Friday, October 27, 2006

Popping Balloons

I learned that it is possible to make Windows XP stop popping up balloon help. The upside is that its pretty easy to do. The downside is, this is ALL Windows balloon help... and every so often, its actually helpful. (Why doesn't Balloon Help come with a Gee Thanks/Knock It Off option?)

This is a succinct summary from CNET. Its very close to what's on the Microsoft knowledge base for the same question.

To disable balloon pop-ups, click Start > Run, type regedit, and hit Enter. In the left column, drill down to HKEY_CURRENT_ USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > Current Version > Explorer > Advanced. Right-click anywhere in the right column, select New > DWORD Value, and rename it EnableBalloonTips. Double-click this new entry, and give it a hexadecimal value of zero. Then close the Registry Editor, and restart your computer. Just be careful; Registry mistakes are irreversible.

Well, not irreversible -- you just have to back up the registry, and know how to retreive it if needed. Not a big, big deal....

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