When your computer crashes, sometimes you lose your icons, taskbar, start menu, and so on. This is called Windows Explorer.exe. This video tutorial shows you how to stop or restart explorer.exe so you can get the desktop back to normal. Starting the explorer.exe will bring back your desktop icons, taskbar, notification area, and start menu.

The Windows notification area is the most frequently used part of the desktop taskbar. It keeps you up to date with whats going on on your computer by animated icons that occassionally poup with messages for you. A great example is when there are Windows updates ready for your computer or if your laptop battery is running low.

The notification area also holds the volume control icon, the time, and any other program icons that are enabled to show there. You can change the settings for a program icon to Hide when inactive, Always hide, or Always show. This allows you to remove annoying icons and just keep the important ones.
What are the most common icons that appear in the Windows Vista notification area?

• Time
• Volume
• Windows update icon
• Network connections icon
• Bluetooth icon
• Laptop Power icon
• Windows Live Messenger

How to add or remove icons in the notification area in Windows Vista

1. Go to the start menu icon in the left corner
2. Right click on it to bring a menu
3. Choose properties from the menu
4. Go to the Notification Area Tab
5. Click on customize to change the settings for each icon that shows up in the notification area

Watch this video tutorial to see more details..