That fixed it, Suzanne! At least it appears to have; when I shut down I hope
it stays. This was indeed related to changing my WinXP preference for
backgrounds on desktop icon text. Per another MVP's suggestion, I
right-clicked My Computer, went to
Properties/Advanced/Performance/Settings/Visual Effects, and checked the box:
Use Drop Shadows... Not only did the cursor change, but the visual 'style'
was changed from my preference of Windows Classic to Windows XP. When I
changed this back to Classic (less toy-like looking, I think!), I had to
reset my title bar colors and a couple of other simple things. It was
following this that I noticed the cursor. It's fixed now, I think; many
thanks once again.