Installing windows again...
Amazing some of the responses I see. Anyhow ill throw my 0.02 into the ring and you can take it for what its worth.
The message "internet explorer cannot display webpage" is a VERY vaugue message for troubleshooting purposes.
If you have tried a simple reboot of your computer and that doesn't fix it. The next step I would take is to turn off ..the computer, router, and modem. Next (important!) turn on the cable modem first and wait about 2 minutes for it to finish restoring the link. Then turn on the router for about 1 minute then turn back on the computer. This order of operation is important and doing it in a different order may not fix the problem if this is what is the cause so follow those directions carefully.
As far as doing a system restore this may or may not fix the problem because as I said the message given is very vaugue and has a lot of possible causes. If theres more to it than just that message like lots of popups or the computer is acting very sluggish then I might consider that as a possible solution.
If the above method of rebooting devices is the cause a system restore will NOT fix the problem.
As far as re-installing windows I use this as a last resort in all cases. Unless the operating system has files which have become completely corrupt there should be no reason to have to do this. Typically a system restore can fix any problems you'll encounter before you have to go to this much trouble to fix the computer.
Also if you re-install windows and simply had to reboot your devices as I stated previously this also will NOT fix the problem.
Best of luck...maybe you can find someone close by to come look at your computer who knows a little more and can better evaluate the problem?
After reading the OP's computer issues it sounds like the problems are not only for the IE7 exprorer. Windows installer messages & warnings are a sign of missing or corrupted window components mainly due to malware, virus, worms etc. Additionally, the restore function failed...not good news.
I format and re-install windows once a year
regardless of computer operation.
A fresh copy of windows does not contain any "foreign" agents and the harddrive is clean. All windows updates MUST be downloaded/installed ASAP.
Same with a good antivirus. I use "
registry mechanic" to control registry values, a good utility to use while installing windows. Also, I run the
CCleaner weekly, a free utility which cleans a lot of "junk" from website browsing and add/remove program functions.
Re-installing windows may not be an easy task for some people. If you are not confident about this...don't do it. Get help from a reliable person.
Georgios