Solved IE8 Black Top Border & Site Info

VFN

Member
After a crash of IE8 I restarted and now the top of border of IE8 is dark black and tells you precisely where you are. For example, right now above the address box it reads "Vista Forums - Post New Thread - Windows Internet Explorer - [InPrivate]." I can post a pic if needed.

If memory serves the top border used to be graphite (my color preference) without any site information.

I restarted IE8 and also shutdown and restarted Windows which didn't solve it. What happened and how can I fix this?

Thanks.
VFN
 

My Computer

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    Vista Home Premium x64
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It sounds like you are showing tabs in a separate row (that is how its for my IE9, anyway). Put your cursor on a blank space on the bar (try next to the tab and the address bar) right click and untick, show tabs on separate row. If that does not work, send us a screen shot.
 

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First, I've right clicked on the area where tabs appear, above the address box and I don't see an option for show tabs on separate row.

Second, I found one forum where my problem seemed to be reported. I tried to follow what was suggested and I messed up my desktop background so I restored and the IE8 problem is now gone. The forum post is here: I just installed IE8 the menu bar and the command bar turned black. - Microsoft Answers

Third, the site information on the top border still exists so I suspect it always has and that I only became aware of it when the border color changed.

The attached pic shows that the border color is graphite; it was deep black.
 

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Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 546
    CPU
    Sempron LE-1300
    Memory
    2GB DDR SDRAM 800MHZ-2X1GB DIM M
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200
    Sound Card
    VIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    320GB NCQ Serial ATA (7200 RPM) w/ 16MB DataBurst Cache
I'm using v8 and my top border has information similar to what's in your screenshot and the color is blue. I think that's determined by the settings used in Control Panel\Personalize\Window Color and Appearance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
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    Cyberpower
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    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
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    NVIDIA 780i
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    Viewsonic VG2436
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    1920x1080p
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    Samsung HD 105SI
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    Apevia XJupiter
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    air
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    Logitech MX 3200
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
Yeah, that's why my pic shows graphite as that's the color I've set. But that area turned black and I'm unsure why that is or how to remedy it without resorting to restore.

Thanks for the reply.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 546
    CPU
    Sempron LE-1300
    Memory
    2GB DDR SDRAM 800MHZ-2X1GB DIM M
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200
    Sound Card
    VIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    320GB NCQ Serial ATA (7200 RPM) w/ 16MB DataBurst Cache
If you go to the settings I mentioned, you should be able to change it.

Note that my the top of my menus are graphite when inactive and blue when active.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
    Motherboard
    NVIDIA 780i
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster SB Audigy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2436
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung HD 105SI
    WDC WD20
    Case
    Apevia XJupiter
    Cooling
    air
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX 3200
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
I have IE 8 and I had the bar turn black when I enabled full screen mode. If that's the case for you hit F11. As for In Private I was able to temporarily enable it under the safety button. I couldn't figure out how to permanently enable it though.
 

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System One System Two

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    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
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    8 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
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    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
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    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
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    1680x1050
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    1 TB & 360 GB x2
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    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
To enable InPrivate every time you start IE8 find the IE8 shortcut on your taskbar or desktop, right click and choose properties. Under the shortcut tab you'll see target. In that box add the following to what's already there: space-private. Then click apply or OK to save it.

Specifically, in the target box I had: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" (With the quotation marks.)

I now have: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -private
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 546
    CPU
    Sempron LE-1300
    Memory
    2GB DDR SDRAM 800MHZ-2X1GB DIM M
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200
    Sound Card
    VIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    320GB NCQ Serial ATA (7200 RPM) w/ 16MB DataBurst Cache
I think I found the answer. At the top the IE8 window there are three buttons. The minmize or "-" icon, the red box with the white X that closes the browser and the square icon between those two. When I click that square button I get the black border. However, I see nothing else that it does. Does anyone know what this button is called and its function? Incidentally, the square icon changes when you click it.

Here's a pic:

Thanks.
 

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My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 546
    CPU
    Sempron LE-1300
    Memory
    2GB DDR SDRAM 800MHZ-2X1GB DIM M
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200
    Sound Card
    VIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    320GB NCQ Serial ATA (7200 RPM) w/ 16MB DataBurst Cache
That's the button that makes a window full screen.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 8.1 Industry Pro x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavillion Elite HPE-250f
    CPU
    Intel i7 860 Quad core 2.8 ghz
    Memory
    8 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5770 1 gb ram
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Alienware 25 AW2521HF
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 &1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-elite-hpe-250f/
  • Operating System
    Windows 2012 R2 Data center/Linux Mint
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Poweredge T140
    CPU
    i3 9100 3.6GHz, 8M cache, 4C/4T
    Memory
    8GB 2666MT/s DDR4 ECC UDIMM
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    1 TB & 360 GB x2
    Other Info
    https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetailstxn/poweredge-t140?~ck=bt
@Twnsbg Then that button isn't working for me at least as the pic in my last post shows. F11 works for fullscreen though.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium x64
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 546
    CPU
    Sempron LE-1300
    Memory
    2GB DDR SDRAM 800MHZ-2X1GB DIM M
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated ATI Radeon HD3200
    Sound Card
    VIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" HDTV
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    320GB NCQ Serial ATA (7200 RPM) w/ 16MB DataBurst Cache
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