This persistent, but relatively harmless (I hope) issue has stumped 2 other help forums (to-date), VirtualDr.com, & another...can't remember its name...and as I have a workaround for it (detailed later), I had pretty much given up hope of resolving.

But after tripping on [and following] an incidental thread on this forum wherein a gentleman named LDTATE patiently & succinctly talked a member out of what would have ended up as compucide had it been MY prob, I found myself experiencing that strange sensation now recognized as renewed hope. So I am now typing as fast as I humanly can in order to get this messy prob fully layed out before the bliss-high wears off:

THE PROB
========
In a perfect world, you click on the IE icon, IE opens up, & then displays the chosen default web page. In my less-than-perfect version of the same, a click on the IE icon yields the [generic?] "Cannot Find Server" page, with this text at the bottom of the page:

Cannot find server or DNS Error
Internet Explorer

Of course, the body of the page suggests I check my settings, which I have done repeatedly - via Internet Options on the Tools menu - but with no success.

BACKGROUND
==========
My IE used to work! Best guess cause? At some unknown point in the past, I probably thought I knew what I was doing, fiddled around, changed a setting or deleted what appeared to be an unnecessary file & thus created current problem.

And here's the part that really drives me crazy: I still have access not only to my meager intranet, but to the internet as well.

HOWEVER: in order to access the internet, I must open a folder (any folder, really, as long as it's not designated as a web folder, or create a new one) & then either click on my HOME menu icon which takes me to my Google default webpage, or simply type an internet address in the address bar & hit enter...

...just like the proverbial car engine that decides to stop making that funny noise JUST as you pull into the repair shop, IE is handling the web like it was backboned in via D.A.R.P.A.

...leading me to believe that this is, in fact, nothing more than a settings issue, albeit a setting that is perhaps slightly beneath the surface.

And why is it stuck in my mind that security certificates might possibly be related to or partially the cause of this issue?

ATTEMPTED FIXES - ABRIDGED
====================
Unassisted::: series of uninstalls/reinstalls of MSIE & thereafter several OS reinstalls, although not the preferred "CLEAN" reinstalls as I lack the moral fiber required to reload ALL of the apps loaded on the machine.

Couple halfhearted attempts to deliver a solution via an interpretation of Microsoft's Knowledge Base data, the most recent of which - based on the erroneous conclusion that a corrupt user profile was the culprit - resulted in the loss of all MyDocuments files, the contents of the Favorites folder, Display Settings, default folder location settings - virtually every single personalization that user account had collected over the past 2 years, but of course NOT the loss of the prob...I will not lose my temper...I will not lose my temper...wil NOT#$%@!

Yes, I had backups. In fact I later found out that I had nearly 3 perfect backups of every single porn video ever loaded on the conputer. Which would explain why there wasn't any blank media available for a backup of the MyDocuments folder...

Forum Assisted::: D/L'ed & then subsequently ran a prog called IEFIX.EXE [which didn't] followed by the running of these commands [in this same order] via the RunDiagBx::
- regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
- regsvr32 urlmon.dll
- regsvr32 comcat.dll
- regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
- regsvr32 Shell32.dll
- regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
- regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
- regsvr32 jscript.dll

...and a reboot, none of which solved the prob, but did serve as a fairly believable justification [at least in my mind] for blowing that month's grocery money on a sack of crystal meth. I searched the stupid computer for 3 solid hours before finally remembering that I had only that very morning moved my Address Book data files into the MyDocuments folder...which was now gone forever, as was my only copy of my dealer'phone #.

SOME PERTINENT SYSTEM PARTICULARS
==================
Wintel
XP pro (incl. SP2)
P4 (1.3ghz)
0.5gb RAM

IE version:
6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_gdr.050301-1519

REWARD
=============
There is a really, really cold 30oz bottle of imported beer in it for anyone who can set me straight re: this relatively unimportant, yet truly irritating little prob.

TIA,

Synaptrix

Is "Work Offline" checked Under the "File" tab?