MAKE WINXP STARTUP/SHUTDOWN FASTER !

How to reduce WinXP StartUp/Shutdown times ?

over the last 6 m since i started using a pc, i used to get really pissed off sitting & twidling my thumbs, till my WinXP/SP1, started/shutdown.

So i looked around to see how i could reduce these times. here are my observations. if you can add to them or correct me, pls do so.

1. restrict the no. of start-ups. i have only igfxTray.exe. hkcmd.exe, ctfmon.exe as my start-ups; and my pc works just fine.

2. disable services which one may not require. if one does not connect to the internet or if your pc is a stand-alone one, there may b sevral services which u can disable or switch over to manual mode. auto-starting of services and closing down of services takes time & resources. these can be saved.
3. enable boot defragmentation, so that files used during start-up are clubbed together.

4. reducing visual effects (winxp eye candy) can also help save it.

5. disable : "clear page file on shutdown" option. cleaning the page-file on every shut down means overwriting the data by zeros, and it takes time.

6. fine tune your registry regularly.

there are also some BIOS hacks like enabling Quick Post, disabling Boot-Up Floppy Seek, diabling Boot Daly. but i dont know how to do it and its presently out of my league. ive alraedy had to reformat by pc 6 times in the last 6 mnths since i bot it, trying these and all other types of stunts !

Generally people also recommend emptying the Prefetch directory every
week. But i believe Window uses this directory to speed up launching
applications. It analyzes the files you use during startup and the applications you launch, and it creates an index to where those files and applications are located on your hard disk. By using this index, XP can launch files and applications faster. So, by emptying the directory, are we not, most likely slowing down launching applications; even during start-up ?

Utilities like WinPatrol or Tune-Up can help you in all of the above.
Use PC Booster Trial and use it for one time and just uninstall. This will make your startup really quick...........
Microsoft Bootvis is also good