Windows only: Microsoft USB Flash Drive Manager is a desktop utility that backs up and restores data from USB storage devices. Select files or entire drives to back up with the Flash Drive Manager. If you use the same flash drive for a variety of purposes and need to rotate the data on it frequently, the USB Flash Manager can create backup profiles to expedite swapping the drive data. The USB Flash Drive Manager is a free download for Windows XP only.

Designer Vijayakrishnan gives us a tour of his gorgeous Windows multi-desktop, which makes you look at it three times to figure out what operating system he's using. With a Mac style and a few free programs like RocketDock, Deskspace, and Findexer, he's really tricked out Windows XP. Get closeups of each of his two main desktops—shown here in a rotating cube—after the jump.

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Today Microsoft announces that they will extend the amount of time manufacturers can ship low cost PCs with Windows XP until 2010. Clearly someone in Redmond is reading Lifehacker. Note that this doesn't apply to standard PCs, though, so if you want XP pre-installed you need to buy soon.

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If you're a veteran Windows XP user, you're familiar with the "helpful" count of your unread email messages you'll find at the login screen—which is usually wrong or overstated (my screenshot came from a fresh install of Thunderbird). The Online Tech Tips blog shows how to eliminate this stress-inducing reminder through a registry hack. Readers comfortable tweaking in regedit can find the values and instructions at the link below; those who don't mind installing a free (and very handy) power-user program can accomplish the same thing using TweakUI (here's where to look once you've busted out this power tool).

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Despite the fact that most of you prefer XP to Vista and would rather Microsoft extended XP's shelf-life, several new and improved features available in Vista would be great to have in XP. This new functionality may not be enough to get you to switch to Vista, but that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Let's take a look at a few ways you can incorporate Windows Vista's best features into your current XP PC for free.

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The majority of you told us that you prefer XP to Vista and that it'd be best if Microsoft extended its cutoff date for XP, but we can't help but wonder if there's something about Vista that's worth your while. For those of you who have made the switch—or those who have been tempted—we're curious what Vista features actually make the upgrade worthwhile for you. So let's hear what you actually like about Windows Vista that you didn't get from XP in the comments.

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Next time you wipe your PC's hard drive clean and reinstall Windows with that old installation disc, you don't want to connect your fresh, unpatched and vulnerable system to the internet only to download 176 new updates from Microsoft. If your XP installation CD is older than 2004, once your system is online, you'll have to wait for hefty service packs to download, chained to your mouse while pushing the Next button, watching progress bars, and rebooting multiple times. Wouldn't it be better to start your installation, head out to run errands or grab coffee, and come back to an up-to-date system before your system gets online? It's possible, using some free software and a blank disc. After the jump, I'll show you how to create an automated, customised XP installation CD or DVD, that includes Microsoft's official-but-not-released Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.

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Windows XP Service Pack 3 officially hit Microsoft servers this morning, and although it won't be available through Windows Update today, it should be sometime soon. Your desire to stay on the cutting edge of XP features and security may dictate that you install the latest service pack, but in case you were wondering what you can actually expect from your SP3 update, we're breaking down the new and improved features with our field guide to Windows XP SP3.

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The gHacks blog sniffs out some installation files for Windows XP Service Pack 3 hosted on Microsoft's Windows Update servers, as official notice of the update seems to be running a bit late. Downloads for 32-bit systems in many languages are available at the link below. The full download is about 300 MB, but anyone who's been keeping up on their bug fixes and update since SP3 will likely have a lighter package to carry. We'll update here when the official downloads are pushed to Windows Update.

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