The vertical scroll bar is off the screen in MS Word, Excel, IE, and some other applications I can't remember right now. This never, ever happened with Windows XP. How can I size the screen so that the scroll bar is visible? I've tried clicking on the maximize button and then sizing it, but that leaves me with no maximize option.

I would appreciate some help on this.

It sounds to me like the borders of your monitor are set to be off-screen. I'd suggest resetting your display options (right click on the Desktop and select Personalize).