i recently had one of those spyware programs that takes over your Internet Explorer (I cannot remember the name, but it is common and annyoing). It would change my Explorer settings to go to its own homepage, its own search page, etc. I removed it using Ad Aware, Spybot, Hijack This. Ever since, whenever I try and download something (like from download.com), nothing happens. The mouse pointer flashes very rapidly and Internet Explorer just sits there, not downloading. I do not get the SAVE window that should appear. No connection is being made to the download site. If I right-click the download link and copy and paste it into the address bar of the browser, my browser goes to the "Page Cannot Be Found" screen. What can I do to fix this? Please assist, and thanks.

As IE is part of the XP operating system, u can try 'system file checker'..... 1) Insert ur XP CD in a drive 2) Click Start/Run and type: sfc /scannow 3) Click OK and XP will check/replace any missing or corrupted system files. Also try deleting all ur Temp Internet Files and click 'Restore Defaults' in Advanced tab of Tools/Internet Options Hope this helps

thanks for your feedback, keef. i tried both of your suggestions, but unfortunately neither one worked. I noticed more specifically what happens when I click on a download button in attempting to download a file: the status bar in IE (located in the bottom right) flickers and flashes, and next to the cursor on the screen there appears an hour glass, which also flickers and flashes. Could this be something in my registry settings that is missing? I know I had to use regedit to get rid of the stupid Mybar stuff. Thanks again for your suggestions, keef! I appreciate your help

I have a similiar spyware problem. I can't get rid of the stuff but if there is something missing in your reg, did you not backup your reg when using those spyware/adware programs? Anyway, you should try using registry mechanic to see if it is indeed the problem.

Just remembered you can't download anything. Well try and get a friend to download it for you and send it over to ya.

i reinstalled windows xp, but the same problem remains. all my settings were kept (ie, registry) so it seems maybe the problem is in there. oddly, i can get updates from the microsoft windows update sites, but when directed to an address ending with ".exe", it's a no-go.

PD: finally got Registry Mechanic. it worked like a charm. thanks for your assistance and suggestion!!!