I don't know about wide screens for computers but for an LCD
TV their's a setting named View Mode with 4 choices.

This is a wide screen.

look on the front of the monitor there should be some buttons one may be called something like auto adjust try hitting that one and see if it auto fixes it. If not you will likely have to look in your manual and find out the proper resolution the monitor needs to be set at then go into your settings area and make sure you have it set properly. that would be right click on your desktop on a clear area then choose properties then go to the monitor section and there you can change the resolution settings, you want it set at what ever resolution your manual sated the monitor should be set at.

While looking at the manual see what other buttons are on the monitor and how to use them to set other aspects such as brightness, alignment. etc.

I tried the buttons on the monitor. As far as I could tell, none of them affected the "squashed" look that everything on the screen has. I tried some different settings, and then put it back to factory settings and noticed no difference. I didn't try changing things I knew wouldn't affect it, like brightness, etc.

See this thread be prepared to do some reading.

Here is a link that might be useful: cnet

what is the native resolution settings for that monitor? you will have to take the native resolution number and go to the settings area and input that number and apply it there to have the windows set for the new monitor. Then if the text and writing etc seems small you can try going in to the advanced setting and changing the DPI setting, I had to do that with mine when I got my LCD monitor also had to change the native resolution settings, also running it at the inappropriate resolution can be bad for it, along with the proper refresh rate. Your manual will give you those settings.

Wow, that cnet link was a lot of reading. I changed the resolution to 1440x900 which was as high as it would go. That made everything tiny, so I changed the dpi to somewhere between small and large. It's about the right size now. I use AOL for browsing and I can see where I need the smaller dpi setting for that, but I guess I'll just have to get used to things not looking exactly right. I don't understand why they sell widescreen monitors if they don't show the display correctly. I have a laptop that says it's widescreen but it was fine out of the box.

Well what about this, did the monitor come with a cd? and did you use it? It may have an updated driver on it..

Yes, the monitor has a cd. I put it in and clicked run or whatever. When it was finished it said something about a driver not able to be installed. I don't remember exactly what it said and I didn't write it down, but it had to do with a driver. Now I get a message on the screen when I turn on the computer, saying "Windows needs to install driver software for your HP w1707 widescreen lcd monitor". So I click to "locate and install". Then it says "Found new hardware-HP w1707 wide lcd monitor" and "Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device. Windows found driver softward for your device but encountered an error while attem;pting to install it. HP w1707 wide lcd monitor acccess is denied". I went to the HP website and tried to download the driver from there but it still didn't install.

I'm assuming since it's a new computer it has Windows Vista. The link to the Microsoft webpage below is for the same problem and has a patch to correct it. Clicking on the appropriate hyperlink under "Update Information" takes you to another page to download the patch. HTH.

Terry

Here is a link that might be useful: Error message when you try to install a new hardware device on a Windows Vista-based computer:

It's Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with Service Pack 1. I tried downloading that patch for the error message. It said "the update does not apply to your system".

Should I try uninstalling it, then installing it again?

are you connecting the monitor with VGA or DVI?

since you are using a 64 bit system you should contact HP and ask them for the specific driver for it and vista 64.
Did the software say it was compatible with a 64 bit system? They may need to send you a different cd for use with it.
Using and Adjusting Your Monitor
HP w1707 LCD Monitor Driver

those links might help.
it does say it has the auto adjust button on the front, also the horizontal and vertical controls which you may need to work with to get the picture more desirable.

I'm sorry to keep linking you out of here, but I did find this thread on disabling uac and it pertains to your issue and it seems to have worked for at least 1 person. Please let us know.. below is the link..

Here is a link that might be useful: lcd-wide-screen-driver

I'm not sure if my link address 64 bit or not...

It's VGA. I bought the computer as a bundle at Best Buy so I thought it would have the right disks for 64-bit, since they didn't offer it in a 32-bit version. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll let you know if it works.

First of all, I uninstalled the software, then installed it again, to see if it was the 64-bit version, and it is. The driver still wouldn't load. So I went to the instructions from zep516's link, and when I got to the UAC, it was already unchecked. So the UAC was disabled before I installed the software. Since that didn't work, I went to the next step, which was the Display Diagnostic Utility. I clicked to Clean the Registry. It restarted on it's own, but instead of seeing "Other Devices" with "Generic Monitor" List, I had a screen that showed about adjusting the color and brightness, I think. I couldn't see anything about Other Devices. So I got rid of that screen and started looking in My Display in All Programs, and in Control Panel for the "Other Devices" thing, but I couldn't find it. I'm going to try those instructions again.

Hallelujah! Here's what I did next: I uninstalled the software again. Then, I made sure the UAC was still unchecked (it was). Then I installed the software again. This time the driver was installed too. Apparently cleaning the registry was enough, without doing the "Other Devices" step that was in the instructions. Thank you so much for the help.

good work irislover! sometimes it takes a lot of work to get to the root of the problem.

If your pc has the capability to accept the monitor connection with DVI rather than VGA that is a much better connection and will have better results for your monitor. Used to all the computers had was the VGA connection but the newer ones do have DVI, the digital is a better connection.

It came with VGA, but the instructions showed it both ways, so can I buy the DVI kind and use it?

you mean the cable? yes you can buy a DVI cable and use it as long as both the monitor and the computer both have the DVI ports.
All About DVI

since this is a new monitor and pc you should easily be able to read the manuals and see just exactly which type of DVI cable you will need. Or look up the exact models of each online and see. I just looked up your monitor on the HP site and it states that this is the type
nput terminal VGA 15-pin D-type connector
DVI-D connector (cable not included)

so your monitor is DVI-D now you need to see which your pc is.