Windows XP

All you do is right click on the program in the task bar. That is the thing that runs along the bottom of the screen between the Start button and the Clock. Any programs you have open will show there, so just right click on all the programs apart from the install program, and select close.

I think this is the answer you were looking for, but if I have mis-understood your question, please let me know.

Cheers,

Alan

Running applications are those which are active and will either have an open window on the desktop or show minimized on the taskbar. Minimized applications will have a program icon and brief description located in the middle portion of the taskbar.

You can neglect any items in the system tray (right side of taskbar on normal layout) that load on startup.

Had a difficult time trying to make this understandable. Hope I succeeded.

Dalton

I was always told for versions of Windows before XP that I should do cntrl-alt-delete & shut down all the programs in that window except explorer & systray when installing new software. When you install new software usually a window comes up that tells you to close all running programs before proceeding with installation. I'm new to Windows XP, so I wasn't sure how to accomplish this task.

Good answers from 1 and 2. I, however, don't worry about running apps in w2k and xp and have never had a problem. In prior versions it was usually suggested that you close all running programs because the operating system couldn't handle it if the installation needed to update any files the open programs were using. More recent versions handle this fairly well and write out a special file that executes on the next boot if required. The system then tells you if it's necessary to reboot.

Either way, do what you are most comfortable with.

Cheers.

RW

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