How can I trim down the XP startup process?

You can remove programs from the startup process. Here's how:

1. Click Start Run and type: msconfig.exe
2. In the System Configuration utility, click the Startup tab and uncheck the programs in the list that you don't want to start when you boot the system. If you don't know what some of the listed items are, you may need to look them up in a web search. For example, I have Microsoft Groove installed as part of Office, but I rarely use it. GrooveMonitor starts automatically, but I can uncheck it to speed up the Startup process.

If you have many unnecessary programs starting up, you may see a significant decrease in bootup time when you uncheck several of them.