How can I add and remove programs on the Windows XP Start menu?

A. If you use the new style (as opposed to the classic style) XP Start menu, the most commonly used programs automatically appear in a list at the top of the Start menu. If you want to remove a program from this list, simply right-click the program name and select "Remove from this list" from the context menu. XP will remove the program and replace it with another program. If you continue to repeatedly use the program you've removed, XP will eventually add the program name back to the Start menu list.

To prevent a program from reappearing on the list, perform the following steps:

1. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ExplorerFileAssociation subkey.
3. Double-click AddRemoveApps.
4. At the end of the "Value data" field, add the name of one or more executables that you want XP to stop adding to the Start menu list, separating each name with a semicolon (;), then click OK. For example, if the current value is

   SETUP.EXE;INSTALL.EXE;ISUNINST.EXE;UNWISE.EXE

   and you want to add Microsoft Word to the list, the new value would be

   SETUP.EXE;INSTALL.EXE;ISUNINST.EXE;UNWISE.EXE;WINWORD.EXE

5. Close the registry editor.
6. Log off and log on for the change to take effect.