trash on tool tray

[george2002]

Hi, I am trying to figure out how to remove some items from my XP tool
tray. One is MS Messenger which I never use and would like to remove
from my system completely, but if I can keep it from cluttering up my
tray it would be helpful. Another one that I can't figure out how to get
off the tray is Ghost. I have looked through the tiny manual but can
find no information about how to rid my tray of its icon.

A few minutes ago I updated my Sonic CD writer program (from the Dell
site) and now I am getting error messages and get linked back to
oca.microsoft.com . . . it says there is no solution to the problem.
This little laptop (Dell) is slow enough without having little crashes
like this all the time.

Anyway, is there a way to clean up my tool tray of unwanted quick links?

Thank you, George

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Hi, I am trying to figure out how to remove some items from my
XP tool tray.

What do you mean by "tool tray"? There's nothing that goes by
that name. Do you mean the area on the task bar where the clock
is? If so, that's officially called the "System Notification
Area," and is often informally called the "System Tray."

If so, read my standard reply on this subject, below:

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.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi, I am trying to figure out how to remove some items from my XP tool
tray. One is MS Messenger which I never use and would like to remove
from my system completely, but if I can keep it from cluttering up my
tray it would be helpful. Another one that I can't figure out how to get
off the tray is Ghost. I have looked through the tiny manual but can
find no information about how to rid my tray of its icon.

A few minutes ago I updated my Sonic CD writer program (from the Dell
site) and now I am getting error messages and get linked back to
oca.microsoft.com . . . it says there is no solution to the problem.
This little laptop (Dell) is slow enough without having little crashes
like this all the time.

Anyway, is there a way to clean up my tool tray of unwanted quick links?

Thank you, George

Modify C:\Windows\Inf\Sysoc.inf to remove the word "Hide" from
the pertinent Windows Components entries. Be sure to leave the two
surrounding commas in place. (Iow, change the line
"AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,hide,7" to read
"AccessUtil=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,accessor.inf,,7"), and then go to Control
Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Add/Remove Windows Components. Windows
Messenger will now appear among the list of Windows components that can
be removed.

In most cases, with "well-mannered" applications, it's usually as
simple as opening the undesired program and deselecting the option to
"display icon in the system tray" or to "start when Windows starts."

Additionally, Look in the C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up and C:\Documents and
Settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\Start Up folders, and in the
system registry, primarily in the
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run and
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run keys.

How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310560


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

 

[george2002]

Hi Bruce, I edited that file in the inf folder as you suggested however
when I edited out "HIDE" MS Messenger wasn't displayed in Add/Remove. I
went back and checked to make sure I followed your instructions and I
believe I did. I am just learning so I might not have done something
correctly. I have a terrible fear of editing the system registry! I did
that on my friend's computer in Vermont and spent three weeks cleaning
up the mess. However, I did learn a few things along the way, so I might
give your last suggestion a try. Here I have another computer and I
don't have someone breathing down my neck if I screw up. Thanks for the
info.

George

 

[Guest]

Did you look in the Windows components ??

MD

Hi Bruce, I edited that file in the inf folder as you suggested however
when I edited out "HIDE" MS Messenger wasn't displayed in Add/Remove. I
went back and checked to make sure I followed your instructions and I
believe I did. I am just learning so I might not have done something
correctly. I have a terrible fear of editing the system registry! I did
that on my friend's computer in Vermont and spent three weeks cleaning
up the mess. However, I did learn a few things along the way, so I might
give your last suggestion a try. Here I have another computer and I
don't have someone breathing down my neck if I screw up. Thanks for the
info.

George