passport failures build 5384 ie7 won t let me sign here

Well,
The subject just about says it all. When I click the Sign In button in IE7 under Build 5384, I get another IE window opening, and it allows me to enter and seemingly validates my credentials (if I enter bogus ones I get an error that doesn't happen when I enter the correct info).
Is this universal? Or am I holding my mouth wrong?
Should I just use Windows Mail to get to the groups instead of the Web?
-- Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett, "Waiting for Godot"