I recently wasn't able to connect to the internet, so i went to microsoft's website and followed the steps for fixing the problem (which was supposedly winsock2 related) and now my start button and taskbar freezes every time i start my computer. It also displays the Active Desktop Recovery Screen. If i terminate explorer.exe with the task manager the desktop comes back but running explorer.exe again i can open the start menu and then it freezes again and causes the same problem. Everything else seems to be fine (i can run programs from the task manager) but the start menu problem is the same.

I have tried an upgrade install from the xp cd but with no luck.

Also all of the problems started when i replaced the power supply and added a usb2.0/firewire/ethernet card and DVD+-RW drive (all of which were working fine except for the fact that i could not see pictures in IE6.

Ouch, Try disabling Active desktop and rebooting, after which you can try again. As for tracking down the problem I would start by getting the latest drivers for all the new equipment you installed and running windows update, if that fails remove the componants and re-add them one at a time untill the problem re-occours. It will at least give you somewhere to work from for getting a solution.

Try updating the drivers for the ethernet card. Are you connecting to the internet from a modem or through the ethernet card? It is possible that the drivers that you are using are not winodws XP compatible.

everything was working fine for like a day after I installed the new hardware. I downloaded all the latest drivers from the manufacturer and they were all signed as compatible with xp. I tried to do a system restore and got an error that a dll file could not be found and system restore quit. I connect to the internet through the ethernet card and a residential gateway (which is what i'm using now for my laptop to find the solution to this issue)

the problem didn't really start until i ran windows update....

i tried all the basic fixes (reinstall drivers, rollback drivers, windows update, etc.) I think it's a problem with the registry. i had the same problem with IE not working on my laptop after i installed imesh which i fixed by using a system restore point. but something seems to be missing from system restore in this case...

My solution is just about "active desktop recovery"but not freezing of task bar.
Go to the registry below and change the Reg_Dword to zero in decimal

HKey/Current user/software/microsoft/IExplorer/Desktop/safemode/components/DeskHtmVersion

change the Reg_Dword of DeskHtmVersion = 0. but change it to decimal and close the registry window.
refresh your window or exit the explorer and load it again by the use of "Task Manager". But be careful with editing registry, any wrong value can cause serious problem to your OS.
Good lock.

Hi,
Check the date on that thread "Feb 2004"
I think the poster might have a new PC by now and wont need this repair.