Using READ & RUN ME FIRST: Cannot connect to internet once in Normal Startup Mode

First off, thanks to anyone who can help me with this issue. I came to this site about 4 years ago and remember it being extremely helpful.

I've spent the hour or so trying to clean my dad's comp. I was going through the READ & RUN ME FIRST thread and hit a snag. Everything was fine until I setup the comp for "Normal Startup Mode". Once I performed this step, I was unable to connect to the internet upon restart. In order to reconnect to the internet, I reselected "Selective Startup" and went through and disabled all non-Microsoft services and all startup processes.

My question is: Can I download CCleaner ahead of time then reboot in Normal Startup Mode, install CCleaner and continue from there, hoping that the issue is solved after that point? Or is there a fix I need to perform on my comp in Normal Startup Mode that will allow me to connect to the internet?

Sidenote: In order to provide a little more information, here are some of the issues my dad's comp was having before I began attempting to fix it:

- IE randomly closing upon clicking on links.
- Clicking on Google search matches and being rerouted to different websites.
- Unable to click on any programs from the Start Menu (programs won't even become highlighted).
- Every now and then a Language Installer Pack prompt will pop up upon startup.

My dad's comp is the only one in the house that has online access, so I'm limited in my resources once I reboot his comp in Normal Startup Mode.

Thanks again to anyone who can help!

-glynn