How to get rid of the annoying block cursor highlighter (adjusting the cursor thickness)

I have this annoying problem where my cursor on a select few documents comes up as the cursor shown in this picture:

How do I change this? I have a brooding suspicion that this is a Windows feature problem.

I would like to add that this happened after a friend of mine messed about with the Windows features, such as magnify.

3 Answers

How do I get rid of the annoying block cursor highlighter?

I would like to add that this happened after a friend of mine messed about with the Windows features, such as magnify."

The above is the clue to solving your problem.

Please check your "Ease of Access" settings:

• Goto: Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Make the computer easier to see > Set the thickness of the blinking cursor.

• Make sure it is set to 1.

Notes:

• The instructions might be slightly different for Windows 8.

• When it set to 20 I see the same block cursor that you do.

It is either a windows 8 feature problem, or you have pressed the Ins key.

Press the Ins key again to get that cursor out of your way!

Your cursor thickness has been increased. My two- year-old did this to my Windows 8.1 PC with a little button mashing. Follow these easy steps to return to normal:

• In Windows 8.1, go place the cursor in the top right corner of the screen to access at the charms menu and select Settings.
• In the bottom right corner of the settings menu select Change PC Settings.
• In the PC Settings Menu select Ease of Access
• In the Ease of Access Menu select Other Options
• At the bottom of the page in the Visual Options section see the Cursor Thickness Slider and slide it all the way to the left.

Your cursor will now appear as a flashing | instead of a block.