2).How doe's one stop persistant pop-ups on the taskbar notification area?

Answer 1

Do you mean the little balloons that pop up when new hardware is found, a network connection is started, etc? If so, there is a way to stop them by editing the registry. However, any mistakes can have severe consequences for your computer, so make sure you know exactly what you're doing before making any changes.

Go here to find out how:

http://www.tech-recipes.com/windows_tips1121.html

Answer 2

There is probably a program generating them. Check to see where the balloon is pointing from and check the options for that program.