Restart the computer and tap F8 until you see advanced options.. Then select Safe Mode With Networking
After it boots, try opening your applications.....Internet Explorer, Outlook Express
If they open and work properly then we can likely attribute the problem to some interfering applications or viruses on your system that load when running in normal mode....and we can run some virus scans and disable some apps, as a first step in the troubleshooting process.
If Safe Mode with Networking Makes makes no difference, we'll try some other stuff