MetaChat - Why have my drop-downs disappeared?

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07 June 2005

Why have my drop-downs disappeared? Dunno what's going on, but on my work laptop all my right-click drop-downs are "invisible" until I scroll over them - then they appear, as if by magic. Same goes for many of my file menus, except for my IE favorites which are always there. How can I fix this without resorting to the drones at the help desk?

post by: tr33hggr at: 11:54 | 6 comments

OS/specs?

posted by Wedge 07 June | 11:58

It'll be a video card driver thing.
1. Install latest video card drivers.
2. Drop the performance settings on your Video Card down.
(How to do this will depend on the OS, so use google for better instructions)

posted by seanyboy 07 June | 12:01

Sorry. XP; that's about all I know, it's my work laptop. I can't install/download/access anything. I think it happened when I started playing SwapJob. Guess that's what I get!

posted by tr33hggr 07 June | 12:05

In Windows XP and 2000:

1. Open the Display Properties window:
-- In Windows XP, choose Start > Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and then click Display.
2. Click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3. Click the Troubleshooting tab.
4. Move the Hardware acceleration slider down.
5. Click OK to accept the new setting, and then click OK to close the Display Properties window.
6. Restart Windows.

Also, try changing the colour depth you're using as default. i.e. if it's 16 bit, change it to 32 bit and vice versa.

If it doesn't let you do any of these things then you'll have to take it into your support people.

posted by seanyboy 07 June | 12:10

I hate to say it, but that sounds like something that happened to me once when a trojan/adware invasion hit my home PC. Whatever it was (and I tend to suppress those memories; those and root canal work), it was adding functions to my dropdowns -- its own ad/search/"savings" stuff and that was causing odd behaviors in my drop downs. I felt like they were trying to fight off the bodysnatchers that were taking them over.....

Spyware/adware search helped me clean them out.

posted by mmahaffie 07 June | 13:20

Thanks, we'll see what happens.

posted by tr33hggr 07 June | 14:12

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