Date: 05/11/11 (Computer Help)    Keywords: browser, virus, web, microsoft, google

Hello, I've recently been dealing with computer trouble, and now that I'm past the worst of it, I've come to ask about something that's making me nutty: my display settings.


Problem in a nutshell: My programs (e.g. Internet Explorer, iTunes, Microsoft Word) don't seem to want to follow my designated screen resolution of 1024 by 768.

OS: Windows XP SP3


Web Browser: Internet Explorer 7 (I prefer it to the newer versions.)

Level of Experience: Probably easiest to say beginner


Problem: Because I unfortunately was victim of a rootkit a few weeks ago, my computer had to be wiped, and Windows was reinstalled. Since I got it back today, I've been building my computer to how it was before the virus, but my display settings are all off. I have a wide screen, and my default resolution before the virus was 1024 by 768 (I like it that way), so I restored it to that resolution. While I've taken pains to make my desktop look somewhat normal, my programs (e.g. Internet Explorer, iTunes) look rather larger and wider than they should in their screens. This is thoroughly annoying in Internet Explorer especially, since I don't like using full screen view (I don't use full screen for any programs). How do I get my programs (my desktop doesn't really seem to want to cooperate, either) to view normally?

Troubleshooting? -I messed with the space between my icons in the appearance section of the Display Properties, but this only affected the desktop. The toolbar at the bottom of my desktop still looks odd.
-I tried zooming in and out in Internet Explorer; didn't solve anything.
-I tried changing my dpi in the Display Properties, but to no avail.
-I've searched google several times but have found no help for this sort of problem.

Just for references, I'll include before and after screenshots from my display:


This is basically how my computer looked before it broke.


This is how my computer looks now: bloated toolbar and super wide IE page--the same facebook page takes up much more room.


This problem isn't dire, but it's MADDENING. If anyone has good ideas how to solve this, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks!

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Source: https://computer-help.livejournal.com/1024221.html