I don't know if it is just me (well, it can't be or I wouldn't have found this useful tweak out there ), but my IE ALWAYS opens up without a status bar...and I absolutely loathe that.

To make your status bar display by default (like every other version of Windows), in XP, follow the following steps...

1. Open an Internet Explorer window
2. Click the "View" menu, then "Status Bar"
3. Hold down Ctrl while clicking the X to close the window.
4. Open My Computer and click the "View" menu, then "Status Bar"
5. Click the "Tools" menu, then "Folder Options", then click the "View" tab
6. Click "Apply to all folders", then "Ok"
7. Close Windows Explorer and open IE with your new status bar in place

I hope this helps someone else besides me