If Windows is taking its time to start up or shut down, there might be a problem.
To find out what’s going on

1. Go to “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System”
2. Create a DWORD value called ‘verbosestatus’ and set it to 1.
3. Restart your PC

If strangers have physical access to your PC, it’s easy for them to plug in a USB flash drive and make copies of your data.

If you’re using Windows XP SP2 or later, though, there’s a simple way to prevent this from happening.

• Go to “HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies”
• Create a DWORD value called ‘WriteProtect’ and set it to 1.
• You’ll be able to read USB drives, but not write to them any more

By default, Windows Live Messenger only lets you log into one account at a time.

To open multiple instances of Windows Live Messenger

• Go to “HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsLive\Messenger”
• Create a DWORD value called ‘Multiple Instances’ and set it to 1.
• Delete the value to restore things to the way they were beforehand.

Windows AutoRun feature is a potential security risk because it automatically runs code when you connect removable devices to your PC.
If you can put up with the inconvenience of doing things manually then it’s safest to disable it.
To disable Autorun

• Go to “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\IniFileMapping”
• Create a key called ‘Autorun.inf’.
• Double-click the new key’s (Default) value and Enter the new value ‘@SYS:DoesNotExist’.
• Delete the Registry key ‘HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MountPoints2′.

Now windows not run any code automatically on CDs, DVDs or removable drives, you will have to manually launch it.

Most installations default to the Program Files folder, but if you want to change this

• Go to “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion”
• Change the ‘ProgramFilesDir’ entry to point at your chosen folder
• Restart PC.