http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=25648
--- Comment #1 from Dan Kegel dank@kegel.com 2011-02-24 08:44:28 CST --- As noted in comment 5 of that winezeug bug, adding the registry key
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main] "TabProcGrowth"=dword:00000000
gets the browser past the initial 'Connecting...' hang.