How would I remove some of the Icons in the Task bar tray at lower right of screen. There are to many and some I don't want there.  There used to be a left arrow(< >) and right mark one at each end that when I clicked on it it would open to show more Icons.  That is gone and I'd like that back.
     Help on either problem would be appreciated

Thank you,
welsh793

   Some of those icons are programs that are loaded at startup.  So removing the program that puts the icon there from the startup list is one way to get rid of some of them.
   I am writing a program now which will evaluate all of the startup items and give you the option to remove them.  The release date right now is the end of May.

Good!  I'll be looking forward to it.
Thanks for the reply

Hello,
Until RAY gets his new program up and running there is a small program that lets you do the cleanup of startup:
"autoruns.exe" you can find it on the net.
triuno

Thanks for the tip.  I will see if I can get it.

I was able to get "autoruns.exe" I haven't run it yet.  I don't know what programs I really need to start without trouble.  Guess why I have so many.  I did look in "Windows for Dummies" and "Windows XP Home" Bestseller Edition by Robert Cowart & Brian Knittel got some pointers there. Some suggestions:
Not necessarily what I want but thought it might someone.
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Also a follow up on Task Bar:
From: Using MS Window XP Home:  To get to the desktop (minimize all open windows), press the Windows key and M at the same time.  To reverse the effect, press Shift+Windows+M.  This is a real timesaver.  If you prefer the mouse, use  the Desktop button in the Quick Launch bar.  It does the same thing.

On Windows XP Home, the Quick Launch bar is disabled by default.  To turn it on, right click over an empty area on the taskbar, then from the pop-up menu that appears select Toolbars, Quick Launch.  When an item falls out of use, erase it.  They're only shortcuts, so it doesn't matter if you ease them
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Also found this in a back issue of PC Mag.:
If you're running Windows XP and want a totally clean

desktop, you can hide the icons altogether



                                              Keeping a Clean Desktop



                I like having next to nothing on my desktop, usually just My Computer, My Network Places and Control Panel, though occasionally I'll add a folder for stuff I'm currently working on. I also use the Desktop Toolbar, which gives me access to those icons even when I have applications open. The only problem is that Windows insists on having menu items for My Documents, Recycle Bin and IE on the toolbar even though they are not on my desktop. Is there any way to change the tool bar so that it only shows what is actually on my desktop? DAN  MAXWELL
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Yes, and it's not difficult at all.

What you need is a toolbar that's tied to the folder that holds your Desktop  
icons rather than to the grand all-encompassing virtual folder named Desktop. Right. click the task bar, choose Tool bars, then New Tool bar.  Navigate to My Computer\C:\Documents and Settings \username\Desktop (replace username with your actual username), then click  OK. This tool bar's only contents are the file and folder shortcuts (or actual files and folders) that reside in your desktop folder. If necessary, grab the new toolbar with the mouse and push it as far as possible to the right, so only the title shows. You now have an instantly accessible menu that lets you select desktop items without closing other windows.
       There's one catch-some of the icons on  your desktop may not appear, because they're drawn from the All Users desktop rather than your own personal one. You can easily transfer such an icon to your personal desktop. Simply right-click It and choose Copy, then right-click the desktop and choose Paste. Unless another user needs access to the shortcut, you can now delete the original.
                The stripped down Desktop toolbar won't include any of the special folders, such as My Computer. Again, this is easily solved. Suppose you want My Computer to show up in your toolbar. Just right-drag it to a blank location on the desktop and choose Create Shortcuts Here. The default name will be "Shortcut to My Computer," but you can change it to anything you like. Repeat this process for any of the other special folders that you want in your tidy desktop tool bar.
                If you're running Windows XP and want a totally clean desktop, you can hide the icons altogether. Right-click any blank area of the desktop, select Arrange Icons By from the menu, and select the checked menu item Show Desktop Icons. This removes the checkmark from that item and hides all desktop icons. You can always restore them by selecting that menu item again.-NJR
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Maybe these finding will help?
welsh793