Insider Power Techniques for Microsoft® Windows® XP

Getting the Most Out of the Shutdown Procedure

Shutdown is usually a relatively uneventful procedure, and most people simply initiate it and then leave their computer to handle the details. (This is particularly true on most newer systems that shut themselves off automatically after Windows XP closes up shop.) But few people know that, similar to the startup, you can also run programs and scripts as part of the shutdown routine. And since performance isn’t as much of an issue as it is with startup, shutdown is a great place to run scripts that perform time-consuming tasks such as deleting files you no longer need. We’ll close this chapter with a look at a few useful techniques that help you take advantage of the Windows XP shutdown procedure. ...