Perhaps some tools will help! I empathise with those of you out there bound to using Windows for reasons outside your control, but here’s some tools I’ve stumbled across over the last few months to aid your software development experience:

• Unlocked: Should you ever attempt to delete a file resource only to be denied by another process having acquired a lock, this tool can conveniently present a remedy.
• Agent Ransack: Simple, full-text searching of your file system. No configuration or cryptic command line options required.
• Process Explorer: Task manager on steroids. Presents application groups in a convenient hierarchical view, allowing you to track parent/child processes.
• Console: Tired of managing multiple DOS prompts in separate windows? This application consolidates the prompts in a tabbed UI.
• Launchy: Discover and launch any application in a few keystrokes.

Other suggestions welcome!