My 17 inch laptop has now had the display reduced to about 15 inches. I’ve restarted several times. What stupid thing did I click on to cause this? There are huge black bands on the left and the right.
Most likely you changed the resolution, perhaps by playing a full-screen game, updating your video drivers, plugging in or removing a TV or projector, hitting a special key on your keyboard, or something to that effect.
Try right-clicking on your desktop, going to Properties, and seeing if you can find the resolution setting in there and exploring the different settings until you find the right fit. You should have 15 seconds to undo any changes before they’re set.
(If you’re using Vista, right-click, go to Personalize, and then Display Settings).
You changed the resolution to an aspect ratio different from your laptop screen and you asked the utility not to stretch the display to cover the laptop.
The utility which does this might be provided by your laptop vendor or it might be provided by the manufacturer of the video component of your laptop.
Normally you can find this utility by right-clicking your desktop. Got to Settings for starters if you get the standard Display Properties popup. Otherwise look around til you find the controlling utility.
Constraining the aspect ratio to the actual pixel dimensions can be useful if you are using certain external projectors. It also prevents distortion.
There are worse items to suffer a loss of two inches, and this is recoverable, so not to worry.
I’ve gotten emails offering to help me gain two inches—want me to forward them to you? 