Can't access localhost or run Apache based program

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I can’t access localhost (or 127.0.0.1) and my GM Service manual program which runs on Apache does not run. Whenever I try to access localhost I get the error:

error ‘8002801c’
Error accessing the OLE registry.
/iisHelp/common/500-100.asp, line 17

I saw on one forum that the Avast firewall is the problem with Apache and that disabling the firewall is not sufficient - Avast must be uninstalled. I have pinged 127.0.0.1 and get response. I have checked IIS (it is ver. 5.1) and all seems OK there. When I start the service manual program, I get the error: “Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at 127.0.0.1:9001.”

Any ideas?