Hi Dave,
Here are several methods of dealing with tool tips and balloons.
How to remove pop-up descriptions from desktop icons:
Open My Computer
Click Tools - Folder Options - View tab, and uncheck this option:
"Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items"
How to change pop-up descriptions for icons in the Taskbar:
Right click on each icon in the QL toolbar and select properties.
Look at comments on the shortcut tab and, the text to the right of the
icon at the top on the General tab and edit each to your liking.
How to change the size of pop-up descriptions for icons in the
Taskbar:
Right click on the Desktop and select properties.
Click the Appearance tab - Advanced Button.
Select Tooltips from the Items dropdown box and adjust the size.
How to remove Balloon Tips:
This can be done using Tweakui. Install Tweakui and go to
Task and Start menu, then uncheck Enable balloon tips.
Or here's a script to Disable Balloon Tips
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_balloontips.htm
HOW TO: Disable Notification Area Balloon Tips in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307729&sd=tech