Weird black margins on my computer monitor?

Oh, god, help me, help me, please help me! Okay, so here's the issue: I have a Dell Inspiron E1505 Notebook computer, Windows XP Professional Operating System. My monitor has got these black margins lately, and won't allow my cursor into them. (Note: This actually happened to an old family computer that was running Windows 95 after... well, doing something similar to what got me in the mess this time 鈥?you'd think I'd learn鈥? Oh, Mum鈥檚 going to kill me) I accidentally (Yes, /accidentally/) downloaded what was called a 'full version' of the game Risk (C), which was really a one hour free trial of the game, while trying to play the little version of it online. I decided that since I had got this thing and hadn't noticed it was downloading in time to cancel the action, I might as well try it out - so I did. I opened it, read the rules, and kind of half played it while really giving my attention to other matters. Because of my inattentiveness and my poor skills, I did loose the game against the computer, right as the trial time ran out. (Or at least, I assume it was coincidental timing - you'll see.) Now, the screen froze up (right as my last little man went up in smoke, no less) for a bit, and I panicked - My mother /just/ gave me this computer after she got a new one (her software was out of date for the things she needs for her job). Forgetting all about Ctrl-Alt-Delete, I closed the lid and opened it a moment after (this sometimes works) and repeated it a few times, but there was no change. Then I remembered Ctrl-Alt-Delete and ended the programme. I think the game was just overwhelmed with the work it was trying to do, as it was supposed to close itself and open an advert (because the time ran out) and return to the main menu (because I lost) at the same time. After I terminated the programme, a new window opened with the usual offer to buy the game and play it whenever you please (of course, I closed that, too) but there were still the black margins that you get with those games (you know, because otherwise the pixels would be stretched to fit), along with that over-enhanced look. Now, I've restarted and shut down about a million times, and there has been no change. I want to get rid of this. Please tell me how! I did un-install and delete the files that were installed.

You should probably know that I just started using this computer again /TODAY/ after not using it for... I don't even remember, 2-4 weeks. The charger was broken, I had to order a new one. Er - right. Well, I use Norton Anti-virus software for internet protection and firewalls and security and things. When I finally was re-united with my only connection to the outside world, the Norton programme was going berserk, and I was only trying to make sure the charger worked, but I ended up sitting there for over an hour trying to sort out the mess. I /think/ this was because my brother messed around with the Norton settings (thank you for that, it made the thing work!) to enable file transfers to my mother's new computer, but I can't be sure. So, there could have been plenty of things wrong with it without my knowledge.

So, what do I do? /Can/ I fix this?! Oh, god, please tell me I can fix this?! Please, please, please help me fix this! I just really want these things to be gone - they're messing up everything, and all of my programmes look strange and oddly distorted because I'm still stuck with compressed images and an overly-enhanced quality. All answers are very much appreciated! Thank you so much for reading. (Sorry I got a bit hysterical - My computer is only just now /mine/ and it's messed up [because of my being a stupid, moronic idiot (that isn't redundant enough), and I promise I will never download those stupid trials ever again, unknowingly or otherwise], and it really /is/ my only connection with the rest of the world and my peers and many of my international friends, and my every-day friends until September - so you can see why I tend to panic if something goes wrong that I can't fix. And if I can't fix it after some time, it's often something awful, because I /do/ know how to fix basic problems - or at least I thought I did. Well, it's the summer holidays, the one month that I'm stuck without being able or even /allowed/ to stick my nose out the front door... and I'm rambling! Thank you, I appologise, and good morning.)

Thanks. How do I change the resolution, though? I looked under the control panel, display, and then under every tab in that window, and there was no option for that. I'll keep screwing around for that, though. Thank you for your help!

Okay, that was way too long for me to read, but I read the title, and here are some suggestions. Go into your display settings and change the resolution of your screen to whatever it originally was (1024x768 most likely). If that doesn't work, try system restore.