How to Clear Past Items from the Notification Area (283084)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
This article was previously published under Q283084

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SUMMARY

This article describes how to clear the Past Items list in the Customize Notifications window.

MORE INFORMATION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To clear the Past Items list, perform the following steps:
  1. Delete the IconStreams and PastIconsStream values from the following registry key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\TrayNotify

  2. Open Task Manager, click the Processes tab, click Explorer.exe, and then click End Process.
  3. In Task Manager, click File, click New Task, type explorer, and then click OK.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/15/2006
Keywords:kbenv kbhowto KB283084
©2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.