strange characters appearing on command line

[Robert Macy]

sorry, couldn't find this thread using the search engine

Problem:

installed octave 2.1.50a on WinXP and every character I
type into the command line is surrounded with little
vertical bars. Renders it impossible to read. How do I stop
that?

Again, I remeber seeing this question/answer go by, but
could not find it in the archives.

This is a 'multiple' installation and I need the old
version, so please don't tell me it's time to upgrade.

Regards,
Robert