Sky there is a possibility that with all the trouble you have been having and all the restores, reinstalls, and upgrades, that things might just be fickled up (the computer term is foobar ). If that's the case then it is not a simple incompatibility... not just something like an upgrade to IE needed for compatibility... but just so many different bits of software mixed up at different levels that it won't play together nicely anymore. I suspect this may be the case because of the strange comings-and-goings of your symptoms. Something like upgrading Java is a reasonable fix to get into chat rooms. Changing resolution of your video to get animations working doesn't make much sense unless there's something subtly "broken" underneath. Especially since it broke again and changing resolution again didn't fix it this time.

You might want to check your video driver and see if there is an upgrade... bad video drivers can cause all sorts of widespread problems on the computer... not just display problems but things like printing problems and random computer crashes. If there is a video driver upgrade (this would depend on the specific model/manufacturer of your video card) then follow the instructions EXACTLY for upgrading it, or let the IT center do it for you.

If things got that bad on my system I would do a full reinstall from scratch of ALL my software, including the operating system. Not just a reinstall, but erase my whole disc and install everything fresh. This is likely not something you would want to do yourself because you need some good knowledge of how to boot and install the OS and find and install all the drivers necessary for your system. You'd also have to be sure that you don't erase, or backup and restore, any personal files on your system, and all thinks like links to websites, email settings and addresses, passwords and setup for ISP and email, etc.

That isn't necessarily the problem. When all seems lost very often an idea pops into my mind overnight and I realize there is a simple "obvious" fix. When I feel it is time to do a reinstall of everything, I always give it AT LEAST one full day to think about it to be sure no other solutions present themselves, and then spend another full day going through everything to be sure I have all my drivers and info set.

I only mention this because if that turns out to be the only real solution to your problem, there is no reason to keep banging your head against the machine looking for settings to change and upgrades to install. See if the IT shop has any suggestions for upgrades that might fix the problem before thinking of this, but don't rule it out.

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