Search in IE6 has gone

[Odd Job]

In my browser (IE6) my search facility has disappeared. When I click on the search button on the toolbar, the side window opens with a message

"Action canceled. Internet Explorer was unable to link to the Web page you requested. The page might be temporarily unavailable."

If I click on the "new" button (left top of search window) I get a blank window, and if I click on "customise" button (right top of search window) I get a "search XP" box appear in a fresh window.

When I used to click on the customise button I would get a box that allowed me to customise my search criteria, now I get a search XP box that is useless.

Has anybody experienced this before. Has an XP update reset my browser to use this pathetic search engine, or has my browser become corrupted in some way ? This has only occured recently.

My default search engine was google. Is this down, thus causing the problem ?

Thanks for your help.

OJ

IE version 6.0.2800
XP home SP1
Broadband (NTL 600k)
Zone alarm firewall
Norton AV 2002 (in background)

[The Tool]

Reinstall Search assistant

Click Start , click Run , and then type the following command:
%systemroot%\inf

NOTE : There are no spaces at all in the preceding command line.

Click OK to open the INF folder.
Locate the file Srchasst.inf .
Right-click the file, and then click Install . This will reinstall the files that Search needs to proceed normally.

You will be asked to place your windows XP cd rom in the drive.

[Odd Job]

Thanks. I have done as you suggested and reinstalled search assistant but still have exactly the same problem, so any other suggestions would be welcome.

Do I have to shut down and restart for the changes to take effect, cos I didn't.

OJ

[beeboy]

I dont know why anyone fools around with IE when there are several, good, alternate browsers. Browsers that can be uninstalled. I use Slimbrowser for everything IE- like and Phoenix for everthing else. Other good ones are Avant, Crazy, Opera, and Mozilla.