Failure to hide Taskbar icons

[Guest]

My PC is running Windows XP Home Edition. The Task Bar is loaded with icons,
most of which I never use (I prefer to use the corresponding Desktop icons).
I have tried to hide those unused icons by Start -> Control Panel ->
Appearance and Themes -> Taskbar and Start Menu. On the Taskbar tab, "Hide
Inactive Icons" is checked. I click on "Customize" and for each icon that I
never use, I select "Always Hide". Those "Always Hide" selected icons are
still being displayed on the Taskbar, even after doing a Restart.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My PC is running Windows XP Home Edition. The Task Bar is loaded with icons,
most of which I never use (I prefer to use the corresponding Desktop icons).

Although there can be other things, there are by default three
different kinds of things on the Task Bar:

1. Bars with the names and icons of running programs. These are
normally in the middle of the task bar.

2. Icons for programs running in the background. These are in the
Notification Area (aka System Tray) on the right, near the clock.

3. Icons in the Quick Launch Bar, which (usually) is on the left on
the Task Bar, next to the Start button. These are shortcuts to start
programs, and are no different from shortcut icons anywhere else, such
as the desktop. Note that the Quick Launch Bar is not actually part of
the Task Bar, but is a *separate* toolbar that, by default, resides
*on* the Task Bar. The Quick Launch Bar can be turned off entirely or
moved and docked away from the Task Bar on another side of the screen.

I have tried to hide those unused icons by Start -> Control Panel ->
Appearance and Themes -> Taskbar and Start Menu. On the Taskbar tab, "Hide
Inactive Icons" is checked. I click on "Customize" and for each icon that I
never use, I select "Always Hide". Those "Always Hide" selected icons are
still being displayed on the Taskbar, even after doing a Restart.

I'm not sure which icons you are asking about, but if you want to
delete icons on the Quick Launch Bar, simply right-click on them and
choose "delete." If you mean something else, please write back to
clarify.

 

[Guest]

The icons I was referring to are the ones in the Notification Area/System
Tray next to the clock.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

The icons I was referring to are the ones in the Notification Area/System
Tray next to the clock.

OK. As I said, these represent running background programs. Do you
want to get rid of the icons, or do you want to stop the background
tasks from running? Most people want to do the latter.

Here's my standard post on this subject:

First, note that you should be concerned with *all* programs that
start automatically, not just with those that go into the tray. Not
all autostarting programs manifest themselves by an icon in the tray.

On each program you don't want to start automatically, check its
Options to see if it has the choice not to start (make sure you
actually choose the option not to run it, not just a "don't show icon"
option). Many can easily and best be stopped that way. If that doesn't
work, run MSCONFIG from the Start | Run line, and on the Startup tab,
uncheck the programs you don't want to start automatically.

However, if I were you, I wouldn't do this just for the purpose of
running the minimum number of programs. Despite what many people tell
you, you should be concerned, not with how *many* of these programs
you run, but *which*. Some of them can hurt performance severely, but
others have no effect on performance.

Don't just stop programs from running willy-nilly. What you should do
is determine what each program is, what its value is to you, and what
the cost in performance is of its running all the time. You can get
more information about these at
http://castlecops.com/StartupList.html. If you can't find it there,
try google searches and ask about specifics here.

Once you have that information, you can make an intelligent informed
decision about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of.

 

[Guest]

Ken, thank you very much! Using MSCONFIG in combination with Castlecops
Startup List Index, I was able to reduce the number of icons in the Sytem
Tray and improve my startup time. I have also placed a reminder on my PC
calendar to run that combination every month.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Ken, thank you very much!

You're welcome. Glad to help.

Using MSCONFIG in combination with Castlecops
Startup List Index, I was able to reduce the number of icons in the Sytem
Tray and improve my startup time. I have also placed a reminder on my PC
calendar to run that combination every month.