This must be simple but I can't find it.

Ummm....What status bar?

You mean the "Task Bar"?

Right-Click the task bar and select properties. You will see a tab "Taskbar". There is a small box to the left of the option "auto-hide the taskbar". Remove the checkmark and click okay. You may also tick the option "lock the taskbar". At any time you can repeat the navigation to undo the selections.

Hope this helps.

Make sure Status Bar is checked under "view" .

Oh, the browser, duh. Slap me with a wet noodle.

Thanks Rev

actually.. thats happens to me alot on IE6 and XP.. i open a new window and the status bar p***es off.. i'm pretty sure its a bug of IE.. cause i always have the status bar checked off in the menu

View> Status Bar

when it goes off its because of pop up adverts that have been killed by either you, or a pop up stopper, then you open IE and its kept those settings. its not a "bug" in IE, its pesky spammers causing people grief as usual. companies that use spam as a means of advertising should be attacked electronically, because thats all they are doing to us in my opinion.