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Windows XP Taskbar - Toolbar - Start Menu - Stop Opening Start Menu Submenus Automatically

SUMMARY: Prevent submenus in the Windows XP Start menu from popping open unexpectedly whenever you hover your mouse pointer on them.

When navigating the Windows XP "Start" menu, if you hover your mouse over a menu, such as "All Programs", after a second or two the menu will expand, showing you its options. While this can be very convenient as it minimizes mouse clicks, on slower machines the automatic opening of menus may not be desired. If the computer responds slowly, you may accidentally move your mouse to a different menu, causing the first menu to open, then close, then the second menu to open. This can cause a very sluggish response when navigating the "Start" menu.

If desired, you can change this default behavior so that you must actually click on a menu to expand its contents.

1. Right-click on an empty area of the taskbar, choosing "Properties".

2. When the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click the "Start Menu" tab.

3. Click "Customize" next to "Start Menu".

4. When the "Customize Start Menu" dialog box appears, click the "Advanced" tab.

5. Underneath "Start menu settings", uncheck "Open submenus when I pause on them with my mouse".

6. Click "OK" on the dialog boxes to close them.