<p>The Start menu, in Windows XP, has been completely revamped and made extremely customisable. If you want the Start menu to display only certain applications, right click in an empty section of the Start menu's left column and select Properties > Start menu > Customise. Then, go to the General tab, click on Clear List, and set the counter to zero. Now no one can keep track of the programs or applications you've recently used. </p><p><img src="http://www.hashdot.com/winxp.jpg" width="510" height="383" border="0" alt="" /> </p><p><b>Speedup the Start menu</b> </p><p>The Start menu takes quite a while to display the list of programs installed. In order to get Windows XP to display the list faster, you will have to edit the registry settings. To speed up your Start menu, go to Start > Run and type regedit. This will open the registry window. Then navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Scroll down in the right panel and double-click on 'menushowdelay'. In the Value Data box, change the default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1 or even 0. Click OK. You should now find a significant increase in the Start menu speed. </p><p><b>Note:</b> Remember to back up your registry before making any changes. </p>