But we all love our music, photos and videos of friends and families making fools out of themselves…unfortunately at the expensive of taking up so much disk space on your hard drive.

While the best way for cleaning up disk space is to move your music, photos and videos to an external hard drive or USB drive, the drawback is not having them available on your Computer if you don't keep the drive always connected.

So how can you make more disk space available, without sacrificing not having good old Uncle Bud making a fool out of himself on demand?

Simply by searching for large files that have not been accessed in a long time.

With newer versions of Windows, such as Vista, 7, 8, etc…, the built in search utility has improved greatly. With a couple of mouse clicks, you can easily find large files and sort them by the last time they were accessed.

Using Windows Search

For example, say I wanted to clean up my ten gabillion sized music folder that I know I can't live with out, for files that are over 150mb, and sort by  last time they were accessed.

All I need to do is open Windows Explorer (mine is pinned to the taskbar) , and open the folder I want to start the search. In this example the folder is My Music.

Once the folder has opened, click in the Search box located at the top upper right of Windows Explorer (with the magnifying glass).

When I do that, notice the options that are available. One of them is Size under Add a Search Filter.

Here, I can use a pre-defined search query for different sizes. Since I'm looking for big files, selecting Huge (16 128mb) will do just fine.

NOTE: If the size you chose did not find any files in that range, you can select a smaller or larger size, by clearing the search box and selecting Size again to choose another option to search again.

Once the search has completed, you should see a list similar to mine shown below with files that are only between 16mb and 128mb in size. Your view may be different depending on the type of files being searched (documents, videos, etc).

Sorting for Last Accessed Time

Now that you have a listing of files that match the size range selected, you will want to sort them by last time you actually used the file (or accessed it).

To do this, I need to change the current view – Content, which does not list specific information, such as last time they were accessed.

To show that information, just select the Change your view icon on the toolbar by clicking the drop down arrow…

and select Details.

Next, right click after the last column and click on Date Accessed to add the column.

NOTE: If you don't see Date Accessed, just click on More to list all available column items and scroll down until you find Date Accessed. You can also select Size if you want to display the actual size of the file.

Now that you found all large files, you can begin the cleanup either by moving files off your computer or (gasp) deleting them…only if you really don't need them anymore.

Customizing File Size Searches

As you saw with the pre-defined search queries, selecting a specific size range makes searching for items simple and quick.

But what if you want to selected something completely different than what is available?

The solution is easy. You can customize the search by entering your own range.

For example, say you wanted to search for files between8 and 10mb. Just enter in the search box:

size:8mb – 10mb

Or find files less than 6mb:

size:<6mb

Or greater than 10mb:

size:>10mb

You can also change the date range and search for dates between different dates:

datemodified:‎11/‎1/‎2011 .. ‎11/‎12/‎2011

Or just click on the Date modified query and use the calendar.

For all the available options to use with search, check out the Microsoft official documentation for Advanced Query Syntax on MSDN.

Now that I have more disk space available, it's time to download more music and not worry about disk space.

At least for a little while

Especially when you are jamming to the latest music that was just downloaded from your favorite music site.

Fortunately, Windows 7 allows you to separately control the volume on those pesky background sounds while allowing you to keep your speakers set to any volume level your ears can take with out busting an ear drum (or speaker cone…which ever comes first).

Here’s how…

To adjustthe volume level for  system background sounds on your Windows 7 computer, simply right click on the Speaker icon in the System tray (next to the clock), and select Open Volume Mixer.

Once the Volume Mixer window opens, look for System Sounds and move the slider (circled in screen shot below) down to lower the sound volume for background noises (alternatively you can mute the sounds all together).

With the volume level set to the desired level, any system sounds, beeps and dings will no longer add extra sound effects to your music.

Windows will remember the volume setting until you make another change to the System Sounds.

For example, when an error occurs and one of those mysterious error dialog box (window) appears with a cryptic message, along with no text in the title bar (that normally would identify the program that caused the error message).

As usual, you are left wondering what happen. How am I going to find out what application or program caused the error so I can fix it and get on with my life?

First….don't panic. There's a quick solution for identifying what program or application caused that unknown error message window to appear.

To solve this problem, we'll need to use Microsoft Sysinternals awesome tool – Process Explorer which has a nifty feature built-in called Find Windows Process.

NOTE: The tool is free to use and runs on many versions of Windows including XP, Vista and Windows 7. Best of all, Process Explorer does not need to be installed.

Download Process Explorer

To get started, download Process Explorer from Microsoft Windows Sysinternals site by clicking on the Download Process Explorer link found on the right side of the page.

NOTE: You can also run the tool directly from the Windows Sysinternals site by clicking the Run Process Explorer link.

After downloading is completed, go ahead and unzip the file -  ProcessExplorer.zip to your desktop (or to a folder on your hard drive).

Identify Unknown Error Message Windows

Say you are minding your own business when an error occurs. As expected an error message window appears. When this occurs, DO NOT click OK or do anything to close the window.

• Go to your desktop or the folder where Process Explorer was unzipped, and just double click on procexp.exe to run it. If needed, position Process Explorer (or resize smaller) next to the error dialog window (make sure it's not on top of the error window).

• In Process Explorer toolbar area, click and hold the target-like icon, called Find Windows Process…

• …and drag and drop it on top of the error message window.

Process Explorer will highlight the process name that generated the error message.

NOTE: If Process Explorer does not identify the process when using Windows 7 or Vista, restart Process Explorer using elevated priviliges by right clicking and select 'Run as administrator".

From here, you can mouse over the process to see the path of the process or right click and select properties to view more details about the process that generated the error message.

If needed, you can go online and search for solutions to fix the problem (see How To Identify Unknown Process In Windows for more information).

As you can see in my example above, the mysterious error message window was caused by the process cscript.exe which I was running from a command prompt that had a problem and caused the error message to appear.

Needless to say, Process Explorer is a powerful tool to have around.

If you are running Windows 7 you may want to pin Process Explorer to the taskbar, so it's always within reach when a problem occurs. This way, you can quickly get on with more important things…like Watching The Net!

Oh….one more thing. If you don't have Windows 7 yet (you really should by now), check out this deal here.

Then don't delay and order your license here.

If you been thinking of upgrading to Windows 7 or have more computers in your house that are running older versions of Windows, then now is the time to take advantage of this limited offer.

Microsoft, is once again, offering a big discount on it's Windows 7 Home Premium family three pack at an incredible price (see here). Normally, the list price is $150, but at the discounted price, you end up getting three  licenses for about $42 each.

Not bad…it's great.

The last time Microsoft offered this was back in 2009.  No knows if they will offer it again in the near future.

What You Get With The License Pack

• Included in the pack is a combination 32bit and 64 bit DVD. With the family pack, you can install a mix of 32 and 64bit version of Win 7  Home Premium.

So you can have two PC's running 32bit version of Win 7 and another PC running 64bit (or two 64bit and 1 32 bit, how ever you choose, it does not matter).

• A single product key which can be used to activate three copies of the operating system on three separate computers.

• The family pack comes with upgrade product keys, meaning you can do an in-place upgrade from Vista to Win 7.

This does not mean you can't do a clean install of Win 7, using the family pack.  As a matter of fact you can, and that's how you need to install Win 7 on XP PC's (and on Vista if you don't want to do an in-place upgrade).  For more information on this, see Paul Thurrott's article.

Win 7 Home Premium Features

For many people, the Home Premium version is all they need over any of the other Win 7 versions, such as Professional and Ultimate, which cost significantly more.

To name a few, some of the features include:

Bluetooth support, much better wireless network support (than Vista), Home group for easier file sharing, built in support for creating DVD's, backup and restore, parental controls, Windows Media Center, media streaming capability, Readyboost (for faster performance), Tablet PC support, and Mobility center.

To see a full feature list for Home Premium and a comparison between all Win 7 versions, check out Microsoft site at this link.

What Are You Waiting For…Time Is Running Out

If you have been procrastinating on purchasing Windows 7, this awesome offer may never be seen again, so now is the time to grab it before it disappears from here.

Just remember, Windows XP support will not be around much longer, and Vista is already on the way out with support from Microsoft. You don't want to be paying alot down the road when you could have saved a bundle of money today.

Being able to see how long a Windows process has been running and when it started can provide valuable information that can tell you if the problem began when Windows started or long after the system has been running.

While Windows Vista and Windows 7 has greatly improved task manager and added addition performance tools, such as resource monitor, they still fall short in some areas with providing needed information. Such as when a process started.

To find when a Windows  process started and how long it has been running, I like to use Windows Sysinternals tool, Process Explorer.

Process Explorer runs on many versions of Windows including XP, Vista and Windows 7, and does not need to be installed.

To get started, download Process Explorer from Microsoft Windows Sysinternals site by clicking on the Download Process Explorer link found on the right side of the page.

NOTE: you can also run the tool directly from the Windows Sysinternals site by clicking the Run Process Explorer link.

After downloading is completed, go ahead and unzip the file ProcessExplorer.zip to your desktop (or to a folder on your hard drive).

Now go to the folder where Process Explorer was unzipped, and just double click on procexp.exe to run it.

Once Process Explorer starts you will see something similar to the screen shot below:

While it may look daunting, don't let Process Explorer scare you. First I like to sort the processes by alphabetical order by clicking on the Process column.

Now to find when a process started, just double click on a process, (in my example I clicked on Firefox) to open the properties page.

Make sure the Image tab is selected, and look for the Started field.

Listed will be the date and time the process was started. In the above example Firefox was started at 6:53:15 AM on 8/30/2010.

With this information I can determine how long Firefox has been running and and when it was started based on when the operating system was booted.

Keep in mind, if you hibernate your computer, it does not effect the time and date listed in Process Explorer. In other words, Process Explorer correctly reports the time the process was first started, not after you brought your computer out of hibernation.

As you can see, having this type of information when troubleshooting can be a big help in fixing problems. All it takes is the right tools or utilities.

Fortunately, Windows 7 provides a feature called XP Mode that will let you run a virtualized copy of XP SP3 on your computer in order to minimize compatibility issues.

The only problem is…can your computer run XP Mode?

You see, the key to running Xp Mode is that your computer must meet these two requirements:

• 2GB system RAM

• A CPU that supports chip-level virtualization

It's that second requirement, "chip-level virtualization" that will prevent some Windows 7 user from running XP Mode.

So how do you tell if your CPU supports chip-level virtualization? One way is to check your BIOS and make sure it's enabled.

That is, if you know what to look for.

Well, fortunately both Intel and AMD provides a tool to help you find out if your CPU is capable of chip-level virtualization.

To run the tool, you will need to download it at the following site:

• Intel Processor Identification Utility

• AMD Virtualization Compatibility Check Utility

NOTE: Intel provides two versions of the tool, one for Windows and a bootable version. Either tool will work for Windows users.

On my test computer, I have an Intel processor. After downloading and installing the Windows tool, you can run it immediately after installation has completed.

When the results are displayed, click on the CPU Technologies tab (circled in screen shot below) and look for "Intel(R) Virtualization Technology" (outlined) specifying if you processor is supported or not.

If so, you are in luck and you're ready to run XP Mode (make sure to check your BIOS to see if it needs to be enabled).

If not, as is the case on my test hardware…it's time to get new hardware or new software that is capable of running on Windows 7

If you decided to make the move, after comparing the different versions of Windows 7 (link to above article) the next item you need to consider is if you can run Windows 7 on your existing hardware or do you need to purchase new hardware.

The Windows 7 requirements specifications released by Microsoft follows:

• 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

• 1 GB of RAM (32-bit)/2 GB of RAM (64-bit)

• 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit)

• DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher driver

Obviously, by today's hardware standards, these requirements are on the minimal side. And as we all know, you may want to bump these requirements up.

For example, if you plan to run XP Mode, you will need at least 2 GB RAM along with an extra 15 GB of additional hard drive space. Also consider a processor that supports hardware virtualization.

Same considerations should be made if you want to use Virtual PC running several virtual machines. Depending on the number of virtual machines you want to run will determine how much RAM as well as how much processing power is needed. You may want to move to 64bit hardware to allow for more processing power and larger RAM amounts.

32-bit versions of Windows 7 are limited to supporting just 4 GB of RAM (in reality, only 3.1 to 3.5 GB are actually usable), 64-bit versions can access between 16 GB and 192 GB of RAM, depending on the product edition.

Gamers and multimedia power users may also want to consider moving to 64bit hardware to run Windows 7.

If you are an average home Windows users, 32bit will be just fine.

Will My Existing Hardware Run Windows 7?

According to early tests, Windows 7 performs better than Windows Vista on the same hardware, but if you are not sure, Microsoft provides a tool called The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor will scan your system hardware, installed programs and attached devices. Once complete, the Advisor will report on how well your PC meets the system requirements, if there are any known compatibility issues with your programs and devices, and will also provide guidance on your upgrade options to Windows 7.

Unlike Vista, Windows 7 early tests have shown it to be more stable with performance than Vista. That's something us XP users are happy to hear!

One would think the choice is simple but as always with Microsoft operating systems, there are usually more than one choice available.

First let's start with how many editions are available for Windows 7 – six (6). They are: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

In reality not all six editions are available to the consumer. Let's look at those editions first:

Windows 7 Starter Edition – This version is really meant for basic computing tasks such as email checking, browsing the Internet, watching movies, listening to music, etc.

Essentially, Windows 7 Starter is optimized for less powerful machines, such as Netbooks and will only be availabel to OEM's (Orignal Equipment Manufacturers) who will pre-istall and ship to retail stores.

Windows 7 Home Basic Edition – This version is a step up from Starter but will only be made available in in emerging countries (such as Philippines, India, etc) and sold with new computers.

Windows 7 Enterprise Edition – Similar to Windows 7 Ultimate (see below) but for companies who purchase volume licensing.

This brings us down to three editions, from which the average consumer (you and me) can choose from:

Windows 7 Home Premium Edition – Similar to Windows XP and Vista Home versions, this is where the comparisons stop. Home Premium includes more features than it predecessors and is much more stable than Vista, something that XP users will be happy to hear (but were afraid of using Vista) when deciding to upgrade.

As with all editions of Windows 7, Home Premium also includes the Aero glass user interface and taskbar. Home Premium will not require the hardware upgrades that Vista demanded, partially because the hardware has caught up, and that Microsoft has gone to great lengths to make Windows 7 accessible to as many people as possible.

Some of Windows 7 Home Premium features include:

Windows Media Center (for playing a variety of multimedia formats), Windows Media Player streaming cabilities, DVD maker, backup utility that includes creating full system images along with the Previous Version utility that allows for retrieving files that you may have just deleted or changed accidentally.

And finally Microsoft has including Virtual PC which allows you to run other operating systems on top of Windows. This is a great addition that was only availabel to a more costly version of Windows in the past.

Home Premium supports up to 2 physical processors (unlimited cores), and a max of 16 gigabytes of RAM.

Windows 7 Professional Edition – In my opinion probably the best edition of the bunch for the average consumer, Professional Edition includes all features that are available in Home Premium.

The additional features include, Windows XP Mode which lets you run many Windows XP productivity programs, joining to Microsoft Domains on company networks, advanced networking features (Location Aware Printing feature allows you to choose different default printers for different networks), backup functionality to back up to a home or business network, remote desktop service that allows other computers to connect to your computer, encrypting file system and offline files.

The XP Mode feature may seem confusing at first to most people. Essentially, it will allow Windows 7 Professional (and Ultimate) users to run a virtualized copy (using Virtual PC) of XP SP3 in order to minimize compatibility issues. Yes, that means when you purchase the Professional edition, you also get a licensed version of Windows XP.

Not a bad deal.

For the typical home consumer, this is simply the best Windows 7 version to purchase.

Running Windows 7 Professional Edition requires the same hardware requirements as Home Premium, but you may want to consider beefing it up a liitle if you want to take advantage of Virtual PC and XP Mode.

Windows 7 Ultimate Edition – Ultimate includes all the features of Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional, but adds additional enterprise and security features (typically needed by large corporations). It is the only edition that lets you use multiple languages (35 of them) on the same computer.

Features include, Bitlocker and BitLocker To Go support used for protect data (encrypting) stored on portable storage devices (USB drives) flash devices, and other media, Federated Searches which allows searching across network drive, booting from VHD (Virtual Hard Drives) files, and Unix support.

With Ultimate, it's mainly for the corporate enterprise, not for the average home user.

If you are thinking of upgrading your existing Windows computer (running XP or Vista), you can use the Anytime Upgrade feature to purchase a serial key online and upgrade your existing Windows 7 license to a more advanced edition.

Also don't forget to consider Windows 7 hardware requirements, when deciding to move to the new operating system.

For an in-depth comparison of all Windows 7 versions via a shart, check out Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows.