Important note: These registry changes are provided as examples of how these parameters might be changed. Be sure you have a complete backup of your registry and an up-to-date ERD (Emergency Repair Disk) before you make any changes. The Registry editor can make your system unusable, so be careful! We take no responsibility for these registry changes - do them at your own risk!
The Windows XP operating system has some features which are designed to make things easier for the novice user, yet drive the more advanced people nuts. One of these features is balloon tips. These are the little balloons with nice, descriptive messages that seem to pop up now and then to give you some help.
To get rid of these, start up the registry editor and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion \Explorer\Advanced
If the field "EnableBalloonTips" exists, then double-click it and set the value to "0". If it does not exist, then right-click on an empty space in the right pane and select "New", then "DWORD Value". Give it a name of "EnableBalloonTips".
Enter a "0" in the value data. This will disable Balloon Tips from annoying you.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.