I'm a die hard IE fan & I think to just say use Firefox is not a good answer.
Problems with Windows, use Linux doesn't cut it for me.
Blade, did you reset all the defaults as follows?
3. Control Panel
4. Internet Options
5. Security tab
6. Reset all 4 security zones to Default
1. Start
2. Settings
3. Control Panel
4. Internet Options
5. Privacy
6. Restore 1 Default button
1. Start
2. Settings
3. Control Panel
4. Internet Options
5. Advanced
6. Restore 1 Default button
You may need to do the following as well
1. Start
2. Settings
3. Control Panel
4. Internet Options
5. General tab
6. Remove cookies, temporary files and history
Kudos to Raptor.