Windows Explorer problem

[brkkab123]

This problem just started after I rebooted my computer earlier. Whenever I click on Computer or any other Windows Explorer windows ue: Photos, Downloads, Documents or Videos this screenshot will show you the results I get. I haven't installed any new software today. No malware has been found by NIS 2011 or Malwarebytes free. The explorer windows look normal in full screen view. They just look like this in regular view. How can I fix this.

 

[davehc]

I.m not quite sure what view you are looking for, but do this.
Open "organize", - "Layout" and untick the "preview" option

 

[brkkab123]

The Preview Pane is ok

The size for the whole Explorer Windows have changed. The Preview pane I want, but when I open any explorer Windows they come up like about half the size they were and for a wide-screen monitor layout. My desktop looks ok, so I don't believe it's the display settings.

I.m not quite sure what view you are looking for, but do this.
Open "organize", - "Layout" and untick the "preview" option

 

[TrainableMan]

Your desktop doesn't look ok from what I can see behind windows explorer. Do you have a wide-screen monitor or 4x3? Because I see a wide-screen display with both edges cut off in your picture.

Check if your screen resolution is correct for the shape monitor you have. Also verify you aren't running a virtual desktop (often done on netbooks it allows you to treat the desktop as bigger than your actual screen and then you can scroll around left and right and up and down putting just the piece of desktop you wish to see inside your view).

 

[Tushman]

Your desktop doesn't look ok from what I can see behind windows explorer. Do you have a wide-screen monitor or 4x3? Because I see a wide-screen display with both edges cut off in your picture.

That's possible but it seems like to me he cropped the image before posting.

brkkab123,

Open up Windows Explorer and change the size of the window to whatever you want. Hold down the Ctrl button before you hit the red 'X'. When you re-open Windows Explorer, it should open back up to the size you just had it.

 

[brkkab123]

Not Wide Screen monitor

I don't have a wide-screen monitor. It's a regular 16:9 17" LCD. This popped up looking like this after a restart yesterday and I can't figure out how to fix it.

That's possible but it seems like to me he cropped the image before posting.

brkkab123,

Open up Windows Explorer and change the size of the window to whatever you want. Hold down the Ctrl button before you hit the red 'X'. When you re-open Windows Explorer, it should open back up to the size you just had it.

 

[TrainableMan]

FYI: 16:9 IS wide-screen, 4:3 is full-screen.

Right-click on your desktop and select screen resolution, try Detect and make sure the picture you see is shaped like your monitor screen. Do you use ATI Catalyst Control Center? If so open that, as you can set screen resolution there as well. I believe the two are tied together but in the off chance they aren't, make sure they both have the same values.

 

[brkkab123]

Yeah I wasn't thinking

Yeah, I wasn't thinking when I typed. The only setting I can find for double checking thhe aspect ration in Windows 7 Professional x64 is in Media Center. My monitor is set to 1024 x 768 with 4:3 ratio. Personalization only lets you change resolution which is set to 1024 x 768 which is what's recomended for my old Dell LCD.I'm eventually getting a wide-screen led lcd, but that's not haappening until early next year, unless good deals pop up for Christmas and I can afford it.Anyway the Personalization window appeared normal size and explorer windows still look like the screenshot I uploaded.

FYI: 16:9 IS wide-screen, 4:3 is full-screen.

Right-click on your desktop and select screen resolution, try Detect and make sure the picture you see is shaped like your monitor screen. Do you use ATI Catalyst Control Center? If so open that, as you can set screen resolution there as well. I believe the two are tied together but in the off chance they aren't, make sure they both have the same values.

 

[brkkab123]

4:3 LCD

It's a old 4:3 Dell 17" LCD. How do I check the virtual desktop ? I didn't indtall VirtualPC or XP Mode. I don't really need them. I don't use anything that's like VirtualPC. No Virtual Box or anything on this pc.

Your desktop doesn't look ok from what I can see behind windows explorer. Do you have a wide-screen monitor or 4x3? Because I see a wide-screen display with both edges cut off in your picture.

Check if your screen resolution is correct for the shape monitor you have. Also verify you aren't running a virtual desktop (often done on netbooks it allows you to treat the desktop as bigger than your actual screen and then you can scroll around left and right and up and down putting just the piece of desktop you wish to see inside your view).

 

[clifford_cooley]

I'm not understanding the question. It appears you are wondering why your window is now opening as a smaller window. Can you not resize the window by dragging the border across the screen?

I have had programs change in size while they were open during Windows Update or manually updating the graphics drivers. That is if your Graphics Adapter is one of windows updates. Windows must remove the old graphics driver to update with a newer one. Any open applications can be effected during a change in resolution which is often required in order to update.

 

[brkkab123]

Don't get what you mean

If I drag the windows up it maximizes to full screen like it's supposed to, but when I open Computer, Documents, Downloads, Music, Photos, Videos or any explorer window they appear like they're small, but for a wide screen monitor and are half the size they were yesterday. Internet Explorer's window and all the Personalization windows aren't affected the same way. They look normal when not in full screen mode. How do I get the other explorer windows to act like IE and Persnalization windows when not in full screen view ? My graphics drivers were updated Thursday to the current ATI Drivers for my Radeon HD5770version 10.9 from AMD, not Windows Update.

I'm not understanding the question. It appears you are wondering why your window is now opening as a smaller window. Can you not resize the window by dragging the border across the screen?

I have had programs change in size while they were open during Windows Update or manually updating the graphics drivers. That is if your Graphics Adapter is one of windows updates. Windows must remove the old graphics driver to update with a newer one. Any open applications can be effected during a change in resolution which is often required in order to update.

 

[clifford_cooley]

Does changing views do anything to help?

 

[TrainableMan]

What I interpret and how it appears in the pictures is that his computer is acting like a wide-screen display even though his monitor is full-screen. This makes the start orb on the left and some notification icons on the right fall off out of view, just like when you watch a wide-screen movie on a full-screen TV w/o the black bars at top and bottom - both sides are cut off. And because his system is treating the display as wide-screen, when he opens up any program in a window, part of the window is off-screen but if he maximizes then it fits perfectly into the visible full-screen. brbkab, Please correct me if this is NOT right because this is where all my thinking is going at the moment.

brbkab, a Virtual desktop has nothing to do with Virtual PC. The specific situation I meant is also called an over-sized desktop.

Oversized Desktops

Other kinds of virtual desktop environments do not offer discrete virtual screens, but instead make it possible to pan around a desktop that is larger than the available hardware is capable of displaying. This facility is sometimes referred to as panning, scrolling desktops or viewport. For example, if a graphics card has a maximum resolution that is higher than the monitor's display resolution, the virtual desktop manager may allow windows to be placed "off the edge" of the screen. The user can then scroll to them by moving the mouse pointer to the edge of the display. The visible part of the larger virtual screen is called a viewport.
List of notable Window Managers that provide scrolling desktops

• fvwm - The desktop motion is jumpy with this implementation
• tvtwm
• vtwm
• GiMeSpace Desktop Extender for Windows
• BigScreen
• 360Desktop

Source

So what graphics card do you have and have you tried updating it's drivers? In fact I noticed an update to my video driver in Windows Update two days ago - if you got a similar update it could be causing your problem - I would suggest going to control panel \ device manager and trying to rollback to a previous version of your Display Adapter's driver.

 

[Tushman]

If I drag the windows up it maximizes to full screen like it's supposed to, but when I open Computer, Documents, Downloads, Music, Photos, Videos or any explorer window they appear like they're small, but for a wide screen monitor and are half the size they were yesterday. Internet Explorer's window and all the Personalization windows aren't affected the same way. They look normal when not in full screen mode. How do I get the other explorer windows to act like IE and Persnalization windows when not in full screen view ? My graphics drivers were updated Thursday to the current ATI Drivers for my Radeon HD5770version 10.9 from AMD, not Windows Update.

I'm afraid I"m a bit lost on this as well.

First of all, please clarify for us if you are cropping or editing those screenshots in any way before posting. (I cannot tell 100% certainty whether you're cropping those images or not.)

Secondly, did you try the method that I gave you in my previous post? If so what were the results?

 

[TrainableMan]

Open up Windows Explorer and change the size of the window to whatever you want. Hold down the Ctrl button before you hit the red 'X'. When you re-open Windows Explorer, it should open back up to the size you just had it.

What this does is tell windows to remember the window position so that it starts in that same spot the next time. This should make your window restore back "in-screen" the next time but if you are actually only seeing just a piece of your screen, rather than just cropping the image you upload, then it will not solve the underlying problem. So please get back to us and let us know and if I am understanding correctly then please try reverting to your old display driver and see if that works.

 

[Tushman]

OK, after re-reading this thread 3 times over now, I think I finally figured out what brkkab123 is asking. But before I throw out more guesses & muddy up the waters, I really want to know if brkkab123 is cropping those screenshots.

brkkab123, if you are cropping them because there is a size limitation on the forum, then save your images in PNG format. You should be saving those screen captures in PNG anway to begin with - the images will be much more clear and less than 1/2 the size compared to jpeg format.

Furthermore, if I have interpreted your question correctly, then the suggestion that Clifford Cooley should do the trick!

On the other hand, if you've already tried his suggestion and windows explorer still does not retain your settings, then try lowering the resolution to the lowest setting it will allow. Reboot the PC. Then set it back to the recommended setting (1024 x 768). Reboot again. See if that method helps at all.

What this does is tell windows to remember the window position so that it starts in that same spot the next time.

I tried on my PC here before posting and the method that I posted will also remember the size (not just the position) of the explorer window.

brkkab123,

Open up Windows Explorer and change the size of the window to whatever you want. Hold down the Ctrl button before you hit the red 'X'. When you re-open Windows Explorer, it should open back up to the size you just had it.

 

[TrainableMan]

I tried on my PC here before posting and the method that I posted will also remember the size (not just the position) of the explorer window.

When I say position I meant all four corners will be exactly where they were. I didn't specify a single corner (generally when coding an application, the upper-left) so X and Y displacement from that corner (what I presume you call size) didn't need to be stated but if you wish then, yes "position and size".

Some members here, not just you tushman, like to give advice without telling the person why or what it will do or is expected to accomplish. I, and likely many readers, like to know what it is, rather than following blindly, so I offered a simple explanation for anyone reading who didn't know. If all you are trying to do is add extra detail then perhaps you could do it without quoting me because you rub me the wrong way and I take it as a back-handed way of saying I am wrong with your nit-picking. If you want to explain your reasons or what your solution does then you should do so but don't "get on me" as if I'm wrong when I at least offered more information than you bothered to provide.

In this situation I really need input back from the poster because if that is just a cropped screen-shot rather than full-screen then it needs to be stated because it sent my thinking in one totally different direction than you others. Wake up BRKKAB! Don't be sleeping when I need answers

& Brbkab, if that is a cropped screenshot rather than the full-screen then don't do any of the things I suggested to your drivers; try Tushman and Clifford's ideas.

 

[brkkab123]

No cropping

No cropping that's exactly how they look when I snip them with the Snipping Tool. I'll attach a full screen snip with both windows opened.

OK, after re-reading this thread 3 times over now, I think I finally figured out what brkkab123 is asking. But before I throw out more guesses & muddy up the waters, I really want to know if brkkab123 is cropping those screenshots.

brkkab123, if you are cropping them because there is a size limitation on the forum, then save your images in PNG format. You should be saving those screen captures in PNG anway to begin with - the images will be much more clear and less than 1/2 the size compared to jpeg format.

Furthermore, if I have interpreted your question correctly, then the suggestion that Clifford Cooley should do the trick!

On the other hand, if you've already tried his suggestion and windows explorer still does not retain your settings, then try lowering the resolution to the lowest setting it will allow. Reboot the PC. Then set it back to the recommended setting (1024 x 768). Reboot again. See if that method helps at all.




I tried on my PC here before posting and the method that I posted will also remember the size (not just the position) of the explorer window.

 

[brkkab123]

Didn't work

That file did me no good. Heres a desktop.png

OK, after re-reading this thread 3 times over now, I think I finally figured out what brkkab123 is asking. But before I throw out more guesses & muddy up the waters, I really want to know if brkkab123 is cropping those screenshots.

ThatHere's a desktop.png for you.brkkab123, if you are cropping them because there is a size limitation on the forum, then save your images in PNG format. You should be saving those screen captures in PNG anway to begin with - the images will be much more clear and less than 1/2 the size compared to jpeg format.

Furthermore, if I have interpreted your question correctly, then the suggestion that Clifford Cooley should do the trick!

On the other hand, if you've already tried his suggestion and windows explorer still does not retain your settings, then try lowering the resolution to the lowest setting it will allow. Reboot the PC. Then set it back to the recommended setting (1024 x 768). Reboot again. See if that method helps at all.




I tried on my PC here before posting and the method that I posted will also remember the size (not just the position) of the explorer window.

 

[brkkab123]

Doesn't change windows size

No. Didn't help windows size is still ridiculously small for explorer windows. IE, Personalization, Firefox

Does changing views do anything to help?