Vista Games/Screen Issue

Hi all,
I have an unusual problem running games specifically on my windows vista machine, which has arisen in the last month or so. Basically whenever I run games, the program never seems to run in full screen mode as games generally do. I do not know how this happened but I think I may have accidentally enabled it through a keyboard shortvut. Beyond that, I am not sure.

This problem only seems to effect specifically games programs which I find unusual. The game itself seems to dictate how much of the screen is black or not (The attached screenshots should explain this better than I do). Other programs such as web browsers, media players, word processors, etc seem to run fine, as does the OS when not running games.

I am wondering if anyone has a solution for this problem. I would appreciate any responses. I have found out that the problem is not the Alt + Enter shortcut based on forum feedback and testing.






I'm sorry for the quality of images, as if I tried to screenshot, it only took an image of the area that isn't black. I had to use a camera.

Specs:
ASUS F3S Notebook
Windows Vista Home Premium Service Pack 1 32 bit
Intel Core 2 Duo CPU @ 2.00GHz
2.00 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G Video Card

Welcome
I would try this first
How to Make Games Full Screen on Windows Vista | eHow.com

If it does not work try a system restore from a few days before the problem
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html

Thanks for the quick response. I tried all of the steps in your link, my drivers were all up to date as is my Direct X version, so I could not find a solution there. I may have to do a system restore as you mentioned, but I will hope for another possible solution before I make a decision.

I think that system restore is the best way. It does not touch your pics or files etc. It just changes the OS.
You could try this though.
If you find errors run three times
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/66978-system-files-sfc-command.html