Well, I sent off a note to my son, and here is the fix for the problem:
It appears that the new download of IE 7.0 installs the second file, and
then the previous file gets caught in some loop with it.
People with DSL may have more of an issue with this, but he does not know
for sure. So I am posting this reference. All you do is rename the old file
so the computer stops looking at it. (the contents do not change).

Now I took a lot of flak for even downloading this from my husband. We get auto prompts for new updates, and I didn't know it was IE...I guess he didn't want it at all! So I get yelled at for NOT keeping updates current and I get yelled at for doing them! CAn't win!

adding... my son just called, and said, that the link in the quote above does not give "fixes"...only general info
on IE 7.0. And he also says that the new IE 7.0 is important, even if you don't use it...it has data on it for XP in general as well.
So he suggests people get it anyway, even if using Firefox like we do. That is just his opinion.

thanks for that info - it's good to know it.

from the other thread.

Things on computers just drive me nuts. I don't have the mind for it I guess.

We are thinking that the update did something...the new file. Then the computer went on some automatic function during the night (son set it do that so we wouldn't miss updates, which he says are critical etc), and then the
system tried to reboot itself, and hit the DLL snag. The router software installs the same .DLL file so everything might have crashed, since there were two of
them.

Anyway, a cat could have done it in the night too...stranger things have happened, believe me! I don't always push in the keyboard tray at night.

Or construction did it... our phone may have gone off at night, service interupted, since workers are remaking a road 1 block from us into a 4 lane boulevard, and digging 24/7 (yes, all night long with big spotlights ) to get the busy road done
quickly as it is in the heart of my town. There is alot of ground shaking as a result when those metal forms are moved. The first part is rebuilding the bridge that the river goes under..that is almost done. With our windows closed with the cold, we don't hear much, but those on the corner are in the MIDDLE of it and it must be AWFUL for them.

However, my son thinks many people may have IE 7.0 problems if router software is on the computer.

One good thing we noticed right away, was that the Purina widget we newly put up, does not show the weather if the DSL is down. It stays connected.
So it acts like a on/off light to tell us.