SpaceSniffer to Analyse Disk Space

SpaceSniffer is a good disk space analysis tool. It displays much like SpaceMonger (which I like) but is kept updated without fee. Start as Admin or it will error on C:. It will auto update HD info as the drive is altered so no refresh needed, a nice little program.

Why use it? To get a graphical representation of file/folder space on a hard drive. It is much easier to determine what is eating up you HD with a picture worth a thousand words.

Credit: PCMech

Recover Browser Passwords

Another handy little program from Nirsoft.

WebBrowserPassView is a password recovery tool that reveals the passwords stored by the following Web browsers: Internet Explorer (Version 4.0 - 8.0), Mozilla Firefox (All Versions), Google Chrome, and Opera. This tool can be used to recover your lost/forgotten password of any Website, including popular Web sites, like Facebook, Yahoo, Google, and GMail, as long as the password is stored by your Web Browser.

I don't allow my Browsers to save passwords but occassionally one slips through. This find them for me so I can eliminate the records from my system. Occasionally a friend will ask for assistance in "speeding up" their system. We can preserve their passwords before cleaning with this program.

Move the Users Directory in Windows 7

Move the Users Directory in Windows 7:

LifeHacker has a good explanation of using junctions

This seems to be an easier way to move profiles with junctions.

This is the same as Lifehacker but clearer (and the one I used)

This is the essentials:

2 cautions:
1. X:\ is probably the virtual repair drive so don't try to perform action with X as an option.
2. Two word lables need to be in quotations "Program Files", or you will get a syntax error.

Enter Recovery (be careful about drive designations)
For most users, this can be accessed by pressing F8 at boot, and choosing “Repair your computer,” but is also present on a Windows install DVD.

robocopy "E:\Users" "D:\Users" /COPYALL /MIR /XJ
robocopy "E:\Program Files" "D:\Program Files" /COPYALL /MIR /XJ
robocopy "E:\Program Files (x86)" "D:\Program Files" /COPYALL /MIR /XJ

rmdir "E:\Users" /S /Q
rmdir "E:\Program Files" /S /Q
rmdir "E:\Program Files (x86)" /S /Q

mklink "E:\Users" "D:\Users" /J
mklink "E:\Program Files" "D:\Program Files" /J
mklink "E:\Program Files (x86)" "D:\Program Files (x86)" /J

Now, reboot. If all goes well, you should see something similar to the image below. Both Program Files and Users directories still exist, but now possess a small shortcut icon.

I did this and it works. I am still confused about seeing the folders on C:  Yes the Users (etc) folder has a junction shortcut symbol but the folders under Useres do not. I presume they are symbolic.

Search The Contents Of Files Quickly With File Searcher | PCMech

Search The Contents Of Files Quickly With File Searcher | PCMech: "I have previously written about the Everything tool which quickly searches your hard drive for particular files. The problem with this utility is it only searches based on the file name and not the contents. For for situations where you need to search for text inside of a file, check out the File Searcher utility."

Comments: "Quickly" may not be the right word for File Searcher but it works, although I have only given it one shot. It can be extracted and used without installing. Specific folders can be selected to cut down on process time. It found my search phrase in .xls, .zip files so far. It talks awhile but if you just can't find that old file, this can do it. The program seem to challenge my dual core P8600 at times and things bog down periodically, coming to a standstill at times. So this is not something for casual use. I finally had to use Task Manager to kill it. I'm going to try installing and see if it plays nicer with friends.