Quick and helpful Windows XP Hacks

Stopping Unneeded Startup Services

Start _ Run _ services.msc || Hit Enter
Take a quick look at common services you may want to live without. Sometimes R/W of smart cards , MMC etc might not be enabled by default manually enabling this will serve the purpose.
Speeding Up the Dual-Boot Timeout
If you dual-boot your computer with Windows XP and another operating system, you
see an operating system selection menu on startup. If you typically boot into Windows
XP and not the other operating system, you can speed up the dual-boot timeout value
so that you do not wait so long for the boot process to select your default operating
system and continue with the boot process. The default timeout value is 30 seconds
but you can change this setting to 10. This gives you enough time to select the
alternate operating system if you want but also speeds up the boot process.
Follow these steps:




1. Locate the boot.ini file on your computer. It is a hidden file by default; mine is
located in C:boot.ini.
2. Open the file with Notepad (which is what opens it by default).
3. Change the Timeout value to 10.
4. Select File/Save and close Notepad.
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( Start_Run_ “regedit.exe”) and navigate to and select:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop
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.