Your page file can contain critical information...

By peeking on my own hard disc with a hex editor (mounting it from a dual boot system or live CD), i found various user- and account names - with a simple hex editor.

To avoid security breaches, i recommend to clear your page file automatically during shutdown.

Simply start Notepad and enter the following lines (the file should be renamed afterwards, so that it ends with .reg):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management]
"ClearPageFileAtShutdown"=dword:00000001

It appears that Windows 2000 and NT uses the same registry entry, as documented in KB 182086

NTREGOPT - still useful in case of registry bloat

Under normal circumstances, the XP registry should not bloat.

But i found out there is at least one badly written driver which causes system messages complaining about the registry size (at startup).

One example is the -buggy- Nvidia Mixer Control (NVMIXER). It writes spurious entries, as long as its installed, until XP complains.

NTREGOPT is the one and only cure for this.

You should not use other tools, as most other registry optimzers are not freeware, or damage used hives.

Additional links:
Registry troubleshooting steps for advanced users

Windows fax and print preview very slow

Basically repair (or delete) your network associations or move them to another folder.

http://www.pitr.net/index.php/2007/08/02/windows-image-viewer-slow/

How to set up XP Mode in Windows 7

Found a well documented guide what to do - and in which order. It is documented in "The Clubhouse" at Microsoft.

Unfortunately, the clubhouse does not accept all membership applications.

You should show a strong interest in social networks when you try to register ;-)

Here is the link to the article:

http://clubhouse.microsoft.com/post/F5CF78DEA3328162-212158