unable to download using IE6

I’ve struggled with this for a couple of months now. I hope someone can help.

When I try to download anything from any site I get the following error message:

Internet Explorer [ver6] cannot download filename from filesite. Internet Explorer was not able to open this internet site. The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found. Please try again later.

I have checked Internet security settings (as per MSKnowledgebase) and other IE6 and network settings. I am using WinXP Home, on a 2GHz, 256MB RAM, cable access thru a LinkSys 10/100 switch and router. Yes, I have taken the switch and router out of the loop and directly connected this computer to the cable modem and I get the same results.

Points will be awarded for a successful reply.

Thanks,

JK