XP tricks

Stopping Unneeded Startup Services
and Making XP boot faster !

To reduce the number of services that start on bootup, you can access two different
areas of Windows XP.

The first is the System Configuration Utility. You can do that by entering the
command “msconfig” in the run menu.

Start  Run  msconfig

The Services tab shows you the services that start when the computer boots. You can stop a service from starting by simply clearing the check box next to the service and clicking OK.
However, before you do so, there is another way to disable services that you
may prefer because the interface gives you more information about the service
in question.

Open Control Panel  Administrative Tools Services or

Start  Run  services.msc

Stop Error Messages from Displaying
on Startup

Run the Registry Editor and go to

HKEY_LOCAL MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows

Create a new DWORD called NoPopupsOnBoot and give it a value of 1.
Exit the Registry and reboot for the setting to take effect. To disable it, either delete the DWORD value or give it a value of 0.

Disabling the Boot Logo

To remove the boot logo, follow these steps:

1. Select Start/Run , type msconfig, and click OK.
2. In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab.
3. On the BOOT.INI tab, click the NOGUIBOOT check box option. Click OK.

A Flying Start for the Start Menu

A simple Registry tweak can give speed up your start menu and sub-menus.
Open the Registry Editor, and navigate to and select:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

Double-click the

MenuShowDelay

icon on the right, and change 'Value data' from its default of 400 (milliseconds) to something speedier, like 0. When you have finished,press Enter.

Pop Up a Message at Start Up

To pop a banner which can contain any message you want to display just before a user
is going to log on, go to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

Now create a new string Value in the right pane named LegalNoticeCaption and enter the value that you want to see in the Menu Bar. Now create yet another new string value and name it LegalNoticeText. Modify it and insert the message you want to display each time Windows boots.