XP not displaying windows, although showing in taskbar

Hello all.

I have just recently come across this problem, I have stand-alone versions of IE6,6.2,7 and 8. I use them to test out the CSS that I create (for cross-browser blah blah), Even though the browser pop-up is turned off, it still wont display some of the pop-up video files , and they do not display in the taskbar either. However, the weird thing is that the video does start to play and sound is audible, with no window displayed in taskbar....

Even worse, when I tried to use PoEdit, there is a find (Ctrl+F) function to search, just like in IE or any other program. The find window displays in the taskbar, but does not show up anywhere on the screen. Cascading, show all, restarting, nothing seems to work. Right-clicking on the find window in taskbar just gives close and move options, which is normal but it still will not appear.

The two programs are totally unrelated and I'm wondering if some service in XP is down or has been modified without permission....any thoughts?

Thanks.