To disable the Windows XP splash screen (logo) at startup, and to see the list of drivers loading at startup, follow these steps:
Click Start, Run and type MSCONFIG
Click the Boot.ini tab
Under Operating Systems section, select the appropriate entry and then enable the /SOS switch in the Boot Options section below
Click OK and close MSCONFIG utility.
The corresponding entry in the Boot.ini file is automatically added. Example given below:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(5)\WINDOWS="XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
becomes
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(5)\WINDOWS="XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /sos
The /sos parameter displays the names of the drivers as they load during the boot process. Use when startup fails (while loading drivers) to determine which driver is failing to load. See Boot Parameter Reference for more information.
Also see /noguiboot parameter, which can also disable the splash screen.