A first view of Windows XP : Like on each new Windows version, you will need to get used
to a new layout ( which really puts a different view on the joke Bill Gates and GM ) :
 | Desktop and Start-menu: The desktop is empty : no icons for “My Computer” or “Network Neighborhood” / “My Network Places” And the Start-menu has changed completely ! |
 | For people, which do not like to get used to this new menu, there is (luckily) a solution: right-click on the Taskbar and select to display the “Properties“: Tab: Start Menu: select “Classic Start menu“ (you can also use the Group Policy Editor to define the Classic Start menu as default for all users ) |
 | This looks a lot more familiar for long-time users of Win9x/NT4 or Windows 2000 ! |
 | Look of Windows: Open a Windows, like in this example: “My Computers” The XP-look of Windows is “colorful” (not really my taste ! ) |
 | For people, which do not like to get used to this new Windows Style, there is (luckily) a solution: right-click on the free area on the Desktop select to display the “Properties“: tab: Themes : Here you can switch to the “Windows Classic” look (and also back to the XP look) |
 | That looks (at least for me) a lot better: It looks now again like a Window system……. (you can also use the Group Policy Editor to define the “Windows Classic Style” as default for all users ) |
 | In the taskbar, you are “pushed” by the “Windows Messenger” to sign up with with Microsoft ( not required, you can deactivate the Messenger ) |
Even with the “Classic Windows Style”, most Windows in XP are very colorful :
but as usual it can be switched to the Classic style
(you can also use the Group Policy Editor to define the “Windows Classic Style” as default for all users )
Balloon Tips displayed on the Taskbar
 | Windows XP has a “bad habit” to keep on displaying from the taskbar Balloon Tips , showing all kind of (sometimes stupid and annoying ) reminders. |
To stop Windows XP to display these balloon messages, you can use :
– TweakUI for Windows XP
– via a Registry entry
Use REGEDIT and open the key :
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced,
right-click on that last key “Advanced” and select from the pop-up menu to create
a “New” -> “DWord Value” :
Enter as name for the new sub-key : “EnableBalloonTips” and make sure, that the value is “0”:
