Section 1.1. Hacks 1-7

1.1. Hacks 1-7

Possibly the most overlooked part of XP is the way people start up and shut down their systems. How much do you think about startup and shutdown? Probably not much. Press a button to start your PC, click a few buttons to shut it down, and that's it.

In fact, there's a lot you can do to get more productiveand to have a little customization funwhen using startup and shutdown. You can create boot menus and choose from customized startup options; you can create your own boot screen; you can perform automated tasks every time you shut down your PC; and you can stop unnecessary programs and services from starting so that you increase the speed of your PC. In this chapter, you'll learn all that, plus other ways to master and customize system startup and shutdown.