Registry hack that prevents a program from appearing in the frequently used program listing in the start menu.
XP’s new GUI will place shortcuts to programs that are commonly used in the Most Frequently Used Programs List. Often this will save you a lot of time, but you may not want your boss knowing that freecell is frequently used on your system.
Here is the registry hack to prevent this.
1. Find the following registry key where program name.exe is the executable that starts the program of interest:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\Program name.exe
2. Add an empty string value named NoStartPage to this key
3. Close your registry editor
4. Reboot
Disclaimer:
Your registry should always be handled with respect and caution. Please read these two recipes about backing up your system and registry.
Backup or Restore the Registry
Using System Restore and System Backup
