Resolved Can IE be installed or reinstalled

I just bought a used computer. It is running Win XP pro and appears to have had IE installed once upon a time. It has Mozilla Firefox, and I am able to connect to the net through it.
When I click start>programs what pops up on the left stack is called "INTERNET ", and has a blue with green globe of the earth, not the blue e with the yellow orbit(?) band around it. As I said, it is called Internet, not Internet Explorer.
Clicking on the earth ball gives me the Internet Properties box with tabs across the top: General, Security,Privacy,Content,Connections,Programs,Advanced.
The features under the general tab seem to be functional in that I was able to delete cookies, browsing history, etc.
The content under the other tabs also looks familiar, though I made no attempt to alter anything there.
Internet Explorer is not found under the start menu, and is missing in Windows Explorer as well.
Can it be installed anew, or does it require a complete reinstall of Windows, or can the installation be "repaired "?
Thanks.

 

Thanks for the speedy response. I did as you instructed, and got a welcome screen of sorts to IE 7 not 8. After setting some preferences, I typed the comcast homepage url, and appear to be off and running.
However, there is still no icon. Will typing iexplore.exe in the run box be the only way to access IE?
I am not opposed to downloading or "upgrading" to IE8, as that is what I'm using on this(my old) computer.
BTW, the person who sold me the computer left his account on the computer, made me the administrator, and left his as "limited ".
I logged on to his account and see a desktop shortcut to IE, and it works.
How do I create a shortcut to my desktop?
Thaks again for your help.

 

Pardon my ignorance, Pete, but which is the command line?
I compared the result of right clicking the icon on my fully functioning computer and the limited access account on the problematic one. On my good computer, under properties, I get 3 tabs across the top General, Shortcut, and Compatibility.
On the problematic computer, the tabs are General and Shortcut.
The very top part under General says Internet Explorer on my computer, and Shortcut to Internet Explorer on the limited account one. The next lower segment is pretty much identical on both computers.
Switching to the shortcut tab: On my computer the top still says Internet Explorer and has target type: Application. Target Location: Internet Explorer. Target: Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEPXLORE.EXE.
On the other computer the top is called Shortcut to Internet Explorer. The target segment below that shows Target Type: IE. Target Location: Desktop. Target:
Internet Explorer(but these two words are greyed out).
Also, clicking on the icon in the limited access account brings up: Blank Page-Windows Internet Explorer. The URL box shows "about blank ". It has two lines below that with FILE, EDIT, VIEW, FAVORITES, etc. in the first, and in the line below that the home icon, printer icon, tools-in other words the normal second bar. Both bars are responsive-that is, the drop down menus work. Below that is the blank white page.
While still in the limited access account, if I go to the RUN box, and type IEXPLORE.EXE it still takes me to the blank page.
If I switch back to the administrative account, I can type IEXPLORE.EXE and actually get online.
BTW, IE is version 7.
Do you think if I tried to update to IE8, the update process would solve this problem? At this point, the absence of a desktop icon is really the only problem in the administrative account, while the loss of internet access through IE7 in the limited account is the other.
Access to the web is still fully functional through FireFox on both accounts.
I might mention that I purchased this computer for my brother and plan to ship it to him either today or in the next few days. He will most likely delete the limited access account, so I don't care about the secondary account's problems.
Also, any opinion on upgrading to IE8? The person I bought this computer from went from 7 to 8 and then back to 7. No sure what problems he had with IE8.

Addendum: I just re-read my earlier posts on this subject and should correct the statement about logging onto the limited account and getting to the internet via the desktop icon.
I was mistaken, I'm sure now, as I cannot access the web via either the icon nor the IEXPLORE.EXE command.

 

Well, as I mentioned, this computer is for my brother. I called him to give him all of the details, including the IE problem. His response was to just install FireFox.
So, I'm not sure if the issue can be considered resolved, but it is moot at this point, because I boxed it up and shipped it this afternoon.
Thank you again, Pete for your help.
If I'm the only one who can mark this thread as resolved, please let me know.