RNR,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.
1.Stop your firewall or anti-virus program if you are using one.
2.Clear the I.E defaults.
3.Use the SFC utility to verify the system files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
How to reset I.E defaults:
1.Right click on the Internet Explorer icon.
2.Click on Properties.
3.Under the "General" tab, Temporary Internet Files Option, click the Delete Files button, and then click OK.
Under the History option, click the Clear History button.
**This will delete all web pages you have been to previously***
4.Under the "Security" tab, if applicable, click the Default Level button.
5.Under the "Programs" tab, click the Reset Web settingsbutton.
6.Click the "Advanced" tab, click the Restore Defaults button.
7.Click the Apply or OK buttons.
8.Restart the system.

Clear out the Temporary folders:
1.Open My Computer, and the Windows folder.
2.Open the Temp folder under the Windows folder.
3.Delete everything that is listed in the Temp folder.
4.Go back to the Windows Folder.
5.Open the Temporary Internet Files folder.
6.Delete everything that is listed in the Temporary Internet Files folder.
7.Close all open Windows and reboot the system.

Delete installed I.E objects.
1.Right click on the Internet Explorer icon.
2.Click on Properties.
3.Under the "General" tab click the Settings button.
4.Click the View Objects button.
5.Click Edit, Select All, click File, Delete.
6.Close everything and reboot the system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Information:
To try and fix problems with Windows corrupt files, please try using Windows SFC.

Solution:
1.) Put your WindowsXP reinstall CD in the system.
2.) Click Start, Run.
3.) Type in ( SFC /Scannow )
4.) Click OK, and the system will start checking the system files.
5.) If any errors are found the system will prompt you to replace these files.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

I get message errors  saying unable to open Windows socket everytime I use Outlook Express.  I cannot find the fix for this (error 0x800CCC15).

Thank you for trying to help -- you're the only one who did.  I followed your instructions to the letter using the CD, etc.  And it did not solve the problem -- I'm still getting the same error message everytime I use my e-mail.  Can you suggest anything else?

Thanks again.

I continue to get error message (0x800CCC15) in Outlook Express, even though I did a WindowsXP reinstall using the system CD. 

This article from MS suggests a few more things you could try

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;813444&Product=winxp

Thanks very much!  I'll check it out.