why am I getting a 3 d cross cursor instead of a pointer cursor?

[3 d cross cursor - turn it off]

When I open excel whether or not I open from Start/Program or from within my
documents by selecting a saved spread sheet to open having office launch the
program I keep getting a 3 d cross for my cursor instead of an arrow or
pointer for my cursor. The 3 d cross selects all cells that I move my cursor
over and disables me from selecting any one single cell, disables any key
board entry at all, I cannot even close the application without using windows
task manager.

[John James]

Ouch!

I have no expertise in this but seeing no-one else has answered, here's what I would try. Sounds a bit like someone has done something malicious to you.

1. Try opening Excel and its workbook(s) whilst holding down the shift key. If this works, (I suspect unlikely) then you've narrowed the problem down to autoloading macros/add-ins.

2. Do a clean install of excel

Good luck,