Disabling Quick Launch once and for all - possible?

[wreckedcarzz]

Hey everybody,

I absolutely hate the Quick Launch toolbar in XP and Vista - not that is isn't easily removed/hidden, but the fact that on an Explorer crash or Registry Compaction it comes back just drives me mad. Please tell me there is some way to permanently get it off; deleted, no longer living, cold dead.

Hacks, mods, registry changes, an exact Vista explorer shell recreation just without Quick Launch... anything to make it never appear again is welcome.

Any thoughts? (I already run Linux too so you can't go there )

-Brandon

[Deozaan]

What happens if you delete all the icons from the Quick Launch, so even if it does show up again it will be empty?

[Carol Haynes]

Not sure what will happen if you try this so only do it at your own risk!

Qick Launch is just a folder (in Windows XP is is at C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch)

What happens if you simply close the Quick Launch toolbar in the normal way and then delete the folder?

In case it doesn't work you could try renaming the folder once it is closed, or move it to a different location.

The only issue you may have is that installers sometimes automatically add Quick Start shortcuts - they may then fail or recreate the folder.

[cmpm]

found this on it

http://www.msfn.org/...egistry-t113313.html

also i found mention of renaming the quick launch folder will work as Carol suggested

[Carol Haynes]

Interestingly that article registry tweak disables ALL toolbars - not just quick launch. Depends really if that is what you want.

[cmpm]

Yes, thanks Carol, I should have mentioned that, and was going to but i was continuing the search and forgot about it.

Although it does say that it will disable them all, i should have said it also.

[steeladept]

But if you do this, doesn't it just rebuild it?  I mean XP (at least, Vista I would assume also) just KNOWS you didn't REALLY want to do that, so it just automatically rebuilds it for you - well that is the way it works with many files such as this.  I never tried with that particular one, because I use it a lot.

Isn't it nice that Microsoft is so omniscient  . 

[lanux128]

just noticed this.. have you tried the old DOS trick of deleting the "Quick Launch" folder and creating a file with the same name and give it an attribute of hidden or system. then Windows won't be able re-create the folder.