desktop not displaying quite right

[southpaw40]

My desktop is being partially blocked by a large gray rectangle going from
top to bottom of the screen vertically and covering about 1/3 of the screen.

This happened when I was typing one day and bumped one or more keys down in
the Control/Alt/Shift region on the left side of the keyboard. The gray box
popped into place, and I haven't been able to get rid of it since.

Displayed in the box are the following items:

Folder Tasks

Other Places

Details

Each has a drop down arrow button next to it.

If I pushed keys and made it appear, there has to be a way to get rid of it,
right?

Darned if I can figure it out. Any suggestions as to how to get rid of it so
I can enjoy my custom desktop wallpaper would be appreciated.

E-mail replies to:

Many thanks,

Erik Berg

[GMMan]

Could you post a screenshot or something so we can get a better idea of your
problem?
--
GMMan

Current version: Windows XP Home Edition With Service Pack 2
Current model: Dell Dimension 4600 Desktop


"southpaw40" wrote:

> My desktop is being partially blocked by a large gray rectangle going from
> top to bottom of the screen vertically and covering about 1/3 of the screen.
>
> This happened when I was typing one day and bumped one or more keys down in
> the Control/Alt/Shift region on the left side of the keyboard. The gray box
> popped into place, and I haven't been able to get rid of it since.
>
> Displayed in the box are the following items:
>
> Folder Tasks
>
> Other Places
>
> Details
>
> Each has a drop down arrow button next to it.
>
> If I pushed keys and made it appear, there has to be a way to get rid of it,
> right?
>
> Darned if I can figure it out. Any suggestions as to how to get rid of it so
> I can enjoy my custom desktop wallpaper would be appreciated.
>
> E-mail replies to:
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Erik Berg

[Nepatsfan]

In ,
southpaw40 > wrote:
> My desktop is being partially blocked by a large gray
> rectangle going
> from top to bottom of the screen vertically and covering
> about 1/3 of
> the screen.
>
> This happened when I was typing one day and bumped one or
> more keys
> down in the Control/Alt/Shift region on the left side of the
> keyboard. The gray box popped into place, and I haven't been
> able to
> get rid of it since.
>
> Displayed in the box are the following items:
>
> Folder Tasks
>
> Other Places
>
> Details
>
> Each has a drop down arrow button next to it.
>
> If I pushed keys and made it appear, there has to be a way to
> get rid
> of it, right?
>
> Darned if I can figure it out. Any suggestions as to how to
> get rid
> of it so I can enjoy my custom desktop wallpaper would be
> appreciated.
>
> E-mail replies to:
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Erik Berg

You might want to try this solution.

Courtesy of Doug Knox, MS-MVP
Remove Common Tasks from Desktop
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_commtask_desktop.htm

Good luck

Nepatsfan