Q: How can I drag useful desktop icons onto my taskbar at the bottom of my screen?

A: It sounds like you're talking about the "Quicklaunch" bar.  This is the fancy toolbar, usually in the lower-left corner, next to the start button.

If you're missing this, rightclick on the task bar (the long blue strip at the foot of your monitor) and go to properties.

Check the "Show Quick Launch" checkbox to make it appear and then press OK.

Now it should appear but may not be editable. Rightclick on the task bar again and uncheck the "lock Taskbar."

Now you should be able to drag and drop any program or document that you regularly access. To delete buttons from there, just rightclick and delete. If you notice a double arrow to the right of your quicklaunch, you can grab the dotted vertical line at the end of the quicklaunch and make it larger.

This should help you enable your quicklaunch and help you edit it to your liking!

-Mike Shinn