from win2000mag.com....
"WINDOWS 2000 PRO TIP: CLEANING UP YOUR SYSTEM TRAY
The first thing I do with a new laptop or desktop is clean out all the
applications and installation routines that the hardware manufacturer
preloaded on the system. The task is annoying and time consuming, but
not difficult. What's even more annoying is how many little (useless)
tools automatically load themselves into my system tray.
Unloading items from the system tray can be tricky, depending on how
well the application vendor wrote the software; some application
developers want you to see their product's icon all day long, so they
make removing it difficult. But system tray icons take up memory, so if
they don't serve a purpose, I recommend you remove them.
Here's how:
1. Check the program. Sometimes, if you right-click a system tray icon,
it lets you unload it and never have it load again. My compliments to
software vendors who follow this user-friendly standard.
2. Check your startup folders. Right-click your Start button, and select
Open. Navigate to Programs, Startup. Look for any icons in the start up
folder. If you don't want a program to load at startup, remove the icon
by either deleting the icon or moving it somewhere else. Repeat the
process for the "Open All Users" option.
3. Check the registry. This approach is a bit trickier. Back up your
registry, run regedit.exe, and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.
Anything in this key runs at startup. Delete items carefully here
because some items might be necessary for your system to function
correctly. Always note the command-line value for each entry you delete,
in case you need to add it back.
4. Check .ini files. Some old software programs still follow this
standard. Before the registry existed, Windows used .ini files to store
configuration information, including which programs should load at
startup. For backward compatibility purposes, these files are still
maintained today. Using Notepad, open %SystemRoot%\win.ini and
%SystemRoot%\system.ini, and look for any load= or run= statements. If
you see those statements, with references to programs, try removing the
statements. Again, remove them carefully because some files might be
necessary for the proper operation of your system.
If you follow the above methods, you can remove most of the clutter
from your system tray. Your boot times will be quicker because Windows
doesn't need to load all of the extra items, and you'll have more usable
RAM in your system." |
