There are many ways that you can decrease the amount of time it takes Windows XP to start up. However, what about the amount of time it takes for a system to shut down? There are a few configuration changes you can make to a system running Windows XP that will decrease your shutdown time.

One such change is to prevent Windows XP from clearing the page file. Although many people prefer to have the page file cleared on shutdown for security reasons, it does increase the shutdown time. If the speed of things is more of a priority than security, you can prevent Windows XP from clearing the page file by completing these few simple steps.

1. Click Start and click Run.

2. Type regedit.exe and click OK.
3. Navigate to the following registry key:
   
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \ Memory Management

4. Double click ClearPageFileAtShutdown.
5. Change the value data to 0.
6. Close the Registry Editor.