Don't Autostart Anything
Nothing's slower than having to wait for your computer to launch a bunch of programs each times it starts up. To stop a program from launching at start-up, just open C:WindowsStart MenuProgramsStartUp in Windows Explorer and delete that program's shortcut.

Windows 98's System Information tool (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information) gives you an even more detailed list of autostarting programs. Just expand the Software Environment menu and choose Startup Programs. This will show you any programs that are automatically launched by the Registry. To keep these programs from autostarting, consult each application's help file.

Stop the Floppy Scan There's no need to search for the floppy drive every time your PC boots up
When Windows 98 boots up, it wastes time scanning for new floppy drives. You can reclaim these lost seconds via the System Control Panel applet (Start/Settings/Control Panel/System, or right-click My Computer and choose Properties). Select the Performance tab; click the File System button; select the Floppy Disk tab; and uncheck the option "Search for new floppy disk drives every time your computer starts." Voilà!

Speed Up Reboots
If you think Windows 98 takes too long to boot, you can remove the built-in two-second delay in the OS's start-up sequence. Here's what you need to do:

 

•	Under the Start button, select Find/Files or Folders.
•	Enter msdos.sys in the Named box and C: in the Look In box. Then click Find Now.
•	When the file appears, right-click it and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
•	Click to remove the check marks from the Read-Only and Hidden attributes, then click OK.
•	Right-click msdos.sys, select Open With from the pop-up menu, enter Notepad as the opening program, and then click OK.
•	Under Options, enter BootDelay=0 or BootDelay=1 on its own line. (This represents respective delays of zero seconds and one second, both of which are faster than the default).
•	Close Notepad and save your changes on the way out.
•	Return msdos.sys to its hidden, read-only state. (Right-click it, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and check the Read-Only and Hidden check boxes. Then click OK.)
•	Quit and restart Windows.

Warning: Any time you make changes to your SYS files, it's a good idea to back up your important files and have your original Windows disk on hand in case you need to reinstall.

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