Disable notification area balloons in XP

If you find Windows XP’s notification balloons – those little cartoon bubbles that appear from time-to-time above your system tray – utterly useless and endlessly annoying, this Microsoft TechNet HOWTO is just for you. To disable XP’s notification balloons, follow this procedure:

1. Start up the registry editor and browse to
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER
     Software
       Microsoft
         Windows
           CurrentVersion
             Explorer
               Advanced
2. Create a new DWORD called EnableBalloonTips with a hex value of 0.
3. Log out and then back in.

Now you’re rid of notification balloons once and for all. Remember though – edit the registry at your own risk. If you make a mistake, you might seriously damage your system beyond recovery.