End it all

[Elyeh]

http://www.hmracing2002.fsnet.co.uk/utilities.htm

or here

http://www.teamdraft.com/utlities.html

I've been using this for a long time now (I sim race alot also)
It will shut down all background programs that are not needed.

Great for Online gaming. It works in Win XP (even though its not listed)

Its freeware...... But I hear its not going to be for long.

Hope this helps with framerates

there also is End it all 2 but its no longer free.

[OOZ662]

FSAutoStart works too, and also restarts the programs after the selected program is closed. You create a profile for each game you'll be using with it, load it up, and it will end programs and services, then defrag your RAM. Then it'll start the game. After the app closes, it restarts selected processes.