Q I recently saw where you could delete the entries in the \windows\recent folder so that the Documents menu became empty. Can the same be done for:

1. StartûFindûFiles or Folders ù the drop-down list in the Named field.

2. StartûRun ù the drop-down list in the Open field.

3. My ComputerûMap Network Drive ù the drop-down list in the Path field?

A In case some readers aren't familiar with this "trick", let's start by reviewing the procedure for clearing the Documents menu (StartûDocuments). Right-click a blank area of the Windows Taskbar (at the bottom of the screen) and choose Properties. On the Start Menu Programs tab, click the Clear button.

Caption: To clear the Documents menu, right-click the Taskbar, choose Properties and on the Start Menu Programs tab, click Clear

The other lists that you mention can all be cleared, but only by editing the Registry. To begin, start the Registry Editor (choose StartûRun, type regedit and click OK).

1. The list of most recently used (MRU) files for the "Find" command is stored at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Doc Find Spec MRU. When Doc Find Spec MRU is selected in the left pane, the right pane will display a list of values. Click once on the "a" value, hold down the <Shift> key and click "MRUList", the last value in the series. Hit <Delete> and choose Yes when prompted to proceed.

2. The list of MRU files for the "Run" command can be found at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU. To clear the values in this branch, repeat the procedure described above. Changes will take effect when Windows is restarted.

3. To clear the list of recently used network drive mappings, drill down to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Network\Recent and delete values as required.