Always show inactive system tray icons in Windows 7

By default, Windows 7 hides all the unused icons and notifications from the system tray — thus leaving more usable space in the taskbar for other things. But if you want to always show all the inactive icons, you can do it easily. Here is how :

  1. Right click anywhere on an empty area on the Windows taskbar.
  2. From the right-click menu select Properties.
  3. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, select the Taskbar tab if not previously selected.
  4. Click on the Customize button under the Notification area as shown

  5. Check the checkbox labeled Always show all icons and notifications on the taskbar as shown,

  6. Click OK button to save the changes.