How can I improve my Windows XP start up time?

Solution 1:

Your admins probably have some startup scripts they are pushing through group policy and could be what is causing the delay.

To see exactly what runs on startup from your computer, take a look at Autoruns from SysInternals.

If you have a lot of stuff trying to run at once, it may be worth it to look at using Startup Delayer to force your startup apps to run in a specific order rather than all at once.

Solution 2:

Autoruns is good, as is msconfig.

You might want do test it out in various environments ... network connected, network not connected, safe mode, standard mode, different users, some peripherals connected and not connected.

Good luck!