Gray Screen?

[Deaf Pilot 1]

Anyone know what causes the gray screen that just covers the entire desktop and is not able to be closed? I cant get rid of it... only when I restart... and then when I try to open some files, it pops up again.

[Guest moomox]

I've seen that before. It's almost like an explorer window that doesn't populate any info. Have you tried using Alt+F4 to try to close it? BTW what OS are you running?

[Deaf Pilot 1]

Windows XP...About the Alt+F4, I used to be able to do that... I think my Alt keys arent working because I also cant press Alt to bring up the menu in FS, and I cant execute an Alt+Ctrl+Del... I just ordered a new keyboard though so I'm looking forward to getting it. (Logitech Elite Black)

[John_Cillis 2,406]

I apologize if this is double-posted. My first reply went into oblivion after I hit the "Post Message" button:What type of files are you having this issue with? Gray screen issues have been reported widely with XP, and usually are associated with an installation gone bad. Some candidates for the issue include MSOffice, certain games, etc, even device drivers.The key question, is the gray screen an issue you've dealt with since day 1 of your XP install? And was your install a "fresh" one, on a reformatted drive? Or was it done as an upgrade...If you haven't done so already, you may wish to cross-post in the HW support forum. I know more people come here to check aviation topics--you may get more suggestions in that forum.Although the gray screen issue isn't linked to spyware alone, it isn't a bad idea to do a fresh scan of your system for spyware or a virus if there's no common denominator with the files that cause the gray screen to appear.-John