Internet explorer problems

[#1]

I much prefer Firefox but I have BBC iplayer set up with IE7 and dont want to risk losing my saved programs by trying to switch it over.
The ptoblem I'm having with IE7 is it keeps coming up with the message "Internet Explorer is currently running with add-ons disabled"
I go to tools so that I can change this but the option to manage add-ons is also disabled. It shows up faded and is unresponsive.
I then tried Internet Options>Programs>Manage Addons but the enable/disable radio buttons are also faded and unresponsive.
I managed earlier to reset defaults and enable add-ons but next time I opened the browser the add-ons disabled message came back and I'm back to square one
Can anyone please advise
Thanks

[#2]

What Operating System are you running?  If it's Vista you may need to run in admin mode (right click on IE from Start button and select "run as administrator").  Also, in Vista, IE can be run in "no add-ons" mode which is selectable from the main Start menu under Internet Explorer.  If you're running Vista make sure that your shortcut isn't to the "no add-ons" mode.
Also, for Xp and Vista, are there add-ons showing in the list?  You need to highlight the particular add-on that you want to enable/disable before the radio buttons at the bottom of the page become active.  There's also a drop down where you need to select which set of add-ons is shown (above the white box).