
Run REGEDIT.EXE
Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Services \ VxD \ BIOS.
In the rightmost pane, create a new DWORD value and label it: "CPUPriority" (without quotes).
Double-click the newly created setting, switch its format to Decimal, then enter "1" (without quotes) as a value.
Upon reboot, this tweak should speed up the launching of programs.
NOTE: your mileage may vary.