There are times during the Windows start-up that issues or slowness can occur is multiple programs are trying to start at the same time.  r2 Studios (LINK: http://www.r2.com.au/software.php?page=2&show=startdelay (http://www NULL.r2 NULL.com NULL.au/software NULL.php?page=2&show=startdelay)) based in Brisbane, Australia has a nice little (and Free) utility allowing to control how long each program waits before startup. 

From the r2 Studios site -

     The power to speed up your computer’s startup process! If each program (Scheduled to run at startup) tries to load at the same time, you will notice the slow down that occurs during boot up, due to your CPU trying to help all the programs to load, and your hard disk accessing multiple files

Startup Delayer allows you to setup how many seconds after Windows has started, to load each program.
For Example:
If you have your mail program and a special clock starting up, then you can make your mail start say 10 seconds after Windows has loaded, and then the special clock start 20 seconds after Windows Starts.
Compatible with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista

http://www.r2.com.au/software.php?page=2&show=startdelay (http://www NULL.r2 NULL.com NULL.au/software NULL.php?page=2&show=startdelay) (Software Author Website)