As I get older, I am having trouble reading the screen & icons & I am
getting eye strain. Have tried Dell magnifing s/w that came with the
Lap Top & I also use a 17" screen.  My lap top is 15". Many S/w listed
as try do not include  windows XP. I dont like inverting the colors. I
can not afford to pay a large price for specialized S/W. Suggestions
please.

I'm not a researchers, and this may sound totally naive (I don't even
know what the s/w means you mentioned), but I thought I'd mention it
just in case: Have you tried increasing the text size under "View" ->
"Text Size"?

For web browsing, you might like to try Opera - www.operasoftware.com

It's a very customisable web browser that allows enlarging text and
graphics on web pages to up to ten times normal size, as well as
customising colours, fonts etc. It's free in the adware version.

Owain

Have you tried this?

From XP Help:

"Magnifier overview

Magnifier is a display utility that makes the screen more readable for
users who have impaired vision. Magnifier creates a separate window
that displays a magnified portion of your screen. You can also change
the color scheme of the magnification window for easier visibility.
You can move or resize the Magnifier window, or drag it to the edge of
the screen and lock it into place. Magnifier is intended to provide a
minimum level of functionality for users with slight visual
impairments.

When using Magnifier, you can:

Change the magnification level 
Change the size of the magnification window 
Change the position of the magnification window on your desktop 
Invert the screen colors 
Magnifier also has a number of tracking options, including:

Following the mouse pointer as it moves on your screen 
Following the keyboard focus which centers on the location of the
cursor
Following text editing 
When Magnifier is open, you can right-click the magnification window
to set these Magnifier options, or to hide or exit Magnifier."


Further:
"To open Magnifier, click Start, point to Programs, point to
Accessories, point to Accessibility, and then click Magnifier.

To open Magnifier using the keyboard, press CTRL+ESC, press R, type
magnify, and then press ENTER.

Utility Manager enables users to check an Accessibility program's
status and start or stop an Accessibility program. Users with
administrator-level access can designate to have the program start
when Utility Manager starts. Users can also start Accessibility
programs before logging on to the computer on by pressing the Windows
logo key () + U at the Welcome to Windows dialog box that appears when
Windows starts."

To find the information above, just click Help on your Start Menu,
enter "magnifier", then click on "magnifier overview".

You can, of course, put a Magnifier program icon on your desktop or in
your Start Menu for rapid deployment.

I'm not posting this as your answer because I don't know what Dell
software you have used (it could be what I'm suggesting) so I don't
want to duplicate a failed experiment, but if this suggestion works
for you, please let me know so I can post it as your official
"answer". If you have any questions, post an RFC - I'll keep an eye on
this question.

Good luck,

ericynot-ga

Hello Yenarc,

There are several settings you can optimize in your Windows system:


---- Larger Windows Text

- Right-click on the Desktop, choose "Properties"
- Click the tab to the right titled "Settings"
- Click the "Advanced" button in the lower right
- In the "General" tab that opened, select "Large Fonts"
- The computer will be restarted for the changes to take effect


----  Larger Browser Text

- In Internet Explorer, select Tools -> Internet Options (depending on
the version of Internet Explorer, the Internet Options may also be
found in the "Extra" menu)
- In the first "General" tab that opened, click the "Accessibility"
button in the lower right
- Check both "Ignore font styles specified on Web pages" as well as
"Ignore font sizes specified on Web pages"
- Click OK
- Click on the "Fonts" button and select a font you find readable from
the available list
- Click OK, and OK again
- Now in the browser menu, select View -> Text Size -> Larger (or
Largest)


--- Larger Icons, Smooth Fonts

- Right-click on the Desktop, choose "Properties"
- Click the tab to the right titled "Effects"
- Check the option "Use large icons"
- Also turn on the option "Smooth edges of screen fonts"
- Press OK


Also, you can increase the size of the mouse cursor. For that, go to
Start -> Settings -> Control Panel and switch the cursor options for
the mouse. And you can also go to the Accessibility Options in the
Control Panel to switch further settings. Additionally, you may want
to optimize the Windows colors to enhance reading. On your laptop, you
may want to set the screen resolution to 800*600 (in case it's not
already set to that). Also optimize the contrast and brightness
settings of your monitor. Last not least, make sure you have a high
screen refresh rate set to avoid eye strain (to check the refresh
rate, go to the "Advanced" screen settings and open the "Adapter"
tab).


For more information, see:

Resource Guide for People with Visual Impairments
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/guides/vision.htm

Microsoft Windows Accessibility Options 
http://www.literacyaccessonline.org/Access/windows.asp

Windows XP: Magnifier and Narrator
http://www.theeldergeek.com/magnifier_and_narrator.htm


Hope it helps!


Search terms:
Windows "Accessibility Options"