go to start
then run
type in "msconfig"
you then get a box that has several tabs you need to go the the start up tab
untick all the boxes,
restart laptop/pc
this means it will not load all programs on the machine in the background,works a treat and improves start up time by alot, give it a go,
obviously if you want certain programs to load on start up e.g. msn messenger then just tick the box again