I am running microsoft XP professional. IE

Restoring Computer to earlier state is the best solution. Only update the Internet explorer by using online updates that is downloaded from Microsoft website. WebRepOverall ratingThis site has no rating(not enough votes)

Also try to update the drivers that control your PC.

If problem still occurs then use system utility tool PCFresher that will fix windows internal errors and will fix corrupt registry errors.

There are only a few things that will cause this.

You don't have permissions. ie trying to install something when you have guest privileges. Log in as admin or run the install under admin credentials.

The program is meant for a different version of Windows. It may be for a new version ie Vista or 7 and the installer isn't recognized. Or it may be a setup for 64 bit versions and you have 32 bit. Not much you can do here.

Sometimes if you have no space on C it will error out on the setup.

The windows installer program may need to be updated. This isn't very common but if needed it usually updates when you run the windows updates and patches. If not you can download direct from microsoft. Just go to Microsoft.com and search for windows installer. It's a very small download so this just takes a minute.

Thats about all I can think f that will definitely cause this. Of these the admin rights and the installer are the usual suspects.

Use your System Tools ie "system restore" utility to restore your OS to the point before you install microsoft .net framework 3.5.

Hope it help.

1. Step 1 Open Windows Update (located in the Windows XP Control Panel), and see if SP2 is on the list of available updates. If you don't have Windows Update installed or turned on, visit the Windows Update website in order to get the latest Windows Update software.
   
2. Step 2 Select the Windows XP SP2 item from the list of available updates, and click the "Install" button. Windows Update will begin downloading Service Pack 2 (a process that may take up to 20 minutes or longer, depending on how fast your Internet connection is), and will then launch the installation program once downloading is complete.
   
3. Step 3 Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the Windows XP Service Pack 2 installation. You will be asked to accept the terms of the licensing agreement before the actual installation takes place. Installation may take up to 20 or 30 minutes, after which you will be required to reboot your computer in order for the changes to the operating system to take effect.
   
4. Step 4 Should you have problems installing XP Service Pack 2 through Windows Update, download the stand-alone executable from Microsoft in order to install the software update manually. The Service Pack executable is designed to make it easier for IT professionals to update multiple computers without having to download the Service Pack onto each one. Run the installer program once you've finished downloading it, and follow the on-screen instructions as mentioned above.
   

If Windows Update or Automatic Updates wont do it, do to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en and download the "network installation" version of XP SP2. Its one large file you can execute and run. Especially useful if you have multiple machines to update. Don't forget to download and update to XP SP3 once SP2 is done (and rebooted), as that's the current release.

use the following link to reset internet explorer:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936213

HI Deb,
You will need to update windows to service pack3 first. Then once completed click "start" and open "control panel" and then "Add Remove programs-software" Scroll through list of installed software and identify all and only the office related components "select" each component individually then click "remove/uninstall" Remove all previous installed office components, starting with the smallest sized file to the largest, once completed restart your machine and try the office install disk again. See below for service pack three download info and links:

Download the service pack manually You can use Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Center to obtain Windows XP SP3 online. Check for updates on Windows Update loadTOCNode(4, 'moreinformation'); To check for updates on Windows Update, follow these steps:

1. Visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
2. Click Express (Recommended).
3. If your computer is up to date, Windows XP SP3 will be one of the updates that is automatically selected. Click Install. If your computer is not up to date, Windows Update will offer some other updates that you have to install first. Install those, and then repeat steps 1 and 2 to obtain Windows XP SP3.
4. For Windows XP SP3, review and accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.

Windows XP SP3 will be downloaded to your computer, and the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Setup Wizard will help you install it.
Download the latest Windows XP service pack from the Microsoft Download CenterIf you have problems obtaining the service pack from Windows Update, you can download the stand-alone update package from the Download Center. This page will say that this installation package is intended for IT professionals and developers. However, you can safely download this file. The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the Windows XP Service Pack 3 package now. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4)

I had the exact same problem and was so frustrated I was about to smash my pc with a hammer. LOLZ! Finaly I had enough and decided to update to I.E. version 8 form the M.S. updates site. After the update and a reboot, the problem immediately went away. It hasn't happend since! YAYYY! When he new I.E. 8 started I got an error message which told me tha my HP {Printer} had an I.E. adon that was incompatable with I.E. and would cause it to crash and suggesed that I remove or disable the adon. So I am assuming that was what was causing the crash problem with version 7 as well. I hope this helps others! Try turning your I.E. adon off then restart I.E. see if that helps! If so, it's only a mater of determining which ones are incompatable! PEACE! KreiosK.

windows update site or microsoft.com downloads page

It sounds as though the IE7 application may be corrupted. Try removing IE7.

To Remove IE7: Go to Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Select Internet Explorer 7 > Select Remove. IE is a core component of XP. Hence, your machine will revert to IE6. Reboot pc. If you like IE7, visit Microsoft and download a fresh copy.

Good luck.