Ok...and onto my tweaks....i have gotten these from a variety of different sources...these are from memory and work in XP Home or Pro - unfortunately not 2000 or Vista.

The following tweaks utilise a function called "Group Policy Editor"
Start -> Run -> gpedit.msc

Navigate to the following...
User -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Explorer
Locate Remove CD Burning Features, double click on it and select Enabled (don’t worry, 3rd party programs will still work..this just removes the utterly useless XP burning features.

User -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows explorer
Located Remove Shared Doucments This will speed up computer and network browsing.

These next tweaks require the use of Regedit – as i’ve said this is extremely dangerous and could cause all sorts of trouble. If any of these items don’t exist in the folder, create them.
IF YOU ARE NOT SURE OF ANY INSTRUCTIONS– CONTACT A MEMBER OF THE STAFF, DO NOT PLAY AROUND WITH THESE SETTINGS, YOU CAN IRREVERSIBLY DAMAGE YOUR COMPUTER.
We may have the restore point...but it's safer not to have to use it.

The following tweaks are to reduce your shutdown and restart times.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Change HungAppTimeout to 4000
Change WaitToKillAppTimeout to 4000
Change AutoEndTasks to 1
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Widnows\Curr entVersion\Explorer
Create a new “key” (a subfolder) and call it AlwaysUnloadDll (all one word) Double click on the automatic entry and set it to 1

The following memory tweaks should only be done if you have 512mb RAM or more.
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management
[b]DisablePagingExecutive=1
SecondLevelDataCache=512 (This is set to what your L2 Cache is on your CPU)
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\
EnablePrefetcher=5
Navigate to HKEYL_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Prior ityControl\
Create a new DWORD called IRQ8Priority and set the value to 1
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Priori tyControl\FileSystem\
Change DisableNTFSLastAccessUpdate to 1
Change NTFSDisable8Dot3NameCreation to 1


Now you’ve finished all that stuff...goto Start -> Run -> cmd and type in set devmgnt_show_nonpresent_devices=1
Start -> Run -> devmgnt.msc and remove any old hardware that is no longer present. This will uninstall the drivers.

These following services are ones that are included in windows and are not critical so you can safely stop and disable these.
To access this area – Start -> Run -> services.msc
To disable these double click on each one and select Stop and change Automatic or Manual to Disabled

Alerter
Clipbook
Fast User Switch Compatability
Help and Support (who needs this when you have PCHF!? )
Human Device Interface Access
IMAPI CD-Burning Com Service
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger (this is not MSN)
Net Meeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSM
Performance Logs and Alerts
Remote Registry
Routing and Remote Access
Secondary Logon
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
TCP/IP Net Bios helper
Telnet
Terminal Services
Uninteruptable power Supply
Upload Manager
Volume Shadow Copy
Web Client
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adapter[/color]
Give your computer a restart...and see what happens.

Hopefully you will notice some things J

a couple of things were not available... such as....

-gpedit.msc
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Priori tyControl\FileSystem\
-devmgnt.msc (I navigated to device manager in the control panel and only noted one thing unusual, screenies and an explaination later)
-human device interface access
-net meeting remote desktop sharing
-network dde and ddsm
-smart card helper
-upload manager
-telnet

I'll have the pictures up of the oddity I noticed in a minute.... then Im going to restart.

when I clicked on update drivers, it stated that it could not find better drivers than the ones I already had... which is none.

also noted is the fact that it lists two system boards on device manager rather than one. :s

the second one reads as on Intel(R) 82801FB LPC Interface Controller - 2640

Yup, alot of those things wouldn't be available because they're in Windows XP Pro.

When you click on "Update Driver" in windows - it never actually checks...it just makes sure it's installed current to what windows had originally...so pretty much anything released in the last 2 years is more current then what windows has.

Download these ones here. The Guru of 3D Download Section

This is a set of modified drivers - but read the description.

The NGO ATI Optimized Driver is a modified version of the ATI Catalyst driver. The main purpose is to satisfy the users with better performance, image quality and compatibility. The NGO ATI Optimized Driver can enhance your experience in games, multimedia and general usage. This project is especially suited for enthusiasts and gamers that want to have the best gaming experience.

Also don't worry about the system board - you wouldn't have swapped it out anytime soon.

well, I did all the tweaks and......

first thing I noticed is it took less than 30 seconds from power on for me to get to the login screen, and about 5 seconds from typing in my password before my computer was up and running w/ everything loaded.

In counterstrike : source, I didnt notice much of a difference. So , I used casey's config, modified a few things, put all my graphics settings on low, and 'lo ! the fps drop below 30 is almost completely gone. 22 ppl on NoobGalore iceworld (use it for benchmarking) and while I got a lot of choke.... (unfortunate, but something Ill have to deal with for now) , I didnt get the HUGE fps drops that were tied to it. the lowest I saw my fps go with 5 people around the corner and 2 teammates behind me was 33. Without casey's config, it did the standard drop to 20. Wonder if my motherboard will support a better processor....

*runs, dodging the onslaught of 20 lb textbooks*