Chapter 1. Startup and Shutdown
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 productive—and to have a little customization fun—when 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.
Customize Multiboot Startup Options
Edit or create a startup menu that lets you choose which operating system to boot into in multiboot systems, or create a menu that lets you choose different startup options for your single operating system if you have only XP installed.
If you’ve installed another operating system (in addition to XP) on your system, your PC starts up with a multiboot menu, which allows you to choose the operating system you want to run. The menu stays live for 30 seconds, and a screen countdown tells you how long you have to make a choice from the menu. After the 30 seconds elapse, it boots into your default operating system, which is generally the last operating system ...
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