Joe Strusz

Here is a quick trick.

First, lets delete everything including hidden files in these directories:

c:\WINDOWS\Prefetch

c:\WINDOWS\Temp

Empty the Recycle Bin, and go ahead and do a disk cleanup by right clicking the "C:" drive inside "My computer" and selecting "Properties".

Now click on "Start>>Run", and in the dialog box type, "msconfig".

Hit the "OK" button and wait for the configuration window to open.

Switch to the "Startup" tab of the configuration window.

Here you will see a list of checkboxes next to startup items.  Uncheck all of these items unless you really like them or need them.  If you notice several entries here, or lots of unrecognized items then you might want to consider running a tool such as SpyBot Search & Destroy, CCleaner, or Spyware Terminator. 

It is fun to just click the "Disable All" button and reboot.  You can always go back and re-enable all of them if you like.  You can use this on a clients machine to speed up the repair process.  Many people like to have EVERY instant messenger client running, and at least 5 other meaningless startup applications running.

Anyways, click "Apply", then "OK".

Go ahead and restart now to see your changes take affect.

This will considerably knock down on resident applications running at startup.

Some applications can only be disable by editing the registry.  Please file a service ticket for information or help on this issue.