Yes. You may see two chevrons <<.
If you have this option enabled.
Right click the Taskbar | Properties |
Taskbar tab | Hide inactive icons
[[Keeps the taskbar notification area from displaying unused icons.]]
Also...
Right click the Taskbar | Properties |
Taskbar tab | Customize button |
You can change any of the icons to:
Hide when inactive
Always hide
Always show
From XP HELP:
Taskbar notification area overview
[[The notification area of the taskbar is where you usually see the current
time displayed. This area can become crowded with notification icons that
appear when certain events occur, such as when you receive e-mail or when
you open Task Manager. Windows displays a notification icon when an event
occurs. After a short time, Windows puts the icon in the background to
simplify that area. You can access the icons that have been placed in the
background by clicking a button in the notification area.
In addition, you can customize the behavior of notification icons on the
Taskbar tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.]]