XP Help,plz

Hi and welcome.

If you have service pack 2, go to add\remove programs, windows setup and MSN Messenger is near the end of the list. Dont have Service Pack 2? Go to Windows Update and get it! Keep auto updates on.

As for startup, well, XP is different, it uses services. You can find these under control panel, administrative tools, services. Some are obvious, if your not sure, leave them alone. Of course, this IS different, as you were told, but startup items still exist and can be removed via the way your familiar with. That said, I do mine through a tool I already use, like CCleaner. Its a good drive cleaner and under the tools tab has a startup remover.

http://majorgeeks.com/download4191.html

Finally, disable Windows Firewall if you use Sygate, for sure! Like anti-virus, only use one at a time.

Another tip, XP Pro leave file sharing on by default. If your not networking 2 or more computers, disable it. Go to control panel, network connections, find your internet connection, right click and hit properties and disable file and print sharing.

Another speed tip. If you do not search your hard drive a lot, in services (as explained above) disable indexing. Optionally, right click on your C: drive under my computer and uncheck the file indexing option near the bottom, apply to all folders and ignore any errors that pop up

Another nuisance, control panel, system, advanced, error reporting, check the disable error reporting.

These few tips will speed things up along with messenger removal.