Tip 83: Remove the Windows XP system tray (notification area) from the taskbar

To hide the notification area (system tray) in Windows XP, perform the following steps:

  1. Start the registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
  2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    registry subkey to hide the notification area for the current user, or navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
    registry subkey to hide the notification area for all users.
  3. From the Edit menu, select New-DWORD Value.
  4. Enter a name of NoTrayItemsDisplay, and press Enter.
  5. Double-click the new value, set it to 1, and click OK.
  6. Exit the registry editor.
  7. Log off or restart the machine for the change to take effect.