Switcher-vista search able task switcher

http://insentient.net/Switcher/Overview.html

Switcher puts you in control of your windows. See all your windows on one screen, quickly search through them, even decorate them with your favorite colors and fonts. Let's get started!

ReadyBoostMonitor-determine readyboost performance

http://www.moosoft.com/Main/OtherPrograms

ReadyBoostMonitor watches the cache and gives you an idea of how well it is working. Freeware with source. Requires WindowsVista or higher.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker-optimizing Windows Vista

http://www.winvistaclub.com/Ultimate_Windows_Tweaker.html

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a Tweak UI Utility for tweaking and optimizing Windows Vista, 32-bit & 64-bit. It can simply be downloaded and used as a portable application to customize your Windows Vista to meet your requirements. With judicious tweaking, It can make your system faster, more stable, and more secure with just a few mouse clicks. The tweaker detects whether you have IE 7 or IE 8 installed and accordingly offers you the relevant tweaks only.

Windows Vista SP1 Clean Up Tool

Vista SP1 is a BIG update, and it does not remove any of the files it replaces. This is because Vista SP1 allows you to uninstall Vista SP1, and rollback to your previous version of Vista. Unless you are Chuck Norris, I have a feeling you aren’t going to even consider this. So why not reclaim this 800+ megabytes worth of hard drive space?

Go to the command prompt, and simply enter the following: vsp1cln.exe.

Here’s the official Microsoft TechNet documentation:

Windows Vista SP1 File Removal tool (Vsp1cln.exe). Vsp1cln.exe is an optional tool that you can run after you install SP1. This tool removes older versions of components that have been updated in SP1, which are stored during the installation in case you need to uninstall SP1 later. Saving these older components increases the amount of disk space that is used. Typically, you should run Vsp1cln.exe if you want to reclaim this disk space after applying SP1 and if you will not need to uninstall SP1. Note, however, that you cannot uninstall SP1 after you run this tool. You can use this tool both online and offline, but you must have SP1 installed and you must use the correct version of the tool. If you are running this file on an offline image, you should use the Vsp1cln.exe included in the Windows OPK or AIK. However, if you are running this file online (on a computer that you are booted into), you should use the Vsp1cln.exe file located at %windir%\system32\vsp1cln.exe.

Dazzo's Wallpaper Changer for Vista

http://mike.dazzos.com/ (Updated)

http://gocomusic.com/mike/ 

After switching to Window's new OS Vista, I went in search of a good Wallpaper changer.  I could not find one, so I decided to create my own.

This wallpaper changer will monitor your chosen folder and recognize when new pictures are added or old pictures are removed.  It will also recursively drill down through each subsequent folder checking for images.  You can also set how often it rotates the images from 1 minute to multiple days.
 
Features:

    * Folder Monitoring
    * Auto Start
    * Recursive folder search
    * Change Desktop color to match image color
    * Rotate wallpaper every N length of time
    * Progress bar displays when next change will take place

    * Will not work on MS XP

Auslogics Disk Defrag-defragmentation on vista

http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag 

Disk fragmentation leads to system slowdowns, PC crashes, slow startups and shutdowns. Auslogics Disk Defrag® is designed for fast optimization of modern hard disks. Use it together with Auslogics BoostSpeed to get the top performance out of your expensive hardware. Disk Defrag is absolutely FREE.
         

Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista

http://www.microsoft.com/

Microsoft® Remote Server Administration Tools enables IT administrators to remotely manage roles and features in Windows Server® 2008 from a computer running Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1 (SP1).

ShadowExplorer-browse vista shadow copy of files

http://www.shadowexplorer.com/ 

ShadowExplorer allows you to browse the shadow copies created by the Windows® VistaTM Volume Shadow Copy Service. It's especially thought for users of the home editions, who don't have access to the shadow copies by default, but it's also useful for users of the other editions.
Shadow Copy

From time to time, Windows® VistaTM creates point-in-time copies of your files. This allows you to retrieve older versions from files you accidentally deleted or altered. This service is turned on by default on all versions of Windows® VistaTM, but Microsoft grants access to these copies only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise editions. This is where ShadowExplorer comes into play. For more information on Shadow Copy, visit Microsofts website.
ShadowExplorer

Since the Volume Shadow Copy Service is included, and turned on by default, in all editions of Windows® VistaTM, why not take advantage of it? All it takes is an additional tool like ShadowExplorer, that can access the shadow storage and make the point-in-time copies accessible to the user.
Features

    * Show available point-in-time copies
    * Browse through Shadow Copies
    * Retrieve versions of files and folders

Limitations

Shadow Copies and ShadowExplorer are in no way a replacement for regular backups! This is very important and can't be stressed enough. A Shadow Copy is kept on the same disc as the original data. In case of a disc failure all data is lost, including the Shadow Copies. ShadowExplorer is a good addition to regular backups, but not a

replacement. 

BeyondTrust- Vista Application Rights Auditor

http://www.beyondtrust.com/products/ApplicationRightsAuditor.aspx  

BeyondTrust Application Rights Auditor makes it easy for companies to identify the Windows applications that require users to have administrative rights in order to run. Once those applications are identified, enterprises can develop informed plans to remove users’ administrative rights without any application downtime, creating a more secure and compliant environment, and lowering the cost of administering Windows computers.

Allowing employees to operate computers with elevated privileges makes companies more susceptible to malicious users and viruses, and prevents compliance with regulatory mandates, such as the Federal Desktop Core Configuration, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and HIPAA. Administrative rights also allow users to circumvent security policies, install unauthorized applications and make unauthorized modifications to a standard desktop configuration.

WinBubble-tweak vista settings

http://unlockforus.blogspot.com/2007/11/winbubbles-features-gap.html  

WinBubble is a small, portable utility that is Vistas answer to TweakUI. It is a extremely well featured application allowing you to tweak just about anything you would want to tweak in Vista. There is too many tweaks to mention here so its best that you look at the many screenshots to get a full idea of what it can do. Here are some of the highlights:

• Easily change the OEM/Manufacturer information
• Add useful options to the right click context menu
• Show My Computer, Network, My Documents, Username Folder etc.. on the desktop
• Edit the screensavers hidden options. Edit the WEI score. Edit all of your Vista Icons
• Access hidden Vista tools
• Lock down the system by disabling various parts (usb, task manager, control panel, new folder option, hide drives etc..)
• Optimize Vista using various speed tweaks
• Edit IE information such as the Title/Start Page/Clear History and Cookies etc.
• Easily edit the right click context menu

Vista Visual Master – customize Windows Vista

http://www.vista123.net/  

Vista Visual Master allows you to customize Windows Vista by changing several desktop settings, patching the Vista theme, editing the OEM information and more. You can also replace system and file icons with your own icons (with an option to restore the originals) and add a custom boot screen and logon picture.

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit – Make Old Applications Vista Compatable

http://www.microsoft.com

The Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) version 5.0 contains the necessary tools and documentation to evaluate and mitigate application compatibility issues before deploying Microsoft® Windows Vista, a Windows Update, or a new version of Windows® Internet Explorer® in your 

If you are looking to disable UAC for certain applications in Windows Vista, then follow this guide, and once you are done, the UAC may not really be all that bugging as it used to be.

• First download and install Application Compatibility Toolkit.
• Find the shortcut icon for Compatibility Administrator. Right click it and click Run as administrator.
• In the left hand pane, right-click on the database under Custom Databases and select Create New, and select Application Fix.
• Enter the name and other details of the application you want to alter behavior on and then browse to it to select it. Click Next.
• Click Next until you are in the Compatibility Fixes screen.
• On the Compatibility Fixes screen, find the item RunAsInvoker, and check it.
• Click Next and then Finish.
• Select File and Save As. Save the file as a app.SDB type file in a directory you will easily find it.
• Navigate to Start Menu, Right click Command Prompt and click Run as administrator.
• Run the following command at the prompt :

  sdbinst <path>\app.sdb

  Where <path> is the location where you have saved the app.sdb file. For example, if you saved the .SDB file as app.sdb in the c:\Windows folder, the command should be like this:

  sdbinst  c:\windows\app.sdb

• You should now get a confirmatory message.
• Voila! You’re done, Vista will no longer prompt you with the UAC everytime you open your favorite app.

Windows Vista Bootable Recovery Disc

http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/

if you're like most PC users, you probably got Windows Vista with a new PC or laptop. And if you're like 99% of the population, you get your new machines from one of the major manufacturers. Dell, Acer, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, they all have one thing in common: they don't give you a real Windows Vista installation disc with your purchase. Instead, they bundle what they call a "recovery disc" (that's if you're lucky – otherwise you'll have a recovery partition instead) with your machine and leave it at that.

It doesn't matter that you just paid a thousand dollars for a machine that comes with a valid Windows Vista license – your computer manufacturer just don't want to spend the money (or perhaps take on the responsibility) of giving you a Windows Vista installation DVD to accompany your expensive purchase.

The problem is, with Windows Vista, the installation media serves more than one purpose. It's not just a way to get Windows installed, it's also the only way of recovering a borked installation. The Windows Vista DVD has a "recovery center" that provides you with the option of recovering your system via automated recovery (searches for problems and attempts to fix them automatically), rolling-back to a system restore point, recovering a full PC backup, or accessing a command-line recovery console for advanced recovery purposes.

More »

Vista4Experts-disable vista control that annoy computer experts

http://ntcore.com/vista4experts.php  

Vista4Experts is kind of a treat for computer experts who don't want security center notifications, User Account Control dialogs, automatic Windows Defender scannings, automatic update installations (which cause you to reboot your system if you don't react quickly enough). People who want MSDN (or google) set as default search engine in the Internet Explorer search bar, who want the start menu power button to shut down the system instead of hibernating it, etc. These and many more fixes are included in Vista4Experts. All of these changes can be discarded, enabled or reversed. Vista4Experts is the first expert utility of its kind and works on every platform.  

vLite 1.1 – remove unwanted Vista Components

http://www.vlite.net/

Windows Vista from Microsoft takes a lot of resources, we all know that. So here is the tool for easy removal of the unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking. vLite can also create the bootable ISO and apply the tweaks directly.
This tool doesn´t use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you install the full version only without the components you select for the removal.

It configures the installation directly, before the installation, meaning you´ll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall.

BricoPack Vista Inspirat Ultimate 2

http://www.crystalxp.net/galerie/en.id.130.htm

BricoPack Vista Inspirat is a free pack which modifies Windows XP system files in order to change its appearance and make it look like Windows Vista (the next operating system made by Microsoft).
Rewarded by a lot of magazine, Vista Inspirat BricoPack is the best way to change quickly and easily your Windows icons, logon and visual style.

EasyBCD – configure vista bootloader

http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1 

EasyBCD is NeoSmart Technologies' multiple award-winning answer to tweaking the new Windows Vista bootloader. With EasyBCD, almost anything is possible. Setting up and configuring Windows boot entries is simple, and there is no easier way to quickly boot right into Linux, Mac OS X, or BSD straight from the Windows Vista bootloader – on the fly, no expert knowledge needed!

EasyBCD is geared for users of all kinds. Whether you just want to add an entry to your old XP partition or want to create a duplicate for testing purposes; if you're interested in debugging the Windows Kernel or hectuple-booting your seven test operating systems, EasyBCD is the key.

EasyBCD is used and recommended by Microsoft, PC-World, PC-Magazine, Softpedia, PC-Welt, and dozens more! In the words of Harry McCracken (VP & Editor-in-Chief of PC World): "[EasyBCD] impressed the editors with its functionality and usability. These are some of the most well-crafted services available – congratulations to EasyBCD!" Don't get left out – download it today, it's free!!

TweakUAC – for Windows Vista

http://www.tweak-uac.com/what-is-tweak-uac/

If you’ve used TweakUAC, you’ve seen the “quiet” option it offers that lets you suppress the elevation prompts of UAC without turning the UAC off completely. In such a mode, you keep all the positive effects of UAC, such as Internet Explorer operating in the protected mode, applications starting without the administrative privileges by default, etc. The only thing that gets changed is that you will no longer see the infamous “Windows needs your permission to continue” messages whenever you attempt to make a change to your Vista configuration, or when you run a program that needs administrative rights. 

You can now perform most any task that would normally display a UAC, without having to deal with a “Windows needs your permission to continue” prompt. However, the main protective feature of UAC will still be in place. In other words, all applications will still run with the standard user permissions by default, and since TweakUAC’s quiet mode of operation only works on accounts with administrator privileges, those with standard user accounts will still encounter the UAC prompt.

TweakVI Basic -tweak and optimize Windows Vista

http://www.totalidea.com/content/tweakvi/tweakvi-index.php

TweakVI Basic enables you to tweak and optimize Windows Vista. It provides access to many hidden or difficult to find features and settings that allow you to optimize your machine and tweak it to your needs. The set of features include desktop customization, Internet Explorer tweaks, CPU cache tweaks, CD/DVD drive performance tweaks and much more. The program also includes EasyBCD, a Vista Boot Configuration Manager that enables you to configure the Vista Bootloader. Other features include Firefox optimization (FireTune), wallpaper randomizer, system information, Outlook/Windows Mail tweaks and more. A commercial version is also available that offers additional features.