popup window bug - popup window is covered with drop-list arrows

[Guest]

I've been having this problem since installing an IE update several months
ago, and I wondered if anyone else has ever seen it.

Whenever a web page opens a popup window, about 80% of the time, the toolbar
in the popup window is covered with drop-list arrows. These are the same
little downward-pointing triangles that appear at the right edge of a combo
box or drop list, inside a little 20x20-pixel shadowed rectangle frame. The
arrows are tiled a packed grid over the entire toolbar area. The arrows are
drawn in front of the normal contents of the toolbar (actually, *all* the
toolbars - the "standard buttons" toolbar, menubar, address bar, and "links"
bar; the address text box is the one thing drawn in front of the arrows,
presumably because it's a separate window). The arrow boxes are drawn with a
transparent background, so the buttons and menu labels are still visible
behind the arrows.

The arrows go away in a given popup window if I right-click the toolbar and
show or hide a toolbar. They won't come back in that window from that point
on. Like I said, this happens about 80% of the time - every so often a popup
window comes up normally, but usually they have the weird tiled arrows.

Has anyone seen this before? Any guess about what's going on?

 

[Don Varnau]

Hi,
You might have a conflict between third-party toolbars or add-ons.

[XP SP2] From IE> Tools> Manage add-ons. Disable non-microsoft add-ons to
see if one of them is the culprit.
[Non SP2] Internet Options> Advanced> uncheck "Enable third-party browser
extensions." If either of these helps, you still need to find the
troublesome program. BHO or add-on.
ToolbarCop from http://windowsxp.mvps.org/toolbarcop.htm will help identify
and remove add-ons.

You might try the REG file at http://windowsxp.mvps.org/IEFAQ.htm#IEToolbars
to reset the IE toolbar to defaults.

A thorough check for malware (spyware, adware, parasites, etc.) may be in
order.
See these sites for help:
The Parasite Fight http://www.aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware and Parasites:
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
Malware Removal and Prevention Overview - CastleCopsWiki:
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_Removal_and_Prevention:_Overview
Bugs, Glitches & Stuffups: http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.html
Removing Malware:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
What you can do about spyware and other unwanted software:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/spywarewhat.mspx

Hope this helps,
Don
[MS MVP- IE]