Solved Computer clock changed its look

[Gwai]

I have a Vista PC 64 bit with SP2. I've had it for a few years and for the whole time, the computer clock did not show the day of the week. I liked it like that. However, when I went back to my computer last night, it suddenly did show the day of the week and it's taking up so much room that it changes the size of the taskbar. I went into control panel > regional and language settings and removed the day of the week from anywhere I could find it, with no effect. If I have to, I will hide the clock, but I'd really rather keep it.

If anyone can help, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[Lorien]

It's not that the clock has changed, it's that the size of the taskbar has changed and being wider now shows information that was always there but hidden because it was only one line wide.

Click on the edge of the taskbar until the mouse turns into a double-sided arrow and drag it down until the taskbar is once again only one line wide. The clock and all else should return to normal. If you want, you can then right click on the taskbar and click "lock taskbar" to prevent this from happening again (and unlock it only when you want to make changes).

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

 

[Gwai]

Well, something else has changed too. The taskbar is neither one line tall nor two lines tall; it's one and a half. I can make it half a line tall or one and a half lines tall, but not one. I think that's because the clock takes up more room, but that's only my opinion, admittedly. However, other things have changed because of that. For instance, now my start menu button is schooched down mostly off my screen and my quicklaunch items are in two rows not one. (Thanks for helping.)

 

[richc46]

If the prior suggestions did not work, you may have to change DPI

for 7 and Vista
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/443-dpi-display-size-settings-change.html

If that does not work, we can look at resolution, but I am not too optimistic about that approach.

 

[Lorien]

I honestly don't think the clock is the problem. You can prove that by removing it and I suspect you'll find the taskbar still has the same problem (just no more clock).

You can try to resize the taskbar alone (as opposed to all DPI as in the above article) and see if at some point you find a setting that allows you to return to a one line view. I'm not sure if this will work or how it changed, but it's worth a shot. You can always return it to the way it was if it doesn't help or makes things worse. Here's the procedure: Resize the Taskbar - Windows Vista - Start Menu - Taskbar - Toolbars.

If that doesn't help, do you know when this problem began? Try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates.

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

 

[Gwai]

And you are right, Lorien. Having hidden the clock, the bar still insisted on being sized oddly. The start menu button was hidden part way off the screen unless I pull the taskbar up to width 3. And yes, I can resize the taskbar, but that didn't solve the problem.

However, part way through this post, I started thinking about who or what could have caused this issue and that gave me an idea. Combining Lorien's comment about seeing more than I should be seeing (hadn't previously seen the date etc.) with practical thoughts about the cause I realized my two year old daughter must have gotten to my computer. That meant the problem was my monitor, which is the only thing she can affect. I had tried that before, but with the taskbar shrunk, it didn't seem to help. So I unhid the whole bar and then adjusted the monitor settings and now I have my computer back. Thanks to all, particularly Lorien who set me on the right path and kicked me off a tangent path!

 

[Lorien]

Excellent news! Well done! I'm glad I don't have a 2-year-old who can do things like that to me - LOL! Then again, my cat does from time-to-time annoy me by turning on Caps Lock.

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Good luck and best wishes.