Switch to Windows' basic search tool

Open the Registry Editor. Now Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software \Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer \ Cabinet State. Go to Edit New String Value. Name the new value. Double-click the new value, type no in the Value Data text box, and click OK. Close the Registry Editor, and restart the system. To switch back to the Search Companion, just go back to the Registry Editor, and change the Value Data to yes.

Faster Network Access

When you use My Network Places to browse for other machines on your network, Windows XP first checks for the scheduled tasks on the target machine before listing the shared resources present on the computer. We can do a registry hack to avoid this delay. Invoke the Registry Editor by typing regedit at the command line. Open the following Registrykey:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace. Delete the following key {D6277990-4C6A-11CF- 8D87-00AA0060F5BF}. Now close the Registry and reboot.

Customize the “Send To” Option

Adding new locations and programs and taking away existing ones that you never use from this menu is very simple. It's easy to hack. Go to C:\Documents and Settings\\SendTo, where is your username with which you login to your system. The older will be filled with shortcuts to all the locations you find on your “Send To” context menu. To remove an item from the Send To menu, delete the shortcut from the folder. To add an item to the menu, add a shortcut to the folder by highlighting the folder, choosing File  New Shortcut, and follow the instructions for creating a shortcut. The new setting will take effect immediately.