7. Selective startup
If you find any superfluous entries in Task Manager, chances are they're being launched with Windows. Scour the Startup folder on the Start menu to find and remove anything you don't really need all of the time. For more control over the Windows startup process, type "msconfig" into the Start menu search box and hit Enter -- the subsequent dialog lets you make detailed changes to which services and tools can launch automatically at the same time as the operating system.
You might be surprised at how many services start up with Windows.
