[Osiris]

In the beginning, shutdown time is not really a concern but as your computer ages, things really start to slow down. By performing this neat registry trick, you can decrease the amount of time Windows Vista waits for a service to stop before prompting you to forcefully stop it. In case the explanation was not specific enough, let’s say that one of your services timed out. There is a certain amount of seconds Windows Vista waits before asking you if you want to manually shut down the service. By decreasing this time, you can shut down much faster.

1) Access your registry editor: Open up the Start Menu, and type regedit in the Search bar. When working with the registry editor, it is always a good idea to make some sort of a backup in case you make a mistake. You can access it by going to File > Export.
2) Navigate to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l]
3) Edit the “WaitToKillServiceTimeout”=”20000″ - By default, the setting is at 20000 milliseconds (20 seconds.) The default setting are the safest settings for your computer. By lowering this amount, there is some degree of risk involved. I would suggest you lower it in 5 second increments to see what works for you. It is generally recommended that you do not lower it more than 3-5 seconds. Doing so will cause your computer to shut down improperly or lose data.