Has any figured out how to permanently remove the link for Windows Marketplace that is installed With SP2 on the Favs menu.

I know this is an old post, but I found it when I was looking for a solution. Then I figured it out myself.

To remove the "Windows Marketplace" IE shortcut link from getting generated, do the following:

Find and open with a text editor, the file HIVESFT.INF in the I386 folder.

Find these lines (around line 70-80) and remove them.

HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{4b218e3e-bc98-4770-93d3-2731b9329278}",,,"Internet Explorer"
HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{4b218e3e-bc98-4770-93d3-2731b9329278}","ComponentID",,"Windows Marketplace Link"
HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{4b218e3e-bc98-4770-93d3-2731b9329278}","IsInstalled",0x00010001,0x00000001
HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{4b218e3e-bc98-4770-93d3-2731b9329278}","Locale",,"EN"
HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{4b218e3e-bc98-4770-93d3-2731b9329278}","StubPath",0x00020000,"%SystemRoot%\System32\rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection MarketplaceLinkInstall 896 %systemroot%\inf\ie.inf"
HKLM,"Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{4b218e3e-bc98-4770-93d3-2731b9329278}","Version",,"1,0,0,0"

That's it.

It works for my WinPE CD, haven't tested on XP yet, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.