Removing Balloon PopUps in Windows XP
~~Vic
Ferri, WinTips and Tricks
Annoyed by Balloon Popups in Windows XP?
If so, you are not alone. Fortunately, they are easy to disable with a
little registry editing. Here I will show you how to disable ALL Windows XP
balloon popups of which there are several different types and styles. For
the benefit of registry newbies, I will give full instructions on how to
implement the first tip. You can then apply these basic instructions to the
rest of the tips. I also have a pre-made file available to automate most of
this (see end of article) but, for the sake of learning, here is how to
disable any one or all of those balloon tips manually.
1. DISABLE TASKBAR BALLOON TIPS
These are the most common balloon tips that pop up on the right side of your
taskbar - the notification area by the clock.To get rid of them:
- Click Start>Run, type regedit and click OK.
- This will open up the registry editor.
- Use the + signs to make your way to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
Explorer\Advanced
It's the Advanced key we want selected and open:
- In the right hand pane, right click an empty area and choose New>Dword
Value:
- Name it EnableBalloonTips.
- Now double click it and enter 0 as the Value Data (it should already
be 0 by default, but this is to show you where you enter the values)
- Click Ok and your registry editing for this tip is done.
- Exit the registry and logoff and logon again or reboot to make sure
the changes take effect.
From then on you will no longer see any of these taskbar balloon popups.
Follow the same editing guidelines to disable any of the other balloon
tips that follow. Note that some of the value names may already exist.
In which case, all you have to do is double click them and change the value
data.
2. DISABLE START BUTTON BALLOON TIPS
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Value Type: DWORD
- Value Name: StartButtonBalloonTip
- Value Data: 0
More info: As the value name makes
obvious, this will disable balloon popups that appear in the Start button
area - the left side of your taskbar.
3. DISABLE START MENU BALLOON TIPS
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
- Value Type: DWORD
- Value Name: NoSMBalloonTip
- Value Data: 1
More info: As the name makes obvious,
this will disable balloon popups that appear inside the Start menu.
4. DISABLE FOLDER CONTENT INFO BUBBLES
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Value Type: DWORD
- Value Name: FolderContentsInfoTip
- Value Data: 0
5. DISABLE POPUP DESCRIPTIONS FOR FOLDERS AND ICONS
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
- Value Type: DWORD
- Value Name: ShowInfoTip
- Value Data: 0
6. TO DISABLE PRINTER SPOOLER BALLOON TIPS
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Printers\Settings
- Values Type: DWORD
- Value Name 1: EnableBalloonNotificationsLocal
- Value Name 2: EnableBalloonNotificationsRemote
- Value Data: 0 for both.
More info and options here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=831582
7.TO DISABLE WINDOWS XP TOUR BALLOON TIPS
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Applets\Tour
- Value Type: DWORD
- Value Name: RunCount
- Value Data: 0
More info and options here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=311489
8. DISABLE MICROSOFT PASSPORT REMINDER BALLOON TIP
Note that this one is a binary
value type (all the rest were Dword)
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MessengerService
- Value Type: BINARY
- Value Name: PassportBalloon
- Value: 0a 00 00 00
More info: When you first
install Windows XP, a balloon tip pops up reminding you to apply for a
Microsoft Passport. This disappears on its own after 6 logons.
9. DISABLE NETWORK REMINDER BALLOON TIPS
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\
Windows\NetCache
- Value Type: DWORD
- Value Name: NoReminders
- Value Data: 1
More info: This only applies if
you are using the Offline Files Network feature (Tools>Folder
Options>Offline Files tab). Reminder balloons popup to notify you of lost
connections.
****
Note: If the instructions give you
trouble, or you would like to skip learning how to do this on your own, you
can download a reg file I made that will disable the most common balloon
tips automatically by just double clicking it. The name of the file is
DisableAllBalloonTips.reg. It's available by logging onto our WinTips&Tricks
file section. If you are not a member, signing up is easy and free and you
are most welcome to join.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks/files/
<<<back to contents
Vic
Ferri owns the very popular
WinTips
and Tricks and
Registry Answers. Subscribe to either and receive free Windows and
Registry Tips. He is also in charge of the
Printing
Tips pages at Linda's Computer Stop. Vic has also created a
program which allows you to Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME.
Read more and get the free demo
here. And, he now offers a service to
convert PowerPoint presentations to .exe files which can be viewed on
computers which do not have PowerPoint installed.
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