Cathy, I think Sue has given you good advice, its time for a new monitor.

In the mean time, to get it so you can use the old one,

On the desktop, right-click, and choose properties.  As soon as the desktop
properties window opens, you should see tabs across the top, the last one is
the settings tab.  If you can't because the tabs are above the top of the
screen, press

Alt-spacebar which will open a little menu which you probably won't see
either, Press M for move, then down arrow (left arrow / right arrow etc)
until the window moves to the center of the screen.
Now use Settings Tab to change the display back to a higher resolution so
the desktop is bigger and windows again fit into it.

If you can't use the buttons located on the monitor itself to adjust away
the black border by adjusting horizontal and vertical dimensions, then the
probable cause is that the monitor is fading.  One symptom of a failing
display is the focus of the electron guns keeps getting narrower and
narrower, so the display borders creep toward the center.
Tom Turak

-----Original Message-----
From: Sue Clark [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, July 26, 2003 8:50 AM

Hi Cathy,

It sounds like the problem is an older monitor that cannot hancle
much beyond 800x600 resolution. You will always have that black
band around it, if you use that setting.
But to answer your actual question, the way to access the off screen
buttons is to use the "TAB" and "ENTER" keys. On the ones you
can see, you'll notice they get a little line across them as you TAB
down. The first one off the screen you want is  going to be the
OKAY button, so when you get there, just hit ENTER, and the
screen size should go back to normal.
I have a feeling you may have adjusted the font size in Properties,
assuming that extra large fonts would expand the screen. But that's
more for the visually impaired. So make sure when you right click
on your desktop, and choose Properties, appearance, select
Windows Standard (or any other display rather than Large/Extra
Large). Then on your settings tab, go ahead and switch to either
800x600 (with the black band) or 640x480 (with the need to scroll).
Also, think about replacing the monitor. Its age is the problem. You
can find good deals on 17 inch monitors right now.
Good luck, and hope this helped.

Sue Clark
Bristol, ME

On 26 Jul 2003 at 0:03, Cathy Pierce wrote:

> Date:    Wed, 23 Jul 2003 20:10:17 -0700
> From:    Cathy Pierce <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Resizing desktop
>
> Hi everyone,
>
> I originally submitted this problem to PCSoft, thinking it was a software
> issue, but I'm told it's a hardware issue, so here goes...
>
> I am a computer novice and desperately need help.  My monitor died.  I
> received a used one from a friend.  It worked fine except the display did
> not use all the monitor screen, leaving a large black frame around the
> display.  I would have to scroll to see even small documents.  I was told
> to follow the instructions in 'Help' titled "To calibrate your display to
> actual dimensions".  I did this.  It did not increase the desktop to match
> the available monitor screen, but rather only magnified the fonts, icons,
> etc within the same space.  Now the right-hand side and bottom portions of
> the display is off screen and even scrolling will not bring it into view.
> I am really stuck because I cannot get at the tabs (they've disappeared
> off the monitor screen) to return the settings back to the original size
> and start over.  How can I undo what I have done (when I can't access the
> required tabs with a mouse), and how do I increase the desktop size to
> match the monitor size?  I have Windows 98.
>
> Thanks for any help,
> Cathy Pierce

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