Updates happen, cannot browse with IE6 or IE7

I have Windows XP Home SP3 on an HP laptop, and we cannot use Internet
Explorer or Mozilla.

Automatic Updates occur, AVG updates, but when I open IE7 I get "Internet
Explorer cannot open the webpage"

I have reset all security zones to the default, tried with no add-ons, reset
IE to defaults, tried using Dial-a-fix with its utilities, reset the TCP/IP,
removed the NIC drivers (wired and wireless), and a repair installation of
XP Home with no change.

Outside of data salvage and starting over (I'm hoping to avoid this) I'm
hoping for an easier solution.

Thanks in advance for any assistance,

Dan