Internet Explorer weirdness

IE is set up on this PC so that the blue "e" on the desktop is not a shortcut; if you right click it and select properties, you get the same dialog as if you went thru the Control Panel to internet properties. But that's not the problem. When I try to launch IE with a double-click, all it does is create a new seperate shortcut to IE. If you try again, another shortcut. Each time you double click on the IE icon, a new shortcut is made on the desktop, and the internet doesn't come up. Firefox works fine. If I click Start > All Programs, and click on Internet Explorer in the programs list, it goes online; slowly, but it opens the web and doesn't make a shortcut. So- how do I fix this? And how do I remove the IE icon from the desktop without actually deleting Internet Explorer? If I could remove this icon, I think half the battle would be over.
Thanks.

(I've tried IEfix and Dial.A.Fix w/o success)

 

OK- the above problem has been solved.... more or less.

Now- why is Internet Explorer so freakin slow to open a web site? The IE window will open nice and fast, but it stays blank for about a minute (maybe longer) before my home page appears.... how can I make pages appear faster?

 

Well there are some unknowns here that may help in getting an answer to your question/problem. What version of windows are you using and are you on dial-up or what? If you would provide that info I'm sure that we can find a solution to this issue.

 

XP Pro SP2 on a cable broadband connection... anyway- I started a new thread for this topic. It can be found here: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=144798
Thanks.