I did a clean XP install but noticed that the icons in the system tray are not getting automatically hidden. I went to "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" and made sure "Hide inactive icons" was checked and it was. I still have about 7 showing and none hidden. Now I wonder how long it takes before they hide. Several days? But, I'm pretty sure I remember them hiding early on. Then it stopped. I can't tell if it's because I've been clicking on them or it's stuck. Is there a way to reset them so they all hide until I click them again? Also are there any registry tweaks to adjust any of these timing settings or to test if it really is working, or not working? I hate to keep installing applications over an already bad install if this is what has happened. But I've put in a lot of work already to just erase it like that. Does anyone know how XP decides how long to wait before hiding, and is there a way to get in there and reset things? I've already tried the simple checkbox "Hide inactive icons".. Thanks Jim

try rebooting your computer and see if any of the icons are hidden

This happens to me quite frequently. I do a system restore and it is alright until the next time it happens. Rebooting never helps. If I manually delete icons until there are less than three showing, they never hide. Even after a system restore. There have been posts on numerous other forums regarding this same subject. I have never seen a fix for this. It appears to be a common thing in XP.

go in and change them to always hide that will fix it

I have found that they are removed by way of the "Startup" tab in the "System Configuration Utility". To open this, click START, then RUN, then type: msconfig , then click OK. Find the the "Startup Item" that you want to dispose of, and uncheck its box, and click OK. USE CAUTION. Item names are not in plain language. For example: If you want to get rid of the gray Desktop Icon that is always on top of all your programs, then uncheck "WksSb". NOW, every time you start your computer, a dialoge box will appear saying that you have made changes to your computer. SO, in it, check the box for "Do not tell me again" (or what ever it said).

These suggestions are solving my problem. First let me honestly say a big THANKS to the 4 people who have tried to help me by giving their time. THANKS :-).. OK, to be clear I LOVE auto hide of icons and I want it to work. It DOES NOT SEEM TO WORK. I have tried the obvious thing like rebooting. I know there are options to force HIDE ON all the time, but I don't want this. I want it to be automatic so that it only shows the last ones used. I also tried turning it all off, rebooting, turning it on and waiting several hours. None will hide at all. The only way is if I force them ALL to hide with a check box. But again, I want it to be automatic like when it was first installed. I have another computer here and it's working on that one. So I know it can be done, but just don't know what's wrong. If someone out there knows any tricks or secrets to fool XP into hiding them all because it thinks it's time, it would help. I don't mean the option to always hide. There are timers in XP that seem to add up the amount of time or clicks you put on an icon. It chooses the ones that are not being clicked and it hides them automatically. If I could fool, or reset this mechanism maybe it would work. That would mean they would all hide until I started clicking on them again. Then one by one they would start appearing, but only for some time. Also, I'm not sure really if I've waited long enough for XP to hide them. Should it take hours or days? Anyone know? Please read post carefully before replying.. And, again thanks to everyone who tried to help me. I appreciated it. Jim

SORRY. I MEANT TO SAY, these suggestions are NOT solving my problem. One post Above I said they were, but that was my typo. I still need help on this. Again, thanks to all who tried to help. If anyone has any other ideas to help I would appreciate it. Thanks again, keep the suggestions coming, Jim