To disable the splash screen in Windows XP: Right-click My Computer and choose Properties. (or, press Windows key+Pause key) Click the Advanced tab, and click the Settings button under Startup and Recovery. In the System Startup area, click Edit. After the /fastdetect entry under [operating systems], add a space and /SOS.
The ability to Repair Internet Explorer does not exist in the version that ships with Windows XP. This feature only becomes available after you upgrade to a newer version. This is normal and has been this way since Windows 98 and IE4.
Technology often marches asymmetrically. CPUs, graphics cards, and chipsets follow different development and shipping schedules. One example of this is Socket 939 Athlon 64 CPUs. When those shipped last year, many were installed into AGP motherboards using either VIA K8T800 or Nvidia Nforce3 chipsets. That meant users were limited to AGP graphics and Serial ATA [...]
