Always show inactive system tray icons in Windows XP

Windows XP automatically hides the unused icons 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, un-check the box labeled Hide inactive icons as shown,

  4. Click OK button to save the changes.

If you want to hide the inactive icons again, just follow the same steps — checking the box labeled Hide inactive icons this time.