need basic Windows help, please . . .

[OneBlueSky]

this is probably pretty simple, but for the life of me I can't figure it out . . . and it's driving me nuts . . .

when I'm online and click on a hotlink, a new window opens up . . . until today, that new window has always been regular (maximized) in size . . .

for some reason, when I click on a hotlink now, the new window opens in reduced size, and I have to maximize it every time . . . not a critical issue, certainly, but a pain in the butt . . . I've looked all over for how to fix this, and so far the solution is eluding me . . .

can anyone tell me how to fix this so that when I open a new window, it opens at regular (maximized) size? . . . sure would appreciate it . . . thanx . . .

[trotsky]

1. You don't say, but I assume you're using IE.

Next time you open a window and then maximize it, when you close it, hold down the SHIFT key as you click the X to close. That's supposed to make Windows save the size/position. It doesn't always work, but it's worth a try!

Also, consider switching to the Firefox web browser if you're not already using it. http://www.mozilla.org

[OneBlueSky]

2. thanks . . . yeah, it's IE . . . tried the fix, but it didn't work . . .

I'll get around to Firefox eventually . . . meanwhile, got any other ideas . . . :)

[trotsky]

3. Have you scanned your machine for spyware?

I recommend Spybot S&D (http://www.safer-networking.org) and AdAware SE (http://www.lavasoft.de).

[OneBlueSky]

4. not recently . . . but I'll do that today . . . thanx . . . n/t

.

[OneBlueSky]

6. got it! . . . figured it out, and all is fine . . . thanx . . . n/t

.

[welshTerrier2]

5. did some research on this ...

not sure i found anything that will help ...

the basic deal seems to be that an application's window size should reopen in the same location and be the same size as when you last used the application ...

do you have more than one IE window open at a time?

it sounds like you've already tried all the basics ... here are a few "long shots" ... open IE (just in one window) ... maximize the window ... then try closing it and re-opening it testing each of the closing methods which include:
1. clicking the "X" in the upper right corner
2. pressing Alt+F4
3. right clicking and choosing "Close" from the popup menu
4. choosing "File" then "Exit"

these really should all do exactly the same thing but might be worth a try ...

there must be some kind of registry setting that stores the last window size and position ... maybe there's a problem whereby that setting is not getting updated when you maximize your IE window ... no idea how to go about fixing a problem like that ...

the only other thing you might try is maximizing an IE window and then doing a "shut down" ... maybe that will help save your last IE setting ...

let us know if you get it resolved ... good luck ...

[Longhorn]

7. My experience.

I often resize windows so that I can see two at once, mainly so that I can easily transfer info from my grade spreadsheet to the server where students can go to see their grades. I had resized the IE window into a narrow rectangle and closed it that way so from then on, every time I opened an IE window, it opened as a narrow rectangle. The size made me realize what caused it and that if I manually resized the window back to full size (click and drag on the edges) and closed it in that size, that new windows should open in that size. It worked but it seems like I had to do it a couple of times before it "took." :shrug:

[OneBlueSky]

8. thanks . . . that's exactly what I did . . .

found a message board, did a search, and someone suggested just manually resizing the window, and then closing it . . . voila! . . . problem solved . . . thanks again . . . :)