Improve Windows XP Shutdown Speed

This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.
Go to Start then select Run
Type 'Regedit' and click ok
Find 'HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop'
Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'
Now select 'HungAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'

Now find 'HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTControl PanelDesktop'
Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'
Now find 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESystemCurrentControlSetControl'
Select 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'

Install Net Meeting

Wondering how to install Netmeeting on Windows XP? Well you don't have to install it! Why? It is already pre-installed with Windows XP, but (by design they say) it isn't linked to anywhere on your programs menu. Here is how to load it:

1: Click START then RUN
2: Enter "conf" without the quotes

That's it - now you can Netmeet to your hearts content.

Add Or Stop Programs During Startup

You can start or stop programs from executing at boot up by adding or deleting them to/from the run Keys in the Registry. Windows loads programs to start in the following order; Program listed in the Local Machine hive, then the Current User hive, then theWin.ini Run= and Load = lines. then finally programs in your Start Up folder.

To add or remove programs in the Registry
1.Open Regedit  Start-->Run-->regedit


2.Go to the desired Key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunServices
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRunServices


3. Add a new String Value and name it anything you like


4. For the value data, enter the path and executable for the program you want to run.


By adding the value to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive instead allows the program to start only when that user is logged on.
If you add the value to the RunOnce key the program will run once and be removed from the key by Windows.

Hide 'User Accounts' from users

Go to Start/Run, and type:
GPEDIT.MSC
Open the path

User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel
doubleclick "Hide specified Control Panel applets"
put a dot in 'enabled', then click 'Show"
click Add button,
type "nusrmgt.cpl" into the add box

Boot Or Start Computer Faster

Many computers take a lot of time to boot (or start ).This is due to many reasons.

Some slight changes can do wonders for your system:

1. Press start->run then type msconfig and press enter.

Go to the startup tab. Here you will see a list of startup items. These are all the programs that automatically start when you boot your PC. It is these that slow down the boot up process.
So uncheck all the unwanted items like ms-office, messengers other utilities that u may not need at startup). Don't uncheck your antivirus software.

Restart your Pc to and see for yourself, your pc will now boot faster....

2. A great new feature in Microsoft Windows XP is the ability to do a boot defragment. This places all boot files next to each other on the disk to allow for faster booting. By default this option is enabled, but on some systems it is not, so below is the information on how to turn it on:

Go to Start Menu and Click Run
Type in regedit then click ok
Find "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftDfrgBootOpt imizeFunction"
Select "Enable" from the list on the right
Right on it and select "Modify"
Change the value to Y .
Reboot your Pc and see the change yourself.

3.SPEED UP BOOT BY DISABLING UNUSED PORTS.!!
You may have tried many tweaks like modifying windows XP start-up applications, prefetches, unload DLLs method, etc. And yes those methods do work for me.
I have just accidentally found out another way to give you an extra boost in windows XP's boot performance. This is done by disabling your unused devices in Device Manager. for example, if you don't have input devices that are connected to one of your USB's or COM ports, disabling them will give you an extra performance boost in booting. Go to Control Panel -> System -> Hardware tab -> device manager Disable devices that you don't use for your PC and then restart.