Adjusting Windows XP Menu Show Delay

By default, Windows XP places a delay on menus before they are displayed. Some users feel this menu delay is a bit long and may prefer to reduce or eliminate the delay all together. The good news is that this is easily accomplished via the adjustment of a simple registry setting.

Reduce or eliminate Windows XP Menu Show Delay:

  1. Click Start -> Run
  2. Type regedit in the run box that appears.
  3. From the Registry Editor, navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop
  4. Once there, find MenuShowDelay and set its value to equal the delay you would like before the menus are shown. See the chart below:
    Value Data: 0-999 (milliseconds)400 Default
    200 Works for most people
    0 No Delay
  5. Close the Registry Editor and reboot your computer. Changes will not take effect until reboot.