Missing Tray Icons in Windows XP - Fix

Windows XP has an as yet unknown issue due to which some of your tray icons such as Yahoo Messenger or Google Talk tray icon go missing when you start your computer. This issue is very random and the icons that go missing are also defer at different times. Here is what you need to know if you think your computer has this issue ...

1. Hide icons for networked UPnP devices : Open windows explorer and navigate to 'My Network Places'. Under the left-hand tasks panel named 'Network Tasks', you will see a link 'Hide icons for networked UPnP devices'. Click on it to hide icons for networked UPnP devices. This fixes the issue for many people. Those of you who notice that this has not fixed the issue should try the next steps.

2. Disable Automatic Login : If you do not have a password set for user login, go to Control Panel and select user accounts to set a password to login to windows. This fix combined with the above one should resolve the issue for most people. If not, try the last step mentioned below.

3. Delay Startup Tasks : If you have lot of tasks starting when you login to windows, use a startup manager that delays the tasks for few minutes after the login. Set a delay of 2 to 5 minutes for few tasks that you don't need immediately and restart the system.

I have reinstalled Windows XP on my home laptop few days ago and I faced this missing icons issue. I tried the first tow steps and they worked for me.