How to Troubleshoot Taskbar Options in Windows XP in Seconds

Here are five easy tasks to tweak taskbar options in Windows XP.

A. Add Items to the notification area in minutes.

If you want to add an icon to the notification area for any network or Internet connection on a computer running Microsoft Windows XP, follow below steps

1. Click Start, click Connect To, and then click Show All Connections. If the Connect To option is not available on the Start Menu, in Control Panel, open Network Connections.

2. Right-click the connection that you want to show in the notification area, and then click Properties

3. On the General tab of the connection's Properties dialog box, select the Show Icon In Notification Area When Connected check box, and then click OK.

B. Hide inactive icons.

Below are the steps.

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, and choose Properties.

2. On the taskbar tab, select the Hide inactive icons check box. Click OK.

C. How to remove icons and close programs permanently.

If you to want to remove programs for notification area permanently, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Run dialog box, type msconfig.exe and click OK.

3. In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab.

4. Scroll through the list, and clear the check box of any third-party item you do not want to start automatically when Windows does.

5. Restart the computer, and when prompted by the System Configuration Utility, verify that you understand that changes have been made

D. Enable quick launch.

Steps to add quick launch of program icons.

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar, and choose Properties.

2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu dialog box, click the Taskbar tab.

3. Select the Show Quick Launch check box, and then click OK.

4. To remove any item from the Quick Launch area, right-click the icon and select Delete. Click yes in the Confirm File Delete dialog box.

5. To add any item to the Quick Launch area, locate the program in Windows Explorer, the Start menu, or the All Programs list; right-click it; drag the program to the Quick Launch area; and then choose Create Shortcuts Here. If this option is not available, choose Copy Here. A new icon will be added to the Quick Launch area.

E. Configuring Taskbar Toolbars

You can add toolbars to the taskbar by right-clicking the taskbar, pointing to Toolbars, and making the appropriate selection from the choices available. Some choices you can add include the following:

Address, Windows Media Player, Links, Language Bar, Desktop, Quick Launch, New Toolbar