I couldn't get the toolbar to uninstall by clicking on the "Y" button and clicking uninstall, so I had to remove it manually |
This is where my concern lies.
Uninstalling manually may or may not have created an issue with IE.
If you want to try things other than a repair, you might try the following basic first steps for troubleshooting:
1 - Reinstall the Optimizer program, and reinstall the Yahoo toolbar (this one you might want to download directly from yahoo site).
2 - After installing these, disconnect from the internet (including disconnecting the cable between the computer and the modem - if used - at the modem).
3 - Go into Device Manager, and uninstall the NIC card (or modem if on dial-up) > reboot > allow XP to reinstall it > reset your modem by pulling the power plug and waiting 60 seconds (if you use broadband connection) > plug modem power cord back in and wait for the lights to indicate a live connection > connect the cable which connects the computer to the modem back in, and reboot the computer > once booted, go into Network Connections and repair the connection via the context menu > attempt to view a page with IE (note - if IE still has issues, use the Start > Run > "http://www.msn.com" command - without quotation marks, to load the default browser and verify a connection).
If Firefox loads, then obviously IE has been bumped from the default position.
If all goes well, use the proper method to uninstall the Optimizer and Yahoo toolbar (via either the Start > All Programs > Program folder, or via "Add or Remove Programs), and then reboot computer.