BS: another computer question

Subject: BS: another computer question
From: RangerSteve
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 11:19 AM

i turned on my computer the other day and I'm missing part of my screen. It's the part with the buttons that say Back, Forward, Stop Refresh, Home Full schreen Search Favorites Media History Mail.

That whole line is gone and I can't get it back. ANy suggestions?

Thanks in advance. Steve

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: jeffp
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 11:23 AM

Pull down the View menu and rest your cursor on Toolbars. A pop-out menu should pop out to the side listing the available toolbars. Select Standard. If Lock the Toolbars is checked, you will have to uncheck that before doing the above. After you get the toolbar back, select Lock the Toolbars.

All this assumes you are using Internet Explorer.

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Snuffy
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:15 PM

press the F11 key

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:32 PM

That's part of your browser menu, as jeffp says. Most browsers have a selection of 'toolbars' that can be selectively viwed or hidden, to suit individual tastes or increase the viewable space.

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:38 PM

The toolbar described doesn't sound like an IE toolbar, but resembles what I get on my Windows Explorer screen and on most other program windows. The View button, Toolbars, and checking/unchecking the one(s) you want should work in any program where the problem shows up.

Toolbars can be dragged around, and the bottom one especially can be just dragged "off the window." If you float your cursor over the edge where one disappeared, get the double-headed arrow, and click and drag back onto the screen, if there's an "off screen" toolbar it should drag back into view. The descriptions sounds more like one that's been unselected though.

John

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:43 PM

no, John...with the home, refresh, history..etc., buttons, if MUST be a browser toolbar. My 'taskbar' doesn't have those buttons (and I keep mine at the top of the screen.)

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 12:47 PM

My kids think they're being smart when they set up their computer so the bottom toolbar drops off of the screen. I lowered the boom on them when they did it to my computer. I can find it again and restore it, but it's annoying to have someone come in and change your settings without asking. It's one of those computer etiquette issues that kids should be taught at an early age.

Back a couple of operating systems now Windows had an easily customized bar that I always anchored over on the right-hand side with icons for various programs. It was probably considered a redundant feature so they dropped it, but I still miss it.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 01:23 PM

Bill D

I don't find any toolbar (brief look) that has all of the buttons described, but the most general agreement with the original list doesn't match my IE toolbars. In later versions of Windows the buttons you cited do appear on numerous toolbars other than in IE.

Stilly -

Several icons appear in the "Startup" end of the bottom task bar. (That's the part sometimes called the "System Tray" section.) Others may appear and anything can be added to the "Start Bar" at the left end of the lower toolbar. If you turn off the Lock Toolbars, you can drag the bottom toolbar to the right side (and reset "Lock Toolbars"), add any programs you want by putting a shortcut to them in the Programs\Start (exact name varies a bit) folder. You may be able to change icon size in Control Panel|Display.

Chosing one of the "new" layouts may also offer possibilities, but I consider them mostly obscene so I use Classic View.

There are "desk organizers" that offer some additional options. There may be one in the "Power Toys" set, but I haven't been interested enough to look.

John

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 02:46 PM

??? *grin*...how much later can I get than WinXP? Do you really have a 'back' button without a browser? (Since I almost NEVER open IE, I don't really know what setups it can have, but Opera & Firefox have myriads of toolbar options..

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 03:38 PM

as you might expect, I have several of the "desk organizers", some are clever, but not intuitive or are in the way a lot, but the one that I have come to depend on and still have not found the end of its useful tricks is Hidden Menu. It simply doesn't show until you activate it with a mouse movement. I also have, but seldom use, Dexpot, a 'virtual desktop', that allows a multiude of different desktop looks with a a quick changeover...bare, full of icons, one for me, one for my wife..etc...I don't know why I don't use it more, as it really works well!

...and, as a matter of interest, here is a screen capture of my Firefox in 'full bloom' I can, and usually do, turn off 2 of those bars for simple browsing, but boy, the options! And the ones I leave on can be customized almost any way I choose....

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 03:41 PM

(BTW...all those are free, as are 'almost' all the programs I use regularly)

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 03:46 PM

Maybe it varies from Win and IE versions. My IE 6 runs: Back, Home, Stop, Refresh, Home, Search, Favourites, Media, History which is very close to Ranger Steve's list. I presume that was how it installed on my Win 2K laptop - I can't see any reason for me having changed it.

SRS, when my nephew and niece visit, my computers are out of bounds! Pip does let them use hers though.

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 04:23 PM

When we have guests, I log off my Windows and log in on the Guest "account." Unless I know the person very well, that's ALL they see and all they can use, and it's up to me what programs that account even accesses.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: artbrooks
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 04:25 PM

You have 488 messages? Gol! Read your mail once in a while!!

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 07:53 PM

*grin*...I read 'em...I'm just lazy about deleting/archiving.

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 08:06 PM

When we have guests, I log off my Windows and log in on the Guest "account." Unless I know the person very well, that's ALL they see and all they can use, and it's up to me what programs that account even accesses.

Everyone here has their own accounts but I still don't trust the kids when they visit not to find ways round it - that's the trouble - they are quite smart in some ways but don't always have the resposability to go with it....

Other guests are quite free to use my PC. These days, I set up an account for them and delete after the visit.

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 08:12 PM

And as on the rare occasions when we do have non family guests, I move out of my bedroom, they have my PC to themselves and until I got the laptop, I would be sharing Pip's PC. Might br interesting next time if I am running a server from my bedroom. Not sure whether I would want to temporarily relocate that in the study in case I have to reboot or not... and they might not like a PC running all night...

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Nov 05 - 08:15 PM

Jon...get a screencaver that snores?

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 12:06 AM

Bill - my firefox is the bottom line of yours! I would not know what to do with all those buttons

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 12:30 AM

Sandra...'most' of those buttons are special search buttons that are seldom used, but one is my 'personal toolbar' that is like a favorites folder that is always visible...one click loading.

There are people who use all that stuff everyday because they work with it in business. I just like playing with it...

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: RangerSteve
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 06:32 AM

Jeffp - thanks, your suggestion worked. I can't believe it was that easy. I also can't believe how computer illiterate I am.

Thanks again. Steve

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: jeffp
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 08:24 AM

You're welcome, Steve. It happened to someone at work a couple of weeks ago, so I've already been through the troubleshooting.

Glad to be of assistance.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: jacqui.c
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 08:41 AM

RangerSteve

You're not the only one. I've learned more stuff from this thread. I think that, in general, most of us have to pick up new stuff as we go along because we cannot justify the time to sit down and make ourselves computer experts by reading the books or playing with the machines.

I love the 'Cat, there are so many helpful people who are always willing to impart the required info!

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Nov 05 - 07:31 PM

Geez Louise, Bill, no wonder the 'Cat runs so slow. It's lugging all of your personal messages along! Delete and archive are so easy compared to all of this stuff you're sticking in your toolbars.

;-D

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: GUEST,Geek on call
Date: 13 Nov 05 - 02:03 AM

Find, Download, install and run Microsoft Anti-Virus. Could be adware, maybe not but you need that MSAV anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: another computer question
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 14 Nov 05 - 07:00 AM

Sorry I was out of touch for the weekend, so I didn't see this news until just now.

Trojan Attacks Microsoft Image Rendering Flaw, By Ryan Naraine, November 10, 2005

"Anti-virus vendor Trend Micro Inc. has spotted a Trojan in the wild attacking Windows users via the image rendering flaws patched by Microsoft Corp. two days ago.

"The Trojan, identified as TROJ_EMFSPLOIT.A, causes the "explorer.exe" file to crash, causing the taskbar on unpatched Windows machines to disappear."

Trend Micro Brief on TROJ_EMFSPLOIT.A

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-053 with links to get patches.

Not exactly the effect reported, since it was a toolbar rather than the task bar that went AWOL; but suspicious enough to suggest that it might be worth checking out the patch. Internet Explorer is critically dependent on the affected file.

Windows 2000, WinXP and Server2003 may be affected. The Trojan found in the wild is apparently a "proof of concept" thing, and doesn't do real damage; but the potential for serious stuff is there.

John