Turn Off The Windows Sidebar
The Windows Vista Sidebar is a vertical bar that sits, by default, on the right hand side of your desktop. This sidebar can provide 'at a glance' information depending upon the gadgets the user wishes to display on the sidebar. This can be anything from a simple calendar to information on CPU and Memory usage
By default the Windows Vista Sidebar is enabled during installation and should be visible on the right hand side of your desktop. While Sidebar is indeed a useful addition tot he desktop, allowing access to frequently used tools, some users may find it somewhat intrusive. This can be particularly so if you happen to be working on a small monitor screen.
To turn off the Windows Sidebar and reclaim your desktop's real estate, proceed as follows:
1/ Right Click on the Sidebar
2/ From the available menu click Properties
3/ On the Sidebar properties window Remove the Check mark from the 'Start sidebar when windows starts' option.
4/ Click OK to complete
5/ The next time you boot your PC your desktop will be free of the sidebar.