I figure that I'll have better luck posting this question on this board than on some other random windows board. So...

Does anyone know of a way to remove those annoying taskbar/system tray dialogue popups in XP? I HATE them - and I can't figure out how to turn them off. I figure it must be a registry setting somewhere.

You know the ones - like when windows update shows up and popus up a dialogue that says, "There are updates ready to be installed". Or my least favorite - the dialogue that shows up from the start button after a program is installed that says "new programs are installed." NO $H!T! I especially hate how that particular one also covers up the logoff/shutdown buttons so they can't be clicked until you specifically close the dialogue box.

Well, anyway - enough ranting. Thanks in advance for any help!

- trs

The Windows Update dialog box is controlled by the windows update program itself. It's a separate piece of software that you can activate and deactivate from the control panel.

Each icon that appears in the taskbar is its own program, and deactivating them depends on which program it is. You have to deactivate each of those programs on their own.

Regarding the one that says "new programs are installed"... I've never seen that one. Probably because I refuse to run XP. Perhaps you should try installing Windows 2000 instead?

"new programs are installed." NO $H!T!

If you make your start menu the classic style, you won't see that anymore. I agree that it's extremely stupid.

Probably because I refuse to run XP. Perhaps you should try installing Windows 2000 instead?

A man after my own heart.

Though MS is doing their best to plan Windows 2000's obsolescence. WMP9 already has hooks into XP, not that they're important enough to make *me* switch.

You're a gamer, aren't you? How long is it until the games start supporting XP only?

You're a gamer, aren't you? How long is it until the games start supporting XP only?

I dunno. I still run Windows 98 at home because I've still got a bunch of games that won't run on the NT-based operating systems.

Perhaps you should try installing Windows 2000 instead?

Well, I wish I could - but this is a work machine - and I gotta stick with XP. I really like XP otherwise. It just seems like there should be some real simple setting to disable those dialogue boxes.

I did find in the Start menu advanced properties a check box to "Highlight newly installed programs" and I un-checked it. So, hopefully that'll solve THAT problem. As for the system tray - I don't know.

There is this tutorial in winguides for disabling error popups as a whole. I'm not sure what they mean by "error popups" though. I have a feeling they are referring to pop up system windows - and not the task bar dialogue boxes.

- trs

Same here.... I have 1 game that refuses to run under win2k. Of course, it was written in like 96, so that's no real surprise. Unfortunately, it's one of my favorites.

Aha!! Found the solution here.

I guess they're called "Balloon tips" in XP.

I feel guilty responding to my own post with the solution - like it's a waste of a thread. But, I'm sure this thread will segue into some other completely unrelated but fascinating subject anyway.

Thanks!

- trs

AHHHHHH! I can't get away!!!

- trs

In reply to:

---

Though MS is doing their best to plan Windows 2000's obsolescence.

---

Yup, and when that day comes I'll have linux on every desktop in the house (it's got a 75% share already)

Same here.... I have 1 game that refuses to run under win2k.

As do I, but I'm very hesitant to try that Win98 dual-boot again after my screwup last time. I still wish I could run games like Warcraft (non-battlenet edition) and Worms again.

Mind you, when did microsoft stop selling win95? I can still get it oem shrinkwrapped from the IT supplier we use at work...

Why?

Ages ago but there is speculation and talk about "re-releasing" 95 and 98 again for much less money. $10-$25, give or take. I just heard this bounced around.

I really would love to get my hands on a copy of win 98se or ever 95 to install on old computers that are under 300 or so Mhz. They just won't work with anything like 2k or XP - especially with limited RAM.

Miscrsoft has de-supported Win95, though I don't remember when it was.

Miscrsoft has de-supported Win95, though I don't remember when it was.

1995, IIRC.

What the hell is wrong with you people? The stuff you're talking about just sounds like a bunch of crap. Windows 95? I mean - come one. You might as well throw your computer into a big bag of crap and light it on fire. Besides, everyone knows that there's nothing better than the state-of-the-art Compy 386 running... well... whatever the crap it is that I'm running on it.

In reply to:

---

Why?

---

So it runs like shit off a shovel on the crappy spec control pc's that we use. Add to that the fact they only run a few small apps you get a machine that is ready for use before the monitor has warmed up. Nice!

Get Tweak UI.



And the second one is in the Start menu properties, customize, then the option not to highlight new programs.



I still say XP is worth it over 2000 now for all the little things. Like this one I found tonight



Of course, I am still planning to migrate to OS X for everything except gaming once I get my Powerbook later this year.

To run a halfway decent Microsoft platform you need Windows 2000. To run a lot of my favourite games - WIndows 98 SE. Blimming incompatibilities - I have 6 games that just won't run happily under W2k (things like Dungeon Keeper etc) and ther is no way I'm buggering my home network by using XP or ME.

Admittedly I'm doing not bad, as only 3.03% of my home machines run Windows. If only I could kill that last little bit. I'll probably go VM for my W2k stuff, but Crossover and WIne just can't yet do all the games I like.

Anyone played with early versions of Win2003 yet?

only 3.03% of my home machines run Windows.

eh???

Thanks Drakino! I knew there had to be an easy solution other than 'downgrade.'

OS X - eh? That's what I like to hear. I can't wait until they come out with OS X 10.3. If the improvements between 10.2 and 10.3 are any where near the improvements from 10.1 to 10.2 were then that system is going to be frickin amazing!

- trs

Really. I don't see any way to get to that percentage without having at least 1000 computers.

My guess is that he was using the 0.03% to refer to a PC that dual boots or only runs Windows part time, but even if it were a nice "round" number like 4%, it would require having 25 PC's at home.

I'd hate to see that electric bill every month.

Of course, if it was 3.33%, then that would require only 10 computers (assuming a little bit of rounding).

Edit: WTF? Math am hard. That ought to be 30, I guess, so nevermind.

Got it in one

I know, it's pretty sad, but they hide in the attic and garage, due to pressures from my wife, but I use them to practice the skills I need in my day job.

Of course, only some of them are PC's. Some of them eat much more power! The SGI Personal Iris - or as I like to call it "Bench/Room Heater"

Wait, you're serious?? 25 PC's??? Wow.

Looking to unload a spare 2GHz machine anytime soon?

Heh - I am a hoarder of anything electronic. All my friends know that old hardware never goes in a bin, it comes to my garage and becomes born again. I have had various videos, tv's, dvd players, computers etc. over the years. Most come in completely knackered - I found an Osbourne luggable in a ditch 11 years ago, which took me a couple of months to sort out, but it works perfectly now. I don't use it that much, but it runs and that keeps me happy.

I have a nice collection of laptops hanging from the rafters - it was briefly a beowulf, just to check I could do it, and now they run distributed.net occasionally. Most of the rest are sgi, Sun, HP servers. I had an RS6000 for a while but it sucked way too much power.

As a big part of my job is A&P (or as we like to call it Ethical Hacking) it gives me useful practice without actually breaking the law or upsetting folks:-)

One of the senior managers on my team in London picked up a Cray once - he keeps it in his garage where he has a decent 3-phase supply. In the winter he doesn't get snow near his house due to the heat output

But he is very jealous of my empeg. Hahahaha.

But in answer to your question - I only have one PC that runs at 2GHz...I don't have much use for absolute processor speed...and it is used for playing Unreal Tournament 2003 and various games under MAME and Spectrum and Dragon32 emulators. Sad, huh? My bottleneck on most of my machines is the disk access. And on the sgi kit the bottleneck is usually me!