Donwside of dual-boot

If you've set up a dual-boot system with Windows XP and Windows 7 (or Windows Vista) on the same system, you should be aware of one unfortunate side effect caused by this configuration. When you boot into Windows XP, the system wipes out all restore points created by the later Windows version. New restore points are created at the usual times when you return to Windows 7, but all previous restore points are gone. This unfortunate state of affairs is caused because Windows XP doesn't recognize the format of the newer restore points; assuming they're corrupt, it deletes them and creates new ones.

Create a virtual disk

In the Backup And Restore Control Panel, click Create A System Image in the left pane and follow the prompts to select a backup destination. The disk space requirements for an image-based backup can be substantial. Windows will warn you if the destination you choose doesn't have sufficient free disk space.

System images are stored in virtual hard drive (.vhd) format. Although the data is not compressed, it is compact because the image file does not include the hard drive's unused space and some other unnecessary files, such as hibernation files, page files, and restore points. Incremental system image backups on a local drive are not written to a separate folder. Instead, new and updated files (actually, the changed blocks in those files) are written to the same .vhd file. The older blocks are stored as shadow copies in the .vhd file, allowing you to restore any previous version.

Single User Mode / Multi-user Mode

Change to single user mode: change user /install (When you want to install/uninstall a program)
Chnage to multi-user mode: change user /execute

Encrypt your hard drive using BitLocker

Don't have TPM(Trusted Platform Module)? No worries, here is the link shows you how to encrypt your HDD:
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/networking/?p=2248&tag=rbxccnbtr1

Files that do not go to the recycle bin

The following kinds of deletions do not go to the Recycle Bin:

Files stored on removable disks

Files stored on network drives, even when that volume is on a computer that has its own Recycle Bin

Files deleted from a command prompt

Files deleted from compressed (zipped) folders

What does an index do?

The index is constructed dynamically by the Windows Search service, Search-Indexer.exe. The indexer crawls through all locations that are prescribed to be indexed, converting the content of documents (in supported formats) into plain text and then storing the text and metadata for quick retrieval.

Remove personal metadata for privacy's sake

To scrub a file of unwanted metadata in Windows 7, select one or more files in Windows Explorer, right-click, and then click Properties. On the Details tab, click Remove Properties And Personal Information. This opens the Remove Properties dialog box, an example of which is shown Above.

Some useful shortcuts

F11 Maximize

Windows logo key + E to open Windows Explorer

Inside Out: Zip through Windows Explorer with keyboard shortcuts
Pressing Ctrl+N in Windows Explorer opens a new window on the same folder. Ctrl + W closes the current window. (These keyboard shortcuts function the same way in Internet Explorer.) The following additional keyboard shortcuts work in Windows Explorer:

Alt+Up Arrow—Go up one level.

Alt+Right Arrow—Go forward.

Alt+Left Arrow—Go back.

Alt+D—Move the focus to the address bar, and select the current path.

F4—Move the insertion point to the address bar, and display the contents of the drop-down list of previous addresses.

Alt+Enter—Show properties of the selected file.

Shift+F10—Open the shortcut menu for the current selection (which is the same as a right-click).

F6—Cycle through the following elements: address bar, toolbar, navigation pane, file list, column headings (available in Details view only).

Tab—Cycle through the following elements: address bar, search box, toolbar, navigation pane, file list, column headings (available in Details view only).

F11—Toggle full-screen mode.

Ctrl+Shift+N—Create a new subfolder in the current folder.

Ctrl+Shift+E—Expands navigation pane to the current folder.