How to make Windows 2000 and XP shutdown faster

You can cut down the time it takes for Windows to shutdown all of your running program by making a couple of changes to your registry. This can make the shutdown process a little bit quicker, which is great for the impatient users of today. However, before doing so I recommend you backup your registry , just in case you make a mistake..

Here's how to make your computer shutdown faster:

1. Go to the Start Menu and choose Run from the menu

2. Type regedit in the box and press OK

3. The registry editor will appear.

4. Click the + sign next to My Computer

5. Then click the + sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER

6. Then the + sign for control panel

7. Scroll down and find Desktop and click on the writing to make it blue like in the screenshot below.

8. This will make a list appear in the right column. Look in there and Double click on the AutoEndTasks file.

9. The default value here is 0. Change it to 1. Press OK.

10. Then find another file in the right panel called WaitToKillAppTimeout

11. The default value here is 20000. Mine is set to 3500 now. Press OK

12. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.