To make your computer easier to use,Windows XP often displays balloon tips,
which are advice and hints that pop up for a few seconds, and then disappear. If
you prefer not to use balloon tips, you can burst their bubble by disabling them:

1. Click the Start button in the lower-left corner of Windows.

2. Click Run.

3. A window appears.Type regedit in the blank, and then click the OK
button or press Enter.

4. The Windows Registry Editor will open. In the left window pane,
double-click the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry key. If you can’t
find it, do the following:
a. In the left window pane of the Registry Editor, scroll to the top.
b. If any of the HKEY registry keys are open—as indicated by a
minus sign (-) on their left side—then close them by clicking
that minus sign. When a registry key has been properly closed, it
will have a plus sign (+) next to it.
c. Repeat this process for the remaining HKEY registry keys until
the only things visible in the left window pane are the five
HKEY keys
d. Double-click the HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry key.

5. A new column of registry keys appears. Double-click Software.

6. A long column of registry keys appears. Scroll down until you find
Microsoft, and then double-click it.

7. Another long list of registry keys appears. Scroll down and doubleclick
Windows.

8. Double-click the CurrentVersion registry key.

9. Double-click the Explorer registry key.

10. Click the Advanced registry key

11. Click the Edit drop-down menu located in the upper-left corner of the
Windows Registry Editor.

12. Select New.

13. Select DWORD Value.

14. In the right window pane, a new registry value appears. Rename it
EnableBalloonTips

15. After renaming the value, double-click it to open it.

16. Under the Value Data heading, make sure there is a 0.

17. Click the OK button.

18. Exit the Registry Editor by clicking the X button in the upper-right
corner.

19. If you change your mind and want to allow the balloon tips to appear,
all you have to do is repeat these steps to locate the
EnableBalloonTips registry key. Open it, delete the 0, and type 1 in its
place.

If you bought a previously owned computer, there is a good chance that Windows
still says it is registered to its former owner.To remove that name and insert your
own, you must edit the Windows Registry:

1. Click the Start button in the lower-left corner of Windows.

2. Click Run.

3. A window will appear.Type regedit in the blank, and then click the
OK button or press the Enter key.

4. The Windows Registry Editor opens. In the left window pane, doubleclick
the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry key. If you can’t find
it, do the following:

a. In the left window pane of the Registry Editor, scroll to the top.
b. If any of the HKEY registry keys are open—as indicated by a
minus sign (-) on their left side—then close them by clicking
that minus sign. When a registry key has been properly closed, it
will have a plus sign (+) next to it.
c. Repeat this process for the remaining HKEY registry keys until
the only things visible in the left window pane are the five
HKEY keys .
d. Double-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry key.

5. A new column of registry keys appears. Double-click Software.

6. A long column of registry keys will appear. Scroll down until you find
Microsoft, and then double-click it.

7. Another long list of registry keys appears. Scroll down and doubleclick
Windows NT.

8. Click the CurrentVersion registry key.

9. In the right window pane, double-click the RegisteredOwner registry
value

10. A window opens. Under the Value Data heading is the name of the
previous owner. Delete it, and then type your name in the blank.

11. Click the OK button.

12. Above RegisteredOwner, double-click the registry value named
RegisteredOrganization

13. Under the Value Data heading is the name of the previous owner’s
employer or organization. Delete it, and then type the name of your
organization (or you can just leave it blank if you want).

14. Click the OK button.

15. Exit the Registry Editor by clicking the X button in the upper-right
corner.

Even if you tweak Windows Messenger so that it no longer loads when your
computer starts, there are still some occasions when it will ignore your wishes
and load anyway.To put a stop to Messenger, you need to hide or disable it.
There are a few different ways to do this, each of which is equally effective.
Remove Windows Messenger from the Start Menu

This quick fix hides Windows Messenger from sight by removing it from the
Start menu. However, no changes are actually made to Messenger, so it remains
intact and can be manually located and opened at any time.

Follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button in the lower-left corner of Windows.

2. Click the Control Panel. (If you don’t see this option, then your Start
menu is in classic mode. In that case, click Settings, and then select
the Control Panel.)

3. Double-click Add or Remove Programs.

4. A window opens. In the left window pane, click the Add/Remove
Windows Components icon.

5. A new window opens. Using the scroll bar on the right, scroll down
and locate Windows Messenger. Next to it, remove the checkmark
from the box

6. Click the Next button.

7. Windows begins the process of hiding Messenger from the Start
menu, which could take a minute or two. When it has completed, click
the Finish button.

8. Exit the Add/Remove window by clicking the X button in the upperright
corner.

9. Although Windows Messenger is now hidden, its shortcut may linger
in the lower-right corner of Windows (near the clock).To make this
shortcut disappear, right-click it and select Exit.

10. If you change your mind and want to use Windows Messenger again,
simply repeat these steps, but this time put a checkmark in the
Windows Messenger box.

Rename Windows Messenger’s Folder

Another way to get rid of Messenger is to rename its folder, which prevents
Windows from locating it. Although this fix is very rudimentary, it successfully
stops Messenger from launching.To use this fix, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. If this icon is
not available, then click the Start button in the lower-left corner of
Windows and click My Computer. If you can’t find the My Computer
icon anywhere, do the following:

2. A window opens. Double-click the icon for your C: drive (unless you
installed Windows in a different location, in which case you would
double-click that drive letter).

3. Double-click the Program Files folder.

4. Locate the Messenger folder, and then right-click it.

5. Select Rename.

6. Give the folder a name that is easily recognizable, such as
MessengerDisabled.

7. If you change your mind and want to use Windows Messenger again,
simply rename this folder Messenger

1. Accessibility Controls – access.cpl
2. Accessibility Wizard – accwiz
3. Add Hardware Wizard – hdwwiz.cpl
4. Add/Remove Programs – appwiz.cpl
5. Administrative Tools – control admintools
6. Automatic Updates – wuaucpl.cpl
7. Bluetooth Transfer Wizard – fsquirt
8. Calculator – calc
9. Certificate Manager – certmgr.msc
10. Character Map – charmap

11. Check Disk Utility – chkdsk
12. Clipboard Viewer – clipbrd
13. Command Prompt – cmd
14. Component Services – dcomcnfg
15. Computer Management – compmgmt.msc
16. Control Panel – control
17. Date and Time Properties – timedate.cpl
18. DDE Shares – ddeshare
19. Device Manager – devmgmt.msc
20. Direct X Troubleshooter – dxdiag
21. Disk Cleanup Utility – cleanmgr
22. Disk Defragment – dfrg.msc
23. Disk Management – diskmgmt.msc
24. Disk Partition Manager – diskpart
25. Display Properties – control desktop
26. Display Properties – desk.cpl
27. Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility – drwtsn32
28. Driver Verifier Utility – verifier
29. Event Viewer – eventvwr.msc
30. Files and Settings Transfer Tool – migwiz
31. File Signature Verification Tool – sigverif
32. Findfast – findfast.cpl
33. Firefox – firefox
34. Folders Properties – control folders
35. Fonts – control fonts
36. Fonts Folder – fonts
37. Free Cell Card Game – freecell
38. Game Controllers – joy.cpl
39. Group Policy Editor (for xp professional) – gpedit.msc
40. Hearts Card Game – mshearts
41. Help and Support – helpctr
42. HyperTerminal – hypertrm
43. Iexpress Wizard – iexpress
44. Indexing Service – ciadv.msc
45. Internet Connection Wizard – icwconn1
46. Internet Explorer – iexplore
47. Internet Properties – inetcpl.cpl
48. Keyboard Properties – control keyboard
49. Local Security Settings – secpol.msc
50. Local Users and Groups – lusrmgr.msc
51. Logs You Out Of Windows – logoff
52. Malicious Software Removal Tool – mrt
53. Microsoft Chat – winchat
54. Microsoft Movie Maker – moviemk
55. Microsoft Paint – mspaint
56. Microsoft Syncronization Tool – mobsync
57. Minesweeper Game – winmine
58. Mouse Properties – control mouse
59. Mouse Properties – main.cpl
60. Netmeeting – conf
61. Network Connections – control netconnections
62. Network Connections – ncpa.cpl
63. Network Setup Wizard – netsetup.cpl
64. Notepad – notepad
65. Object Packager – packager
66. ODBC Data Source Administrator – odbccp32.cpl
67. On Screen Keyboard – osk
68. Outlook Express – msimn
69. Paint – pbrush
70. Password Properties – password.cpl
71. Performance Monitor – perfmon.msc
72. Performance Monitor – perfmon
73. Phone and Modem Options – telephon.cpl
74. Phone Dialer – dialer
75. Pinball Game – pinball
76. Power Configuration – powercfg.cpl
77. Printers and Faxes – control printers
78. Printers Folder – printers
79. Regional Settings – intl.cpl
80. Registry Editor – regedit
81. Registry Editor – regedit32
82. Remote Access Phonebook – rasphone
83. Remote Desktop – mstsc
84. Removable Storage – ntmsmgr.msc
85. Removable Storage Operator Requests – ntmsoprq.msc
86. Resultant Set of Policy (for xp professional) – rsop.msc
87. Scanners and Cameras – sticpl.cpl
88. Scheduled Tasks – control schedtasks
89. Security Center – wscui.cpl
90. Services – services.msc
91. Shared Folders – fsmgmt.msc
92. Shuts Down Windows – shutdown
93. Sounds and Audio – mmsys.cpl
94. Spider Solitare Card Game – spider
95. SQL Client Configuration – cliconfg
96. System Configuration Editor – sysedit
97. System Configuration Utility – msconfig
98. System Information – msinfo32
99. System Properties – sysdm.cpl
100. Task Manager – taskmgr
101. TCP Tester – tcptest
102. Telnet Client – telnet
103. User Account Management – nusrmgr.cpl
104. Utility Manager – utilman
105. Windows Address Book – wab
106. Windows Address Book Import Utility – wabmig
107. Windows Explorer – explorer
108. Windows Firewall – firewall.cpl
109. Windows Magnifier – magnify
110. Windows Management Infrastructure – wmimgmt.msc
111. Windows Media Player – wmplayer
112. Windows Messenger – msmsgs
113. Windows System Security Tool – syskey
114. Windows Update Launches – wupdmgr
115. Windows Version – winver
116. Wordpad – write