taskbar

well, to answer your questions... those icons that you are referring to are executed programs everytime you open windows xp. In order to remove them, you have to go to the configuration setting at RUN on START then type msconfig. Afterwards, go to the tab that says STARTUP then choose the things that you do not want to activate the next time you boot up your computer. Just a caution, make sure that you know what you are removing otherwise your system might have problems opening to your desktop. Hope this helps you. Good Day.