IE 8 has stopped working

[mrmom]

I am helping someone who is having problems with IE 8. IE 8 will not connect to the internet, just the error message: "Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage". He can:
Get emails with Outlook
Use Firefox
Ping (Start | Run | “Command” [OK], “Ping yahoo.com” [Enter])
So, the internet connection is working, but the IE configuration is messed up. He is using:
Window XP
AVG 9.0
IE8
Spybot S&D

When he upgraded from AVG 8.5 to AVG 9.0 Spybot TeaTimer popped up and gave him several “Registry is being changed” messages. He clicked on [Deny] for the changes. Now he is having the IE 8 problems.

What I have tried:
MS Knowledge Base # KB956196 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956196
General troubleshooting 1 – 5
Advanced troubleshooting 1 – 2, 8
Uninstall/reinstall IE 8
Uninstall/reinstall AVG 9

Thanks for any help

[generaleet]

Did you try restoring IE defaults from the advanced tab in internet options?