Past items in taskbar

[Shuzbut]

Hey guys,

This isn't a problem but I was wondering if there was a way to remove the icons of "Past items" from the task bar menu as I do not use the programs anymore.  I have Windows XP Home SP2.




Thanks

[Deerpark]

Yes there certainly is a way to do that.
Select start and select Run...
Type Regedit and press enter
Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TrayNotify

Before you do anything else you should backup the key.
Do this by right clicking the TrayNotify folder and select Export.
Give your backup a name and save it somewhere you can easily find it again.

After you've made a backup delete the values called IconStreams and PastIconStream from TrayNotify.

Now reboot your computer and you're done.

[Shuzbut]

Thanks for your reply Deerpark but i tried it twice and unfortunately it doesn't work.

I am deleteing these:

[Deerpark]

Yes those are the values to delete.
This trick wont prevent "new" past items from accumulating, it only clears the current list of past items. But are you saying that your list isn't getting cleared at all?

[Shuzbut]

No all of them are still there since I have rebooted, only one icon loads when I start my computer and it's the anti-virus icon.

[Deerpark]

Hmm sounds strange...
Do you have any kind of software installed that might be protecting the registry from edits?
This would typically be antivirus, antispyware or similar types of software.

[Shuzbut]

Yes, I have tried it in safe mode with my anti virus disabled but it still doesn't work 

[patio]

DLoad TweakUI for XP...
There will be a section for the Taskbar in there for customising/cleaning.

Warning: This is a very powerful customisation tool from the MS labs. Use it carefully and always back up your registry before applying any serious changes.