browsing problem

[digitallychallenged]

So I installed IE7 last week and it started to give problems when surfing. Even the simplest google.com would produce "IE cannot open ...". After reading threads all over the net, I decided to uninstall IE7 and reinstall Firefox 2. Yet, Firefox is also not opening Google saying that "The connection was reset. The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading." It didn't use to give any problems not long ago. and strangely enough, Yahoo search engine and Gmail work fine. Refreshing or CTRL F5 doesn't work for both browsers. Now, I'm bugged by the thoughts of not being able to access simple websites (not all, but some).

I'm running XP and currently using Firefox 2.0. My firewall is ZoneAlarm Pro and I frequently run scans by ZoneAlarm antivirus & anti spyware, Lavasoft Ad-Aware and Spybot. I suspect that the scan from any of those might have deleted something off the system but I'm not sure what and how I can restore it.

Any help will be much appreciated. A systematic step by step approach would be great as I'm not an expert in computers. THANKS!!

 

[Harvey]

Experiences like yours are one reason I never install ANY new Microsoft product, especially an OS or browser, until it's been in full release for at least a year. Search Google for IE7 + problem, and you'll see why. They always have major problems that are so woven into the system that their uninstall programs often fail as badly as the programs, themselves.

I found this info on Microsoft's site:

Internet Explorer 7 Fails to Uninstall from Specified User Account

If you see an error message saying that you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 7 from this user account, you can bypass the check by following these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer.
3. Right-click the Internet Explorer key, click New, and then click DWORD value.
4. Type InstalledByUser as the name, and then press ENTER to finish creating the new registry value.
5. Try to uninstall Internet Explorer 7 again.

You may also get some help by running a good registry cleaner, both before and after you try their proceedures. Here's a link for a free copy of Registry Mechanic. I use it regularly, and I've had no problems with it. Don't forget to back up your registry before making any changes.

Good luck.