Start > Run > regedit
Navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER->Software->Microsoft->Windows->CurrentVersion->Policies->Explorer

Click on the Explorer folder
Is there a "NoControlPanel" entry on the right hand side?  Delete the key or change the (1) to a (0),

http://www.winguides.com/registry/display.php/543/  Disable Control Panel (Windows 2000/Me/XP)
This setting allows you to restrict user access to the Control Panel options and settings.
User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
Value Name: NoControlPanel
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = disable restriction, 1 = enable restriction)

No

The only items in this folder are:  (ab) default      REG_SZ
                                                 NoDriveType...  REG_DWORD

under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE also?

Oops, i misread your question.

At which step below does it fail: Open IE
Tools > Internet Options > click each tab: General, Security, Privacy, Content, Connections, Programs, Advanced

You mention at Connections. Are you able to click & see the connections dialog?

The same apprears under Local Machine.  The value for the REG_DWORD is 0x00000000

When I open IE and click on the "Tools" drop down, the "internet Options" button causes the "access... disabled..." block.

In the control panel, accessed from my computer, after accessing "network and internet connections, then the choice "internet Options" and the choice "set up or change internet connections.."  causes the "access...disabled.." to occur

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win98/t1062878409 Annoyances.org - Internet options disabled on Tools menu
Carol J:  If you have Spybot S&D installed, open it and click Immunize and uncheck I.E. Control Panel lock.
Chris:    Are you using SpyBot and using the Immunize function? IF so, try unchecking the boxes at the bottom of that setup.

 

You evidently do not have, or have lost adminsitrator rights on this computer.  Reboot into SAfe mode, and log in as Administrator -- if the control panel appears, it is your profile that has become corrupt.  If control panel is not there for ADMIN either, your entire setup is corrupt.  Which is ir?

All of my problems started before I installed spybot.  I have just intatted it two days ago.

I have run S & D
 I cannot find the "IE control Panel lock." The only box I see is the box entitled" enable permanent blocking of bad addresses..."

Is there a different "set-up" screen I should find?

This, or any simiar key under the "Restrictions" below, in the registry? Delete or change value to 0 if it is:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Restrictions]
"NoBrowserOptions"=dword:00000001

I have re-booted in safe mode with the  Dell people.  We were unable to gain access to the control panel in "safe mode"  We were unable to change any setteing.  The Dell people were not wiling to troubleshoot or try any changes to the Registry.
The process was to check the files for windows, then repair windows using the utility and the original disk.  None of this worked.

Please uninstall Spybot, then recover the registry to a point BEFORE the program was installed.  I find that spybot can cause fatal system failure, I have a system in here now where spybot trashed the entire XP setup, cant recover from it, it is gone.  Pick the restore point carefully, by inspecting the date and time of the spybot install, and restore to the point just before that.

Damn, you should NOT have tried a repair of the system, now you have lost ALL your restore points.  Please come here before Dell, they cause more problems from lack of knowledge than they realize.

I tried to restore the system with the Dell people before spybot was installed.  Could not resoore the system to the date the computer was purchased or any later date.  Unknown reason.  
 

Heck

Check your spybot settings & that registry key...

Regarding the HKEY_CURRENT_USER suggestion:

I cannot get to the place ont he tree as described:

I can only find:  HDEY_CURRENT_USER\Softwar\Policies\Microsoft\System Certificates  

There is no further link to "\Internet Explorer\Restrictions

How do I check the spybot settings and registry key?

I note that before we repaired the system, I was unable to restore the system to an earlier date.

See my comment above -- 7.37 PM.  It is MOST important to login safe mode as Administrator, to see if you have full access to the system/control panel.  That will tell exactly what needs to be done.

its so simple, your system admin create user restriction through mmc command, so firt u have to run mmc command at run, one window ll come and then u have to open the console, by default its console1, so open that, and look 'user configuration' under left pan, then click on administrative templete and then windows component, under that look at internet explorer here u can your administration enable the various option so try to locate and disable that and then save and restart ur machine now u can access as before

When I run "mmc" then the consul root folder appeears.  The screen shows that "there are no items to show"  I cannot locate a "user configuration" or an administrative template"

that is because your profile/setup is corrupt.  Please see my comment 2 items above, unless you determine if the ADMIN profile is also corrupt,  I cannot help you to recover...

then u have to login as administrator in safe mode and then type mmc at run and do whatever i post earlier

which is what I have been asking all along !!!  When in safe mode, logged in as administrator, see if you can get to the control panel !!!!

I have restarted the system in "safe"mode I find that I obtain the same result.  Control Panel then "Internet Options" then the "access denied..." block.

did u do what i said b4 ?

OK in spy bot search and destroy there is a setting  its called lock  IE settings. Disable the Lock IE settings its in the Immunize section of the SpyBot utility and you should get your internet options back.

its right at the bottom there will be 3 check boxes uncheck all of these and it should work great after that all this safe mode and mmc is a waste of time.

well its actually labeled i just looked it up lock IE control panel against opening from within IE (current user) thats the one you need ot uncheck really but uncheck all three as they are just added protection and can cause problems in the end if you have trouble seeing them the way to get to it is to open spybot search and destroy and click the imunize option and on the right hand side there is a scroll bar and under the part that says permanetly running bad download blocker for IE there is a recommended miscellanious protections title thats where the 3 options are.

Oh and another tip unless you have failing hardware I wouldnt call Dell that is another giant waste of time if they cant type up the problem on thier computers they never know enough to actually help with true troubleshooting.  Just a heads up for the future.

I have found the three check boxes described above as:

     Lock Hosts...
    Lock IE start page...
    Lock IE control panel

none of these boxes are checked.

This doe not change the situation and doesn't solve the problem

in safe mode, did you log in as Administrator, instead of your regular login, and could you see and use or adjust the control panel and components.  That decides the outcome of this question.....

Well that would be the only place that spybot would have had the option to change it you didnt try to uninstall it and then reinstall it did you

scrathcy you are thinking of the wrong control panel as being locked its not the system control panel its the internet options from within internet explorer.

I did not uninstall and reinstall spybot.

I did reboot in safe mode as administratior and was NOT able to acces the Internet options screen.

I did try the MMC process in safe mode, as administrator, with no different results.

See you all in the AM

Any additional advice.  

YES !!  Now that I finally know that even the Administrator login is affected, it is fairly certain that you will need a clean install.  You already said that the repair install did nothing, and you have lost all your restore points, and the system is (how?) functional, except the control panel and internet options?  There are lots of things you can try to repair it, like installing SP1 over SP2 -- that will refresh Internet explorer to an earlier version, and it could recover the control panel and internet options.   Then you can reinstall SP2 over the top of this, and rebuild it as you can.

But fundamentally, if the Administrator of the system has lost administrator rights, then the registry is corrupt, and the system is had it.  To do a clean install, first backup the documents and settings folder using xcopy, as it will go right through the files that cannot be read.  Run this --

xcopy "C:\documents and settings\*.*"  "C:\Backup\documents and settings\"  /s/h/r/c/k/e
xcopy "C:\my documents\*.*"  "C:\Backup\my documents\"  /s/h/r/c/k/e

Note the quotes around the paths with spaces.

Once you have backed up everything on your system of value to you, boot from the CD and do a clean install.  When you recover the data from the backup, do NOT run those commands in reverse.  All you want to copy back to the new setup is your documents, the desktop, and the start menu/programs entries, just as reminders of what you have to install anew.  Good luck.

Thanks for the help

Seems to me, I should take all the data off to an external drive, then uninstall all the software, then restore the system to the factory settings, then re-install everything, software first, program by program then put my data in.

Does this approach sound ok.