Solve Top Five Windows Annoyances

Most of the questions that come to my "Call for Help" inbox regard how to turn off annoying little features in Windows. But we don't want you to sweat the small stuff, so here are solutions to five common questions.

Find your missing toolbar

The most frequently asked question at "Call for Help is: "My taskbar disappeared. How do I get it back?" Usually the taskbar disappears when you accidentally drag it to the bottom of your screen. Here's how to get it back:

Move your mouse to the bottom of the screen (or the side where you saw it last) until the mouse shows the double arrows indicating that you are about to resize something.
Stretch the taskbar up until it is visible.

You can also resize and recover your taskbar using the keyboard.

Hit the Ctrl and Esc keys.
Hit the Alt key and the spacebar.
Press S.
Use the up arrow to resize the taskbar.

Turn off CD AutoPlay

Go to Start, Settings, and single-click on Control Panel.
Double-click the System icon.
Go to the Device Manager tab and double-click the CD-ROM branch.
Double-click the CD-ROM driver entry.
On the Settings tab, uncheck the Auto Insert Notification box.

To enable AutoPlay, follow the above instructions and check the Auto Insert Notification box. To suspend AutoPlay, hold down the Shift key while inserting a CD.

Turn off modem sound

The hiss and crackle of your modem dialling up to your ISP can be painful. Instead of leaving the room to get a snack, just turn off the modem sound.

Click Start, Settings, and single-click on Control Panel.
Double-click the System icon and go to the Device Manager tab.
Click Modem to show the modem you have.
Double-click your modem to bring up its properties.
Turn off the sound.
NOTE:  This does not work on all systems - depending on your motherboard manufacturer.

Turn off start-up sounds

Every computer plays a tune upon start-up and shutdown. If the sound your computer makes annoys you, turn it off.

Click Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
Double-click the Sounds icon.
Scroll down and highlight "Start Windows."
Choose (None) from the sound name drop-down menu and press Apply.
If you want to turn off the shutdown sound, highlight "Exit Windows." Choose (None) from the sound name drop-down menu and press Apply.
Press OK when you're done.

Turn off Recycle Bin confirmation

You can always rescue a file from the Recycle Bin before you empty the bin. But Windows still proceeds to ask, "Are you sure your want to send "file" to the Recycle Bin?" Save yourself some time by turning off this confirmation message.

Go to your Desktop.
Right-click the Recycle Bin and choose Properties.
In the Global tab feature of the Recycle Bin properties, uncheck "Display delete confirmation dialog box."