remember ALT+255 ? that doesnt work for me either. Very frustrating. But, putting it in perspective, its not a big deal..

No. I just downloaded an app that hides the icons . They re-appear when you move the mouse : )

Alt+255 again? Use Alt+0160 instead, which is Unicode for a non-breaking space. What is Alt+255 the code for?

alt+0160 no good either. but it doesnt matter. try http://www.sillysot.com/ its very good. i reduced the graphic intensity-if thats the right phrase- of the screen and disabled a few start up programes to make the pc boot faster with vista. maybe that has something to do with it. so there you have it.. if your rubbish on your computer just download an app that will do it for you ; )

I think you need to use the Numpad for Alt+255 to work. I tried on my laptop and it didn't work (since I don't have a Numpad). It worked on my desktop when I used the Numpad to enter 255.