Are you sure that you had the resolution set at 1024 x 768 before? I ask because that is not a wide screen resolution so your monitor is more than likely stretching it out.

I followed up on Jephree's link, clicked on the detailed specs, and it downloaded a pdf document. In that pdf it said that the native resolution is 1280 x 800. The native resolution is the resolution that it is designed to run at so if you switch it to that it shouldn't look stretched out because the is a wide screen resolution. You use wide scree resolutions for wide screen monitors and standard resolutions for standard monitors. Does that make sense?

ok i tried that... it seems to have de-stretched lol.. but the font looks wierd now? almost like its more the other way now.. vertically stretched.
The font looks more like times new roman now than what i think might have been more arial before.

Whatever it was isn't fixed though, because a msg board that i frequent still has the topics overlapped... like more than one on a line, so its hard to decipher where one ends and the next one starts... so its still 'stretched' somehow.

Ok according to the manual there is a way to keep the computer from stretching the display out. Right click on the desktop --> properties --> settings --> advanced flat panel. Click on disable stretch feature. Now you should be able to use a standard resolution without it looking weird however it won't take up the entire screen. The alternative would be to find a better font but I don't know what that would because I've never had to adjust the system fonts before.

i can get as far as settings but there is no 'advanced flat panel option.' there is an 'advanced' button, but that takes me to the plug and play monitor settings, and there is no option there for stretch.

Well then all I can think of is to uninstall, reboot, and then install the latest graphic drivers from the link jephree posted.