Windows Vista Annoyance #7: Get Rid of HP Advisor Box On Your Taskbar
November 30, 2007
I always recommend buying Hewlett-Packard (HP) computers and laptops. They seem to be the most reliable, and they come pre-installed with just the right mix of software and hardware that helps keep your computer humming along. In fact, I wrote a blog post last March recommending which HP laptops to buy.
But one annoying feature that comes pre-installed in HP computers and laptops (especially, I suspect, those that run on the Vista operating system) is the “HP Advisor” toolbar that shows up on your taskbar along the bottom of the screen. There’s a HP logo to the left of a “Yahoo! Search” box next to a magnifying glass that seem to have mysterious functions.
This toolbar just takes up valuable real estate on my taskbar, and I want it gone. G-o-n-e. Gawne.
Turns out it’s easy to get rid of it. Right-click anywhere on an empty area of the taskbar (at the bottom of the screen), and at the pop-up menu, hover the mouse over “Toolbars.” You’ll see a second pop-up window with a list of toolbars (some with checkmarks next to them). “HP Advisor” should be one of them, along with a checkmark next to it. Select it to make the checkmark go away, and the HP Advisor toolbar will go away too.
And now you have a stunningly expansive area of real estate that you didn’t realize you had before — almost like finding a whole new room in your house that you didn’t know about before!
I guess now you’ve got to open more and more programs, so you can fill up that huge expanse of real estate. :-) Enjoy.
(See all my Vista Annoyance posts – turning off User Account Control, turning on Flip and Flip / Window Switcher, viewing and sharing files between XP and Vista systems, turning off Windows Security Alerts, getting an older program to work with Vista, turning on Windows Aero, and getting rid of the HP Advisor box on your taskbar.)
November 30, 2007 at 1:52 pm
This is actually not an issue with Vista per se, but rather an OEM install.
November 30, 2007 at 6:55 pm
I had a iMac and an crumbling Gateway laptop with XP…when the laptop died, I went out and bought a new HP laptop loaded with Vista…my goodness, it annoyed the heck out of me. I sent it back within 24 hours and bought a Macbook and I’ve been much happier ever since.
November 30, 2007 at 11:27 pm
HP preloads a lot of junk.
Step one after unpacking should be uninstall.
No Doubt Vista is annoying – I get a complete freeze everytime I play hearts.
December 3, 2007 at 1:48 pm
And did I mention – Vista Freezes on me nearly every day – and every time I play hearts?
December 3, 2007 at 1:49 pm
What can I say … Windows Vista is HEARTLESS! :-P
February 3, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Thanks for the helpful tip re: HP Advisor.
I’m with other commenters — Vista is not my OS of choice, and the out-of-the-box HP I bought came with a lot of unwanted software (mostly teasers to upgrade to even more unwanted software). I’ve been doing a lot of uninstalling and configuring. But configuring Vista to suit my needs is a more practical (for me, a non-geek) alternative to switching to Mac or Linux.
So far I’m happy with my HP desktop — which seems to run nearly as ‘cleanly’ as the Dell I bought during that company’s heyday about 8 yrs ago. Its chief limitation seems to be almost no expansion room in the box for mechanics — could barely squeeze in a second hard drive.
August 28, 2008 at 11:44 am
Mine dont have that seems that HP got rid if that option as nowhere will you find the HP Advisor with a check mark as you indicated. M computer is August 2008 Its just not there anymore Guess ill need to keep searching for a NEWER answer
August 29, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Todd, It does still work. You have to click well over to the right of the toolbar. infact click BETWEEN the small icons on the right of the expansion arrow (or just above the icons but still on the toolbar. If you click in the middle it still picks up the advisor options. Just got my computer a week ago and the right click still works
October 1, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Thanks for this, been trying yo get rid of this for a while
October 16, 2008 at 5:08 pm
whatever you do don’t cancel hp advisor ^^ it protects ur system
January 29, 2009 at 7:41 pm
HP Total Care Advisor consistently cannot find itself in my machine. HP advises that I go to a non-HP site to fix it. What is HP Advisor? Why should I have it? Why doesn’t HP stand behind its own product?
Anyone have similar experience?
March 18, 2009 at 8:13 pm
THANKYOU It was really annoying….
May 4, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Thanks for the advice. I was looking for a way to delete this useless box.
July 2, 2009 at 2:02 am
I do not have the HP Advisor listed, so I can’t remove the check mark. Any other suggestions?
July 15, 2009 at 1:43 am
thanks a lot. i hate HP and buying 2 HP laptops at same time was one of the most reckless decisions i ever made. the one freezes almost everytime if the battery is empty. when i charge it, it freezes again. it happened only after 2 months. the second one has problems with its keyboard. sometimes it’s scary because it suddenly opens word document or something else. i had to pay 80 bucks to have it repaired coz i didnt buy any insurance. anyway, i’d never buy this crappy and shitty brand laptop again in my whole life and willing to burn it after using 1 more year.
October 11, 2009 at 7:22 am
Looks like they’ve done an update for Win 7. Totally useless, I got rid of it straight away.
November 1, 2009 at 6:46 am
I KEEP GETTING A MESSAGE THAT SAYS (ERROR OCCURED READING THE c:\program data\hewlett packard\hp advisor director.) HOW DO I GET A ANOTHER READING?????
November 20, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Wow so useful and simple! Thanks! That’s been on my taskbar forever and I always found it annoying…
February 26, 2010 at 3:42 pm
THANK YOU SO MUCH. That thing was so annoying, and I could not for the life of me figure out how to get rid of it. It seems like it was so obvious, so I feel a bit foolish now.
February 5, 2011 at 5:11 am
This trick seems to be work at the present. You have got to click well over to the right of the toolbar. If you click in the middle it still picks up the advisor options. However, thanks for the tip!