Installer should also fix the access issue, where the user does not have the proper right in the NTFS folder that is used by the installer. If it does not help, check the access rights for the current user in the installation folder, or log in as a user with administrator rights and try the software install again.

When the installer is trying to download additional installation components from the web, like the Java Runtime library, installer error 1619 can mean problems with the Internet access. So always check the firewall settings in those cases, and ensure the installer has web access. This is most common with the Microsoft firewall actually.

There is one more possibility for installer error 1619 to occur when you try to install an application that was developed with Visual Studio .NET with Web Bootstrapper settings, but for that please check the Microsoft Knowledge base article as it is rather specific. The issue is still that an installer package can not be downloaded though.

When an installation fails, please make sure you uninstall or remove the failed installation first, because many successive installation problems can be the result of a failed initial installation. So when upgrading, always consider uninstalling an older, existing version first.

The main challenge with laptops is that the battery life can often be better. All this CPU speed, high graphics performance and huge amounts of RAM require more power. Although laptop manufacturers are creating laptops with batteries that last longer, there are a few things that you can do yourself to maximize the time your laptop can run on battery.

Most of these tips are focused on Windows, although some of them apply in general.

Ten Things to Maximize Battery Life

1. The first thing you should consider is to remove the battery when you run it with the power supply connected. This will help the battery life in general, as it prevents the continuous loading cycle (which is limited for all batteries!).
   Modern laptops often have circuits that make sure the battery is not used when plugged, but temperature also affects the battery life, so removing it helps by limiting the heat exposure.
   Also check laptop manufacturer’s recommendations, like <a href=”http://h20239.www2.hp.com/techcenter/battery/Battery_max.htm”>HP</a>.
2. Make sure to configure your power settings appropriately. The power plan of your laptop allows you to turn off the screen and hard disks after a defined amount of time when the computer is not used. Define these periods as short as possible to maximize battery life.
3. Disable Bluetooth and WiFi when not required. When you are watching a movie, or typing a document and you do not need to be online, disable the wireless devices. This will help save power, as the Bluetooth concept will make the laptop look for other Bluetooth devices, or make sure it sends a signal to allow the laptop to be found by other Bluetooth devices. The WiFi network card will also constantly look for available WiFi networks when enabled.
4. Reduce the screen brightness when possible. The LCD screen can actually help extend battery life a lot by reducing the brightness a few shades. This is exactly when most mobile phones turn of the display so quickly by default.
5. In line with the previous tip, you should disable the screen saver. Primarily intended to prevent the screen to burn in, a screen saver actually consumes more power because the CPU is active and the video card and display are used as well. Put it to blank or disable the screen saver.
   
6. In addition to disabling the Bluetooth and wireless devices, also disconnect any external devices when not needed in battery mode. A USB or wireless mouse, a USB memory stick, external hard disk or any PCMCIA card that is not required should be removed. Use the touchpad to control the mouse instead.
7. Disable any scheduled tasks that involve a lot of disk access. Virus scans, defragmenting the hard disk, or any similar maintenance task will involve a lot of hard disk access and consume more power. These tasks are best run when the laptop is plugged.
8. Also check your startup programs and active program and close any program that you do not need. The more programs you have running, the more CPU time is used and if too much memory is used, Windows will increase the use of the virtual memory, which again uses hard disk access.
9. Use a headset instead of the speakers. In general laptop speakers are not too good anyway, so use a cabled headset with a jack if possible. Although there are USB headsets and speakers and even wireless headsets, these will require more power (especially if you need to use WiFi or Bluetooth again). The volume of the sound will also affect the power consumption, so using a good quality headset might allow you to reduce the volume a notch.
10. Update the Bios and the drivers. Computer manufacturers make improvements their software all the time to improve the way the hardware is used. Updating the Bios will ensure you have the latest version and give maximum compatibility with the all power saving features the operating system. The same applies to the device drivers. Drivers control all aspects of the hardware devices, including the power saving modes of the device.

These are just some ideas on how to save power on your laptop and maximize battery life. A few are things that require just a one-time action and others need actions whenever you switch from plugged to battery operation. Even if you might not ending up using them all, I hope one or two will help you enjoy your notebook a little longer when running on battery.

Do you have any more ideas on saving power with your laptop in battery mode? Leave a comment and I will update the list!

Tip: automatically scan your laptop for outdated device drivers.

In some computer systems you can optimize the IDE controller to ensure direct memory access allows the controller to maximize the throughput speed, but there are also settings at disk level that help improve the hard disk performance.

Maximize Disk Performance in Vista

To enable the disk options that will maximize disk performance in Vista, open up the Device Manager from the Control Panel.
In the Device Manager, open up the Disk drives category, and right click the hard disk. In the popup menu, select Properties.

This will bring up the hard disk properties. In the example, the test system has 2 Hitachi disks.
In the hard disk properties window, select the Policies tab.

Now make sure that the Enable write caching on the disk and Enable advanced performance options are selected. If they are already selected, great, the disk performance is maximized, but if not, select the checkboxes and click OK.
As you can see in the description of the options, there are risks when you do not have reliable power, so if you have regular power outages, these options should not be used. Personally I have been using them for years already, without problems.

These steps are almost identical for Windows XP and Windows 7, but the available options can vary depending on your disks. In some cases the Enable advanced performance is not available, and in some cases both options are not available.

Even with these settings, don’t forget to do a disk cleanup and defrag on a regular basis to keep your hard disks operating at maximum performance.

But what if you need to share a file or document with someone else and it has sensitive information in it? Most people use email to send documents to each other, although online file sharing services are also common these days. In either case, you don’t want anyone to access the information in the document for whom it is not intended.

The solution? Encrypt your documents.

Encryption is as old as people having secrets from each other. Computers and technology have made encryption more powerful and easy to use at the same time. Using encryption software, you can encrypt a file on your computer, and send it to your friend or colleague, who can decrypt the file using a password.

A simple and free solution to encrypt your documents and email attachments is called AxCrypt. You can download AxCrypt from the manufacturer’s website. Make sure you download the right version for you Windows system architecture 32-bit or 64-bit.

Once you have installed AxCrypt on your system, you can right-click any file in the Windows Explorer, and select AxCrypt in the popup menu.

There are a number of options in the AxCrypt menu. The Encrypt option will encrypt the original file, and add the extension .axx. The Encrypt a copy menu option will create a copy of the original file, encrypt it and add the extension .axx. Encrypt copy to .EXE finally will create a self-decrypting version of the file, which will make it easier for the recipient of the file to decrypt it.

The simplest method of encryption will ask the user for a passphrase to use for encryption.

You can let the program remember the passphrase for decryption (only useful on your local computer of course), and you can let the program use the entered phase phrase as the default for other the encryption of other files.

Once encrypted, the files will have a file extension .axx and right-clicking a file with the .axx extension will show a Decrypt option in the AxCrypt popup menu. You will need to enter the passphrase when you decrypt an encrypted file, so make sure you share the passphrase with the recipient of the file. Best way is to tell them verbally or by phone, use a mobile text message, as that will prevent interception by anyone. The program will ask the user where the decrypted file should be saved.

AxCrypt uses 128-bit AES encryption, so it offers a decent level of protection. If you want to improve the level of protection, you can use a Key-File instead of a passphrase for encryption. This is a small file with random data in it, which ensures better security than a passphrase. AxCrypt will automatically generate a key-file for you.

So the next time you send an attachment with personal or sensitive data in it, don’t rely on your ISP for a secure connection, but instead consider encrypting the document with AxCrypt or a similar solution.

The quickest way to free up hard disk space is of course to remove some large files. But how do you know which files are taking up most of the disk space? No Windows tools can tell you this. So the best option is to use a 3rd party tool, like JDiskReport. JDiskReport is a free, Java based, application that can scan you hard disk for large files. Another option is TreeSize, a program we discussed earlier.

Start by downloading JDiskReport, and in case you do not have the Java runtime installed, you will need to install that too. The program can be installed with all the default options.

Once installed, double-click the icon on your desktop, and follow the program instructions to select a disk or folder to scan and wait for the results to come up.

Keep in mind that the scan can take some time on a full, large size, hard disk.

Once the scan completes, you will see the results in a nice pie chart.

You can now drill down by selecting the various folders for more details.

A very useful option however, is the Top 50 tab. This will show the largest files in the selected folder. This allows you to quickly find the files that take up a lot of disk space and check if they are required or not.

If you have located a file that you want to delete, you can right-click the file or folder, and select Open Explorer in the popup menu. This will open a Windows Explorer window, where you can then delete the file.

Warning: Before you delete any files or folders, make sure you create a backup and check if the file is really not required anymore. For user files this can be simply determined, but if you remove installation files or other files, it is not always easy to check if a file is required.

In the case of programs files, always first try uninstalling the program from the Control Panel. Then check again with JDiskReport if any setup files are left behind.

Other Program Options

There are a few more features in JDiskReport that can be used. The first is the Size Dist tab. This will show a graph that represents the distribution of file sizes. This is not directly of any practical use, but it can tell you if a folder consists of mostly large files or a lot of small files.

The next tab is called Modified, which shows a distribution of the files according to their last usage. This is more useful as you can see whether or not you have a lot of files that are rarely used. That information can then be used to check which files are hardly ever used, so you can perhaps move them to an offline location.

Keep in mind that with almost all functions, you can simply drill down on more detail by clicking subfolders in the Folder pane on the left. Some reports are only available up to 3 levels deep, which is a pity, but can still be helpful.

JDiskReport can also save the scan results so you can retrieve it later. Especially for large hard disks, where the scan takes time, this is useful.

JDiskReport can be used on almost any storage device, so if you want to clean up your USB stick or external hard disk, go right ahead and run JDiskReport on it.

Lastly… don’t forget to run a disk defrag after removing files, as this will help use the freed up disk space in the most effective manner.