XP: Disable Highlighting of Newly Installed Programs in the Start Menu

Contributed by AlexTheBeast  
Tagged: Windows  

By default XP highlights the start menu entries when a program is first installed. This is how to disable this.

Highlighting newly installed programs in the start menu sounds like a wonderful idea. You install something, you are so excited to run it… so when you go to the start menu, it is highlighted for you to find in a flash.

Man, does it get old!

I don’t know how many systems I have worked on where adobe acrobat is highlighted in the start menu. Nobody really runs acrobat from the start menu.

Anyway… here is how to disable it:

1. Right click the Start button
2. Choose Properties from the context menu
3. Select the Start Menu tab
4. Click on the Customize button
5. Select on the Advanced Tab.
6. Uncheck Highlight newly installed programs.
7. Click OK twice to finish

Now, your new programs will no longer be highlighted after installation.