Disable The Send Error Report, to Microsoft

This will disable the feature in WinXP which tries to send a report to microsoft every time a program crashes.
STEPS:

1. Open Control Panel
2. Click on Preformance and Maintenance.
3. Click on System.
4. Then click on the Advanced tab
5. Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.
6. Select Disable error reporting.
7. Click OK

This will disable the feature in WinXP which tries to send a report to microsoft every time a program crashes.<br />STEPS:<br /><ol><li>Open Control Panel</li><li>Click on Preformance and Maintenance.</li><li>Click on System.</li><li>Then click on the Advanced tab</li><li>Click on the error reporting button on the bottom of the windows.</li><li>Select Disable error reporting.</li><li>Click OK</li></ol>

Create One-Click Shutdown and Reboot Shortcuts

Create a shortcut on your desktop by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing New, and then choosing Shortcut. The Create Shortcut Wizard appears. In the box asking for the location of the shortcut, type shutdown.

You can add any combination of several switches to do extra duty, like this:

shutdown -r -t 01 -c "Rebooting your PC"
Double-clicking on that shortcut will reboot your PC after a one-second delay and display the message "Rebooting your PC." The shutdown command includes a variety of switches you can use to customize it.

Here are the parameters:

1. -s = Shuts down the PC.
2. -l = Logs off the current user.
3. -t nn =Indicates the duration of delay, in seconds, before performing the action.
4. -c "messagetext" = Displays a message in the System Shutdown window. A maximum of 127 characters can be used. The message must be enclosed in quotation marks.
5. -f = Forces any running applications to shut down.
6. -r = Reboots the PC.

Create a <span style="font-weight: bold;">shortcut</span> on your desktop by right-clicking on the desktop, choosing<span style="font-weight: bold;"> New</span>, and then choosing<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Shortcut</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Create Shortcut Wizard</span> appears. In the box asking for the location of the shortcut, type <span style="font-weight: bold;">shutdown</span>.<br /><br />You can add any combination of several switches to do extra duty, like this:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">shutdown -r -t 01 -c "Rebooting your PC"</span><br />Double-clicking on that shortcut will reboot your PC after a one-second delay and display the message "Rebooting your PC." The shutdown command includes a variety of switches you can use to customize it.<br /><br />Here are the parameters:<br /><ol><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">-s</span> = Shuts down the PC.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">-l</span> = Logs off the current user.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">-t nn</span> =Indicates the duration of delay, in seconds, before performing the action.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">-c "messagetext"</span> = Displays a message in the System Shutdown window. A maximum of 127 characters can be used. The message must be enclosed in quotation marks.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">-f</span> = Forces any running applications to shut down.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">-r</span> = Reboots the PC.</li></ol>

Change The Default Location For Installing Apps

As the size of hardrives increase, more people are using partitions to seperate and store groups of files.

XP uses the C:\Program Files directory as the default base directory into which new programs are installed. However, you can change the default installation drive and/ or directory by using a Registry hack.

Run the Registry Editor (regedit)and go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

Look for the value named ProgramFilesDir. by default,this value will be C:\Program Files. Edit the value to any valid drive or folder and XP will use that new location as the default installation directory for new programs.
As the size of hardrives increase, more people are using partitions to seperate and store groups of files.<br /><br />XP uses the <span style="font-weight: bold;">C:\Program Files</span> directory as the default base directory into which new programs are installed. However, you can change the default installation drive and/ or directory by using a Registry hack.<br /><br />Run the Registry Editor (<span style="font-weight: bold;">regedit</span>)and go to<br /><blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion</blockquote>Look for the value named <span style="font-weight: bold;">ProgramFilesDir</span>. by default,this value will be <span style="font-weight: bold;">C:\Program Files</span>. Edit the value to any valid drive or folder and XP will use that new location as the default installation directory for new programs.

Speedup boot time in XP

1. Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\
2. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".
3. Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.
4. In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".
5. Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.
6. From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".
7. Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"
8. Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".
9. Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".
10. Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.
11. Reboot your computer.

<ol><li>Open notepad.exe, type "del c:\windows\prefetch\ntosboot-*.* /q" (without the quotes) & save as "ntosboot.bat" in c:\</li><li>From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "gpedit.msc".</li><li>Double click "Windows Settings" under "Computer Configuration" and double click again on "Shutdown" in the right window.</li><li>In the new window, click "add", "Browse", locate your "ntosboot.bat" file & click "Open".</li><li>Click "OK", "Apply" & "OK" once again to exit.</li><li>From the Start menu, select "Run..." & type "devmgmt.msc".</li><li>Double click on "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers"</li><li>Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".</li><li>Select the "Advanced Settings" tab then on the device or 1 that doesn't have 'device type' greyed out select 'none' instead of 'autodetect' & click "OK".</li><li>Right click on "Secondary IDE channel", select "Properties" and repeat step 9.</li><li>Reboot your computer.</li></ol>

Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown in Windows XP

This reg file automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit.

1. Copy the following (everything in the box) into notepad.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]
"AutoEndTasks"="1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l]
"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000"

2. Save the file as shutdown.reg
3. Double click the file to import into your registry.

NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.
This reg file automatically ends tasks and timeouts that prevent programs from shutting down and clears the Paging File on Exit.<br /><ol><li>Copy the following (everything in the box) into notepad.</li><blockquote>Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00<br /><br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management]<br />"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001<br /><br />[HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop]<br />"AutoEndTasks"="1"<br /><br />[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l]<br />"WaitToKillServiceTimeout"="1000" </blockquote><li>Save the file as shutdown.reg</li><li>Double click the file to import into your registry.</li></ol>NOTE: If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal if you have "Script Safe" or similar technology enabled.