Lately when i tried to open Internet explorer (i usually use Netscape) it flashed for about 1 second and than dissapeared. i have used adaware to check if it was a virus. The only other thing i can think of is that i installed an anti-virus programme before hand called "avast". Sometimes opening IE causes the whole desktop to dissapear and i have to restart. thanks, hello guys

Hit cntl-alt-del and end all tasks except for Systray and Explorer. Start IE (though it might not connect). If IE stays open, you have some program running that is interfering with IE or one of the files IE uses. You will need to troubleshoot to see which program it is. If IE still closes, you have a problem with IE, like a corrupt file. In this case, it might be faster to repair the install of IE (or reinstall ME on top of itself if you do not have the repair option) than to troubleshoot the problem.

AdAware is not an antivirus program. Did you have an antivirus program before downloading and installing Avast? Did you uninstall the other antivirus program and reboot before installing Avast? Most (all?) antivirus makers specify to uninstall other antivirus products before installing theirs. Also if you had no antivirus program installed prior to Avast, installing it on an infected machine might do something not so pretty. Not sure what to tell you to try if IE won't work, online scans would be good (with onboard antivirus disabled to prevent interference/conflict), first thing probably disable one of the antivirus programs if you have more than one installed.

Try this, go to start>settings>control panel>internet options>advanced tab, uncheck enable third party browser extensions, click apply and okay out of internet options.

i tried what you suggested Leroi, but to no avail, however i have uninstalled avast, but havent restarted yet, i'll keep you updates. efabes, i also tried what you said, didn't work, however i noticed that i dont have systray, although i believe i used to have it, could that be the problem. Thanks anyway guys, hello guys