I\'m using PuTTY to run:
mysql> SELECT * FROM sometable;
sometable has many fields and this results in many columns trying
I believe putty has a maximum number of columns you can specify for the window.
For Windows I personally use Windows PowerShell and set the screen buffer width reasonably high. The column width remains fixed and you can use a horizontal scroll bar to see the data. I had the same problem you're having now.
edit: For remote hosts that you have to SSH into you would use something like plink + Windows PowerShell