Getting Rid of Icons in Task Bar

[Guest chalkduster0]

When I boot up my computer, 20 icons appear in the task bar. While I'm not a

computer techie, I suspect that the more icons there are in the task bar the

longer it will take to boot up, which is what I'm experiencing. Most of

those icons are ones that I don't use on a regular basis, so can I get rid of

the icons I dont' use, and if so, how? Thanks for the help. chalkduster0

[Guest Smirnoff]

Re: Getting Rid of Icons in Task Bar

 

 

 

"chalkduster0" <chalkduster0@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:EE174364-FACD-49A4-90F3-9841DAE0E995@microsoft.com...

> When I boot up my computer, 20 icons appear in the task bar. While I'm

> not a

> computer techie, I suspect that the more icons there are in the task

> bar the

> longer it will take to boot up, which is what I'm experiencing. Most

> of

> those icons are ones that I don't use on a regular basis, so can I get

> rid of

> the icons I dont' use, and if so, how? Thanks for the help.

> chalkduster0

 

Many programs have an option whether to run at start up in

Preferences/Settings/Tools etc.

 

As a first step, I would suggest you start there.

[Guest Unknown]

Re: Getting Rid of Icons in Task Bar

 

After checking in the programs preferences you can alter your startup

folder. Start---run--type in msconfig---click startup and edit what you

want.

"chalkduster0" <chalkduster0@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:EE174364-FACD-49A4-90F3-9841DAE0E995@microsoft.com...

> When I boot up my computer, 20 icons appear in the task bar. While I'm not

> a

> computer techie, I suspect that the more icons there are in the task bar

> the

> longer it will take to boot up, which is what I'm experiencing. Most of

> those icons are ones that I don't use on a regular basis, so can I get rid

> of

> the icons I dont' use, and if so, how? Thanks for the help. chalkduster0

[Guest Bob I]

Re: Getting Rid of Icons in Task Bar

 

First, the Quick launch toolbar is usually parked on the Task bar and

can contain many icons. This has no system effect other than making life

easier for a user. IF you are talking about the Notification area (the

time is usually seen here) ,often incorrectly called the System tray,

the Icons there actually represent programs running in the back ground.

First clarify the location, then determine the course of action.

 

chalkduster0 wrote:

> When I boot up my computer, 20 icons appear in the task bar. While I'm not a

> computer techie, I suspect that the more icons there are in the task bar the

> longer it will take to boot up, which is what I'm experiencing. Most of

> those icons are ones that I don't use on a regular basis, so can I get rid of

> the icons I dont' use, and if so, how? Thanks for the help. chalkduster0

[Guest Ken Blake, MVP]

Re: Getting Rid of Icons in Task Bar

 

On Wed, 28 May 2008 08:10:01 -0700, chalkduster0

<chalkduster0@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> When I boot up my computer, 20 icons appear in the task bar. While I'm not a

> computer techie, I suspect that the more icons there are in the task bar the

> longer it will take to boot up, which is what I'm experiencing. Most of

> those icons are ones that I don't use on a regular basis, so can I get rid of

> the icons I dont' use, and if so, how? Thanks for the help. chalkduster0

 

 

 

First, clarify what you mean by "in the task bar."

 

The are three potential places on the task bar that can contain icons:

 

1. The Quick Launch Bar (usually on the left side)

 

2. The Task Bar itself.

 

3. The System Notification Are (often informally called the System

Tray), usually on the right, near the clock.

 

Note that icons on the Quick Launch bar do *not* represent running

programs, and are only shortcuts, there to let you easily start the

programs they represent. There is *no* performance penalty to having

icons there.

 

The task bar itself, and the System Tray do represent running

programs, and these will a least slow down booting, and depending on

what programs they represent, can also cause an overall performance

penalty.

 

Here's my standard advice on slow startup and autostarting programs:

 

My personal view is that the attention many people pay to how long it

takes to boot is unwarranted. Assuming that the computer's speed is

otherwise satisfactory, it may not be worth worrying about. Most

people start their computers once a day or even less frequently. In

the overall scheme of things, even a few minutes to start up isn't

very important. Personally I power on my computer when I get up in the

morning, then go get my coffee. When I come back, it's done booting. I

don't know how long it took to boot and I don't care.

 

However if you do want to address it, it may be because of what

programs start automatically, and you may want to stop some of them

from starting that way. 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.

 

 

--

Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

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