Make sure you only have one instance of IE open when you enable the Status Bar, then close it & re-open. Or, open Windows Explorer, enable the Status Bar there, close, then open IE to see if it's enabled. Or, open one instance of IE, enable the Status Bar, hold down Shift key and close it. Holding Shift when closing a window is supposed to make it remember the window's size or whether it was maximized, don't know if it will remember the Status Bar.