A Every time you launch a program using the Start menuÆs Run command, that program is added to the Run command's history. You can delete items from the history by editing the Registry or by installing TweakUI, which is a component of MicrosoftÆs PowerToys for Windows. TweakUI can only be used to delete all of the entries from the Run commandÆs history because it does not provide the option to delete single entries at a time. If you only want to delete one or two entries, youÆll need to tackle the Registry yourself.

To delete items by editing the Registry, select Start-Run, type regedit in the Open box, and click OK. Navigate your way down to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Current Version\Explorer\RunMRU, and delete the unwanted values from the right hand pane by right-clicking on each value and selecting Delete from the pop-up menu. Make sure you donÆt delete the [Default] entry. When youÆre done, select Registry-Exit to close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

Caption:Use regedit to delete individual entries from the Run commandÆs history

Caption: Completely clear the Run commandÆs history with TweakUI

If editing the Registry is not your style, or you want to clear the entire run commandÆs history, TweakUI can do the job for you. There are two versions of TweakUI; one for Windows 95 and one for Windows 98, so make sure you use the right one for your system. If you use Windows 95, you can download TweakUI from www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wutoys/w95pwrtoysset/default.asp. If you use Windows 98, you can find TweakUI on the Windows 98 CD, in the tools/reskit/powertoy folder. The Windows 95 version is also included on this monthÆs cover CD.

Once youÆve installed TweakUI, select Start-Settings-Control Panel-TweakUI, and click the Paranoia tab. Select Clear Run history at logon in the Covering Your Tracks box, and click Apply, then click the OK button. Restart Windows and the Run commandÆs history is history.