Driver problem forced reinstall of NT 4.0 SP1. Am now painfully back to SP6 and IE 5.0. In the process I lost the icons I had established on my Start taskbar to quick launch applications like Word, Excel, etc. Attempts to drag icon to taskbar result in "You cannot drag an item onto a button on the Taskbar. However, if you do this without releasing the mouse button, the window will open and you can then drag the item into the window." Whatever that is supposed to mean??!? (Window doesn't open and message is baffling). Can anyone tell me how to get my icons back on the taskbar?

What you previously did was one of two things. opened the icons and then minimized the programs, that is what kept them on the start taskbar, this takes up a humungous amount of resources and shouldn't be done. Open/close each program as needed. If you're talking about the OFFICE Shortcut bar. here's the solution, first to get the shortcut bar back go into the Microsoft office\office\and click on the(toolbar) shorcutbar, it will ask you if you want it to start everytime you log on, say yes. Next to get the icons you want place your cursor either on the name of the toolbar (office,programs, or desktop)or on the gray top of the toolbar and right click. then click on customize, and select the toolbar tab then select (check mark the blank boxes) the toolbar you want, then de-select the toolbars you don't want to come up. Then click on the buttons tab and select the programs you want and de-select the ones you don't.

No, it wasn't the OFFICE shortcut bar. It was the main taskbar next to Start. And, no, I didn't open the programs and minimize them. There is a way, believe it or not, to have small icons on the taskbar to do a Quick Launch of the programs.

I believe the Quick Launch thing requires Active Desktop, which was a part of IE4.x, but now isn't included in IE5.x -- surprise! If you first install IE 4, with Active Desktop, then install IE 5 on top of it, it will keep Active Desktop. According to this MS KB article : http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q165/6/95.ASP what you'll have to do is uninstall your IE 5, re-install IE 4 with Active Desktop, then re-install IE 5. But if you actually DO have Active Desktop now, do you know that it must be selected? Right-click on the taskbar and go to the 'Toolbars' submenu, then click on 'Active Desktop'.

Damn it, I goofed up that last paragraph. What I mean is, if you've GOT Active Desktop, then QUICK LAUNCH must be selected. Go to Toolbars and click on 'Quick Launch'.