Follow these steps to restore the "Windows Classic" look to XP:

Right-click Start and select Properties.

1. Click the radio button next to [Classic Start menu] and click OK.
2. Optionally, Click [Customize...]

From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel.

1. On the left side of the window, click [Switch to Classic View].
2. Double-click [Display].
3. In the window that appears, from the drop-down menu under [Theme:], select [Windows Classic].
4. Click on the [Appearance] tab, then the [Effects] button. Uncheck all. Click [OK].

Open Windows Explorer.

1. If you want to apply a custom view, for example [View|Details], do that first.
2. Select [Tools] and click [Folder Options...].
3. Select the [General] tab.
4. In the [Tasks] section, select the radio button next to [Use Windows Classic Folders].
5. Click on the [View] tab and customize (i.e., uncheck "Hide File Extensions").
6. Click [Apply] at the bottom and then the [Apply to All Folders] button at the top.

Hit F3, or from the Start menu, select Search

1. Click on "Turn off the animated character"
2. Click "Change Search Preferences"
3. Click "Change Files and Folders Search Behavior"
4. Choose "Advanced - Include options to manually enter..."
5. You may also want to run a search to remember settings:
6. Click "More Advanced Options"
7. Check "Hidden files and folders"

Right-click the Taskbar

1. Go to Toolbars
2. Click on QuickLaunch
3. Customize the QuickLaunch icons

You can also use Remote Desktop on XP:

1. Right-click My Computer, select Properties
2. Click on the Remote tab
3. Check the "Allow Users to connect remotely" box
4. Click "Select Remote Users..." and add local usernames
5. Run this in a batch file (call it something like rdp.cmd) to change the port:

   @echo off
   REM - Change Remove Desktop port number to 1942 (0x796)
   REM
   REG ADD "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp" /v PortNumber /t reg_dword /d 1942 /f
   netsh firewall add portopening protocol=tcp port=1942 name=RDP_1942
   netsh firewall show portopening
   pause