Internet Explorer not working at all!!!

I have had a problem getting onto internet explorer and searching the last few days. I was afraid I might have been infected with CWS or About:blank which has happened to me in the past. I tried using spysweeper, cwshredder, SpybotSearchandDestroy as well as the steps that I used in the past to remedy the about:blank problem. Nothing has worked and now I can't even get IE to search at all. The search bar is blank and at the bottom it says done as if it has finished going to the requested page. I can open my email and send email via outlook express but otherwise can't search the net at all. I don't want to reboot using my factory discs because of my emails and saved media files. What can I do??? I have already read and performed When all else fails-Generic Solution to HSA and About:blank. I am out of solutions that I have tried in the past. What can I do??? Thanks for any help as always. Also, Hijack this which I have used and attached logs for you in the past will not even open.