Here's a few quick hacks/registry changes that will help you improve the terribly bloated and mind-numbing thing we call XPand hopefully I'll got some good credits out of this to. This tutorial is VERY detailed so it should be easy to follow and sorry if there is spelling mistakes. MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE YOU TRY ANY OF THESE. I also take no responsibility if you are an idoit and dont back it up or if you do any harm to your computer!!

Improved context menu:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFileSysytemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
New key called "CopyTo" (Don't type any qoutes anywhere in these hacks unless specified directly) set it's value to "{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
Create a second new key called "MoveTo" change it's value to "{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
Now you can easily move or copy files using the right-click context menu.

Go back to the old search interface:
If you're like me, that puppy on the search page is drivin you nutz, here's how to put that little bastard down.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentVersion\Explorer\cabinetState\
Create a new string called "Use Search Asst." Then set the value to "no"

Kill the start Menu MFU List:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\policies\explorer
Create a new DWORD called "NoStartMenuMFUprogramsList" give it a value of 1

Kill open programs automatically at shutdown:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Create or modify the DWORD "AutoEndTasks" give it a value of 1

Create seperators for the start menu:
We all love to pin programs to the start menu, it's nice to have them right there. The only thing is, it gets hard to look at when you have lots of stuff pinned. Here's how to make seperators for the start menu.

Make a new shortcut somewhere(anywhere) and select any .exe as it's target. Then instead of typing a name for the shortcut hold down the alt key and type 0160. click OK and then right-click on the new shortcut. remove the target and give it a blank icon. Just drag the shortcut to the pinned items list to add a seperator.

In this part I'll show you how to get the best performance from you XP machine:

1.) Kill LUNA! the new "luna" interface on XP is great! But it's also a HUGE resources hog! I suggest opening "display Properties" and choosing "Windows Classic Style" from the appearance tab, also kill the menu animations while your here, you don't need em and they slow the **** down.

2.) Indexing: go to Control Panel -> admin tools -> services -> Disable indexing service. Trust me this shouldn't even have been on in the first place!

3.) Seperate the Explorer Process: Go to My computer -> tools -> Folder Options
Scroll down till you see "Launch Folder Windows in a Seperate Process" and turn it on. Now when explorer crashes you don't take everything else with it. Handy!

4.) Kill Window Sounds: Aight, here's the truth.. everyone but you thinks you windows sound scheme is anoying as hell!! There I said it, don't blame me! I'm just the messenger! Go disable windows sounds to get a rediculously easy performance boost(especially during startup) and also save us the psychiatric fees at the same time.

5.) Icons: If you have loads of icons on your desktop, I suggest maybe sorting them into folders or putting them in a folder and adding it to a popout menu at the side of the screen. Tests show that as little as 15 icons on the dtop slows boot time and dtop refresh by 20% and 40% respectively!

they're some very nice tips you've got there! just a warning to anyone thats attempting to use any of the registry tricks, be sure you know what you are doing. the registry is a dangerous place and can seriously harm your computer! thats said, its also great for tweaking windows. if your not sure how to get there, you probably shouldn't be there, but put simply, hit the windows key + R then type in regedit then hit enter! once your in there you can use the registry keys (that were given above) in the search feature to find them and then edit them!

i must stress what out what you are doing in there, its not th place to be playing around!

good luck
-jimmy