Faster Windows 7 shutdown using REGEDIT

For the first hack, click the key combination > [WINDOWS] + [R], type > regedit into the text field, and click > OK to launch the registry editor.
In the registry editor, navigate to this folder:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control

Within that folder (on the right) find and double-click the string > WaitToKillServiceTimeout.
In the > Edit String window, change the > Value data from the default of 12000 (12 seconds) to 2000 (2 seconds). Click > OK to save the change.

For the second hack, navigate to the following location via the registry editor:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

On the right, find and double-click the string > WaitToKillAppTimeout.

If this entry does not exist, you can create it. Right-click into the folder and click through > New > String Value, and name it > WaitToKillAppTimeout.
Set > Value data to 2000, click > OK.
In the same registry folder, if you see an entry called > AutoEndTasks, set its > Value data to 1, then close the registry editor.
Shutdown time: 27 seconds