I have screwed up my screen and don't know how to fix it.

[sissybaby]

I am challenged with anything electronic, and I have messed up my laptop and don't know what happened.

I don't have a mouse, and my cursor has a habit of scrolling around on its own.

Today I was typing, and the screen kind of bleeped, and now I have a mess.

At the bottom of the page, where I usually have my time and date in the bottom right corner, I now have a shadow across the whole bottom of the screen. I can see my icons vaguely in the background, but I can no longer find my little box for changing text size, and when I'm in a document, I have no way of seeing the page number or total pages in the left lower corner. There's just a narrow box along the entire bottom with blurry stuff behind it.

Can anyone tell me what I've done and how I can fix it? I'm so intimated by this thing.

Thanks for any help.

[Medievalist]

Sometimes, the simplest option is to save, quit all apps, shut all windows, and restart.

You might look at your Control Panels to see if you accidentally changed the setting about the size of your screen.

[mikeofmany]

So, it seems that unless your posting from another computer, this one is not entirely messed up.

If saving everything and restarted didn't fix it.

I would ask you to look at the different upper right corner widgets, do you still have the minimize underline, max square and close X? Also, you mention not seeing icons, do you mean the the system tray icons like volume, wifi, and battery?
(Assuming a windows laptop here.)

If so, do you also have the start button/circle in the lower left? If you don't, tap the windows key on the keyboard, does the start menu, and the entire bar (including system tray icons) come back?

If so, you may with the bar up on the screen, right click it and go into properties, tell it to not hide; and to always be on top. That should fix it and having the status bar from office and other programs show up behind it, all fuzzy like.

[Steven_Lake]

Well, I'm gonna go out on a long shot here and ask something crazy, as this information tends to help in solving issues.

1. What is the make and model of your laptop. (bonus, how old is it)
2. What is your operating system?
3. What is your word processing program?

As for the shadow and the "bleeping" screen, that sounds more hardware than software or anything you did. Also, so we can get an idea of what you're seeing, do you have:

1. Another computer you can post from?
2. Can you take a screenshot of the computer's current desktop?
3. If not, do you have a camera you can take an external snaptop of it?

The idea here is simple. If you can take a snapshot from within the machine, that would be preferred for troubleshooting purposes. To do that in windows, hit the "print screen" key, paste into a document file (word, open office, etc), save, email somewhere. If you're on a Mac or a Linux box, please specify the distro and/or OS version so we can find out what keys you need to use to get your internal screenshot.

If you can't make an internal one, and you have a camera, snap a picture of the screen. Try to avoid getting anything but the screen itself in the picture, so you'll need to be close to the laptop when you do it. If you can grab that and post the picture here for us to see (or at least a link to it) then that'll go a long ways towards answering your question.

[Matera the Mad]

I'm taking a wild guess based on a similar mouse-accident that a friend had. She somehow dragged her taskbar (that strip on the bottom) out so wide that it covered the whole screen. I didn't see hers, but it sounds like you have the same problem. I imagine that is how it would look (with all that default Aero bling obscuring everything). Right clicking would seem to be the way to go. Try to find some options for position of the taskbar.

I'm not in the best position to get into details, since my everyday desktop is not the normal Windows setup. :o

[kuwisdelu]

If you can take a snapshot from within the machine, that would be preferred for troubleshooting purposes. To do that in windows, hit the "print screen" key, paste into a document file (word, open office, etc), save, email somewhere. If you're on a Mac

Command + Shift + 3.

[sissybaby]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions.

Nothing I did seemed to work, so I had hubby take it to the guy who helps with our computers. He fixed it.

Said I had somehow gone into the control panel and changed things so that I had a screensaver with a frosted coating. That's why the bottom was blurred out.

I don't know how I did it. I'm going to have to try a mouse because I can't seem to keep my cursor under control.

Now that it's cleared up again, I can explain better. I had a fairly clear view of my lowest icon settings - on the right I had my battery level, and my bars for internet strength, whatever that's called.

But above that, the bar that shows things downloading, and the size of my text, and page numbers on documents and such, was covered up with a blurry film.

Again, I appreciate your efforts. I probably didn't explain things very well, because I don't understand most of it.

[Maryn]

sissybaby, I got myself a wireless mouse for my laptop for about $15, and I really like it. Works on a desk or table, a mousepad, the arm of my chair, the leg of my pants, the seat of my booth at Panera...

Watch for sales at office supply places and big box stores; the ones that retail for $25 - $30 go on sale often. They take one AA battery and one open USB port. There's no software to download or install. I'm not at all good about remembering to turn off the mouse, and I still get about four or five weeks to a battery.

Maryn, who got one for her desktop, too

[sissybaby]

Thanks, Maryn.

Actually (blush) I have a wireless mouse. I just never have taken it out of the packaging yet. It was a Christmas gift last year!

So now I will do that. And I'll try to remember to turn it off. I didn't even realize until yesterday that I wasn't turning my laptop off - I thought sending it to hybernate was all I needed to do.

What can I say? I am a slow learner.

[Matera the Mad]

A screensaver is supposed to go away when there is any activity. But you never did say what operating system....

[kuwisdelu]

A screensaver is supposed to go away when there is any activity. But you never did say what operating system....

My sources tell me it was an Amiga.

[Matera the Mad]

:ROFL:

[Adagio]

Watch for sales at office supply places and big box stores; the ones that retail for $25 - $30 go on sale often. They take one AA battery and one open USB port. There's no software to download or install. I'm not at all good about remembering to turn off the mouse, and I still get about four or five weeks to a battery.

Maryn, who got one for her desktop, too

I've got a mouse, too. Can't work the laptop pad, drives me nuts. I shut off the laptop each time I finish with it. Question: Do I have to turn the mouse off from, say, Control Panel, or it shuts off automatically? I have to change the batteries almost two to three weeks.

Adagio

[kuwisdelu]

I've got a mouse, too. Can't work the laptop pad, drives me nuts. I shut off the laptop each time I finish with it. Question: Do I have to turn the mouse off from, say, Control Panel, or it shuts off automatically? I have to change the batteries almost two to three weeks.

Adagio

There should be a physical switch or button on the mouse. Just hit that.

[Adagio]

There should be a physical switch or button on the mouse. Just hit that.

there's a wheel and there's a button of sort, if I press it, the lid comes off (you know, where you insert the batteries.) Other than that, no other button. Maybe I should hit this every time I shut off the laptop? Then I have to push back the lid when I start working? This will save the batteries life? I never thought of it.

Thanks.

[Maryn]

My wireless mouse has a small switch on its base, made of the same black plastic as the rest of the base, which turns it on and off. It's in the center, at the farthest end away from the wheel. It's hard to see and only moves like 3/16 of an inch. I've gotten to where I can feel it better than see it.

Take your mouse outside on a sunny day, or someplace where the lighting is really good, and I bet you will see the on-off switch.

Maryn, who left hers on overnight--again

[Adagio]

My wireless mouse has a small switch on its base, made of the same black plastic as the rest of the base, which turns it on and off. It's in the center, at the farthest end away from the wheel. It's hard to see and only moves like 3/16 of an inch. I've gotten to where I can feel it better than see it.

Take your mouse outside on a sunny day, or someplace where the lighting is really good, and I bet you will see the on-off switch.

Maryn, who left hers on overnight--again

3/16 of an inch. You made me laugh!

OK, I went out on the balcony, sunny day (finally), took my magnifying glass, peered over the base of the mouse, saw no button. There's a little something that resembles a button on the label, but it's sunk. I pushed it with my nail, nothing happened (my laptop is switched on.) Another button is made of gray matter, looks like a little pad, again stuck. Anyway, my mouse model: MP2350BLK PID#111370-109154, made in China (of course.) Maybe my model does not have this switch?

Adagio-scratching-her-head

[Maryn]

I found a picture of the bottom of your mouse (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7135100&CatId=1285) (scroll about half-way down the page--oh, the things you can find online, huh?) and I sure don't see an on-off switch. How weird! Maybe the bargain price is not the bargain it seems when you factor in the additional batteries.

The bottom of my mouse (http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/04/29/microsoft-wireless-mobile-mouse-3500-review/) has one. (Scroll a quarter of the way down the page.) It looks to me like yours is designed to be on all the time, eating up batteries like there's no tomorrow.

Might be worth keeping an eye out for a sale on another type. Mine's a Microsoft, and our daughter has a Logitech, no problems with either one.

Maryn, who enjoys your avatar, BTW

[kuwisdelu]

That button on the bottom looks right.

Personally, I don't really understand the point of a wireless mouse that eats up a USB port. Why not just get a Bluetooth mouse and not have to bother with the USB thing?

[Adagio]

Maryn, who enjoys your avatar, BTW

Thank you! [*blushes*] Adagio listening to music, in trance, while writing.
I like your avatar, too.

I should've searched Internet but I was immersed in AW for a couple of hours, catching up after a long absence. Thought to google it later tonight. You see, my laptop is a present from good friends. I had no saying on the type of mouse. When they'd heard me wailing about my old Frankenstein computer, they came over one day with the laptop, the darlings! I have a supply of batteries handy when the mouse dies on me. I can use the pad for searching but I hate it when I write - it has a mysterious life of its own that escapes any (my) comprehension. I'll buy another one. I also heard that you can attach a mouse to the laptop. That's why I'm planning to write in my old computador (it's still working as Word Processor, OpenOffice) and save the files on a flash drive and/or a CD. Then I transfer into the comp at work (for hardcopies - don't tell anyone!) or I go to an office outside to make print-outs. This, until I buy a printer (soon.)

Thank you very much, Maryn!

Adagio

P.S. Sorry. It looks like I hijacked the thread.

[Adagio]

That button on the bottom looks right.

Personally, I don't really understand the point of a wireless mouse that eats up a USB port. Why not just get a Bluetooth mouse and not have to bother with the USB thing?

That "connect button" you're referring to - the one in the picture? You know what, when I'll shut off the laptop tonight, I'll try again to push that "connect button" and see what happens. But I think it connects with the USB port.
Now, as for the Bluetooth, I'll shop around. Had no idea (me, the TechnoIdiot.)

Thanks, Kuwisdelu.

[kuwisdelu]

That "connect button" you're referring to - the one in the picture? You know what, when I'll shut off the laptop tonight, I'll try again to push that "connect button" and see what happens. But I think it connects with the USB port.
Now, as for the Bluetooth, I'll shop around. Had no idea (me, the TechnoIdiot.)

Thanks, Kuwisdelu.

I don't know about the wireless-via-USB ones, but with Bluetooth devices, a lot of time the on/off button and the button to pair the device with your computer are the same button, and which one it'll do depends on how long you hold the button down. Have you tried long-holding the button until any lights on it go off?

Though I'd have to say... do you actually have the manual for this thing? That'd be the easiest way to get all this sorted out.

[Adagio]

I don't know about the wireless-via-USB ones, but with Bluetooth devices, a lot of time the on/off button and the button to pair the device with your computer are the same button, and which one it'll do depends on how long you hold the button down. Have you tried long-holding the button until any lights on it go off?

Though I'd have to say... do you actually have the manual for this thing? That'd be the easiest way to get all this sorted out.

IT DOES SHUT IT OFF! Hurray! :hooray:I used the letter opener's sharp tip, held the button down a few seconds and the light went off. :yessmiley Obviously, my nail failed the procedure. Still, more shopping around to get a better device that does not require batteries.

Oh, my dear friends, you're sooo good!

:Hail:

ETA: Now, that I think of it, why did I keep a letter opener?

[kuwisdelu]

Still, more shopping around to get a better device that does not require batteries.

Anything that doesn't have its own power supply will require a USB cable plugged in all the time when you use it.

However, you should probably be able to find a Bluetooth/wireless mouse that plugs into a charger instead of needing batteries. The only problem would be whether you can use it when it needs to be charged. Depending on the device, you may not be able to use it while it's charging, as opposed to being able to pop in a new set of batteries pretty easily.

That said, my Bluetooth keyboard and Magic Trackpad last a good 6 months or so on a single pair of AA's. For a while there, I wasn't even turning them off, either.

You could also invest in two pairs of rechargeable batteries. That's what I have for them.

[Adagio]

Yes, I see now how it works. I'll do my homework based on your indications and I'll come back here to let you know.

Thank you again.

Adagio

[Tepelus]

My mouse sucks. It eats a battery in a week. Used to go through one a month. My boyfriend has had his for several months and has yet to change the battery, or maybe has once. I use rechargeable batteries for mine now. And yes, I do shut my mouse off, but only when I shut down the computer. Maybe I should make a habit to shut it off every time I'm not going to be at the computer.

[kuwisdelu]

I have to wonder if some of these cheaper mice are a lot less power-efficient than the slightly more expensive ones.

[Medievalist]

I have to wonder if some of these cheaper mice are a lot less power-efficient than the slightly more expensive ones.

Well, short answer, yes.

The more expensive ones are more expensive in part because of the power management chip.

[Tepelus]

Mine was given to me as a Christmas gift by my mother. I think it may have been a cheaper one. It's a Logitech.

[stormie]

Mine was given to me as a Christmas gift by my mother. I think it may have been a cheaper one. It's a Logitech.
I have a Logitech wireless. I turn the mouse off (underneath, and as Adagio said, keep your finger on it til the light goes out) at the end of each day. I haven't had to put new batteries in for a long time--months--and I've had the thing for over a year. Maybe it's because it knows I'm so stormy and all.

[Tirjasdyn]

I gods...mouse problems. I have an MS blue mouse. It did well for a year but with constant use...the wheel has disintegrated, the rubber sides and bottom all fell out, it now goes through one battery a day. One click takes three and a double click takes four.

So I bought a new mouse, a logitech. The first day I had it I pulled out the receive and dropped it. The thing shattered. I called the company they sent me a new receiver. That didn't work so now they are sending me a new mouse. The only time I use a mouse any more when I'm writing on Windows because I like highlighting text with a mouse. I don't know why I hang on that but I do.

[Maryn]

Sigh... I love a happy ending.

Maryn, who likes Barber's Adagio especially

[Matera the Mad]

Mice poop a lot.

[kuwisdelu]

Mice poop a lot.

Not if they're Magic.

[Adagio]

Sigh... I love a happy ending.

Maryn, who likes Barber's Adagio especially

Adagio likes it, too! :e2violin: