35. How Do I Disable Notification Area Balloon Tips

While balloon tips do serve a purpose, especially for the new comer to Windows XP, they can, and very often are, more of a hindrance than a help. Here is how you can get rid of them.

SPECIAL NOTE

You are about to make changes to your registry. Before proceeding it is wise to backup your registry just in case an error occurs. One of the easiest ways of backing up and restoring the registry is by using a third party software called Erunt. This can be downloaded from: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Erunt_d1267.html.

Alternatively, you can check out our own instructions here:

62. How Do I Backup The Registry In Windows XP

Once you have backed up your registry you are ready to make the necessary changes to disable the area balloon tips.

To disable notification area balloon tips, proceed as follows.

Click the Start Button.
From the Start Menu click Run.
In the Run dialog box type: Regedit.
Windows XP's Registry editor will now open.
Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\
Right Click the Advanced folder and, from the drop down menu, select New.
Clicking New will display another drop down menu.
Click DWORD Value.
Right click on the 'new value' item and select Rename.
Rename the item 'EnableBalloonTips' (without the quotes).
Right click the EnableBalloonTips and, from the drop down menu, select the Modify option.
The value should be 0 (zero) If it is 1 (one) then change it to 0 (zero).
Finally close the registry editor.