Internet Options won't load/IE won't work...

[Amazing Potato]

Hello all.

My two problems are:

Internet Explorer won't work properly - in that, if I click to go online, it
loads up IE, showing just the 'back' and 'forward' buttons, the main address
bar, the 'refresh' and 'stop' buttons, and the google searchbox. It also
either very briefly loads up a webpage and shuts itself off, or doesn't load
anything, then shuts itself off. So far, I have only received one error
message:
IEXPLORER.EXE - Application Error - The instruction at "0x28f2f57b"
referenced, memory at "0x28f2f57b". The memory could not be "read".

I tried to follow a solution to this problem via the official microsoft
support site, and that's when I discovered the second problem:

Internet Options (on the Control Panel) won't open. The icon's there but
when I click it, nothing happens.

This happened on my parent's laptop, which is:
Packard Bell EasyNote
Intel Pentium M processor 1.40 GHz
496 MB of RAM

Running Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2
Internet Explorer 7

I've tried updating IE to 8 but that causes the laptop to crash... I also
don't have XP on disk. Any help would be extremely appreciated!

 

[Leonard Grey]

Problems can result when add-ons you have installed are damaged or
conflict with Internet Explorer.

Run Internet Explorer 7 in 'No Add-Ons' mode:

If you have XP: Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools >
Internet Explorer (No Add-Ons)

Alternatively, you can create a shortcut on your desktop with the
following target path:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -extoff

If the problem does not occur in 'No Add-Ons' mode, then it's being
caused by one of the add-ons that you have installed. We can show you
how to identify which add-on is causing the problem.

Problems with Internet Explorer can also be caused by by malicious
software ('malware') that has been installed on your computer.