Where do I start?

[Lee]

I've been using Windows XP for awhile now and I think I'm
pretty au fait with the ins and outs of it, however, I
still have a few niggly problems which really annoy me!

The first one being system tray icons. Why oh why does
it give you an option on the customise menu to 'always
hide' unwanted icons but it doesn't work? As soon as I
reboot they appear again.

Secondly icons in general are a total pain. Mine seem to
have a mind of their own and constantly change. I've
considered amending the icon cache registry entry but I'm
not convinced this will work.

Lastly, (for now anyway) is there anyway to find out
which programs you can discard without messing up your
whole system? I've installed a few programs in the past
which I no longer use but constantly get warnings not to
uninstall as it could affect other programs on the
system. Please someone help, I will be eternally
grateful!

 

[Rob Schneider]

I've been using Windows XP for awhile now and I think I'm
pretty au fait with the ins and outs of it, however, I
still have a few niggly problems which really annoy me!

The first one being system tray icons. Why oh why does
it give you an option on the customise menu to 'always
hide' unwanted icons but it doesn't work? As soon as I
reboot they appear again.

Where is this option? I see "Hide Active Icons", but I don't see "Always
Hide".

Secondly icons in general are a total pain. Mine seem to
have a mind of their own and constantly change. I've
considered amending the icon cache registry entry but I'm
not convinced this will work.

Change from what to what? Please describe change?

Lastly, (for now anyway) is there anyway to find out
which programs you can discard without messing up your
whole system? I've installed a few programs in the past
which I no longer use but constantly get warnings not to
uninstall as it could affect other programs on the
system. Please someone help, I will be eternally
grateful!

Most applications can be un-installed without affecting entire system
since by default these applications where installed after the system. No?

Specifically, what applications are you trying to un-install, and
specifically what is the error message? Are the un-install programs
warning you about DLL files that they installed into the system folders?

 

[John Dingley]

Can answer the bit on >>I've installed a few programs in the past
which I no longer use but constantly get warnings not to
uninstall as it could affect other programs on the
system.<<

These warnings I assume show up when you try to uninstall and it says
something like >> file.xxx may be used by something else do you want to
remove or leave<<

These are files that are usually directed at the system directory and are
usually dll or ocx type extensions. If for example you have two programs on
your machine that use x.dll and your uninstall removes it - then the other
program will not work anymore until you reinstall it.

Unless you are incredibly short of disk space - when you see a message like
this - keep the file. The vast majority of the program data etc will be
removed and it will not affect anyting else.

 

[Lee]

John,
Many thanks for your help. I will take your advice and
not delete these programs!