Friday, December 14, 2007

Release notes for Intenet Explorer 7 - probelms ?

Release Notes for Internet Explorer 7

These Release Notes give you information about installing Internet Explorer® 7 and contain information about known issues and possible workarounds for those issues.

Information in this document, including website addresses (URLs) and other Internet references, is subject to change without notice and is provided for informational purposes only. Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, people, and events depicted herein are fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, person, or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft might have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Internet Explorer, Windows, Windows XP, Windows NT, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States or other countries or regions.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein might be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Installation Notes

Japanese Installation Prerequisite

You must install the Rights Management Add-on from the RMA Download Pagebefore you install Internet Explorer 7. The add-on cannot be installed after Internet Explorer 7.

Installation Errors

If you receive notification that the installation failed, you should restart your computer to ensure that any changes made during Setup are undone.

To find information about installation problems, refer to the following log files:
%windir%\ie7_main.log
%windir%\ie7.log
%windir%\ie7Uninst.log

Note: %windir% is the location of your Windows directory, which can usually be found at C:\Windows.

If you receive the error "Setup was unable to open the log file for writing: C:\WINDOWS\ie7_main.log", log in with a user account that has administrator privileges and then try to install Internet Explorer 7 again.

Updating or Reinstalling Internet Explorer 7

If a previous version of Internet Explorer 7 is already installed, installing the latest version of Internet Explorer 7 will automatically remove the previous version. After the previous version is removed, Setup will automatically restart your computer and then begin installing the new version.

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 7 RC1

To uninstall Internet Explorer 7 and restore Internet Explorer 6 when using Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Add or Remove Programs.
Scroll down to Windows Internet Explorer 7, click it, and then click Change/Remove.

If you cannot find Internet Explorer 7 in Add or Remove Programs, click Start, click Run, type %windir%\ie7\spuninst\spuninst.exe, and then press ENTER.

Note: %windir% is the location of your Windows directory, which can usually be found at C:\Windows. To do this, you need to have "view hidden folders" enabled.

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3, Beta 2, Beta 2 Preview, or Beta 1

To uninstall Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3, Beta 2, Beta 2 Preview, or Beta 1 and restore Internet Explorer 6 when using Windows XP or Windows Server 2003:

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Add or Remove Programs.
Scroll down to "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 3", "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2", or "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview", click it, and then click Change/Remove.
If you cannot find any version of Internet Explorer 7 in the previous step, select the Show Updates check box at the top of the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, scroll down to Windows XP - Software Updates, select "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview" or "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 1", and then click Change/Remove.

If you cannot find an Internet Explorer 7 entry using Add or Remove Programs, try running these commands. Each is for a different release of Internet Explorer 7, so only one will succeed. To run any of these commands, you need to have the View hidden folders option enabled. In the commands below, %windir% is the location of your Windows directory, which can usually be found at C:\Windows. To run these commands, click Start, click Run, and then type one of the following:

%windir%\ie7beta3\spuninst\spuninst.exe.
%windir%\$NtUninstallie7beta1$\spuninst\spuninst.exe.
%windir%\$NtUninstallie7bet2p$\spuninst\spuninst.exe.
%windir%\$NtUninstallie7b2pmx$\spuninst\spuninst.exe.
%windir%\$NtUninstallie7beta2$\spuninst\spuninst.exe.

If the uninstall process causes the computer to stop responding while removing Internet Explorer 7, restart the computer, delete any custom sound schemes created after installing the Internet Explorer 7 Beta, and then try to uninstall Internet Explorer 7 again.

Internet Explorer 7 Fails to Uninstall from Specified User Account

If you see an error message saying that you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 7 from this user account, you can bypass the check by following these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer.
Right-click the Internet Explorer key, click New, and then click DWORD value.
Type InstalledByUser as the name, and then press ENTER to finish creating the new registry value.
Try to uninstall Internet Explorer 7 again.

Late-Breaking Notes and Issues

The following open issues in Internet Explorer 7 might be fixed in updates of Internet Explorer 7. The information applies to all Microsoft platforms, unless specified that the content is unique to Windows Vista or Windows XP SP2.

Application Compatibility Toolkit Beta 5.0 Available--The Application Compatibility Toolkit Version 5.0 Beta program is available for download through the Microsoft Connect Program. This toolkit, which runs on Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista, replaces the Temporary Application Compatibility Toolkit which supported previous Beta versions of Internet Explorer 7. The Temporary Application Toolkit is no longer available.

Citrix©--The CITRIX ICA Client ActiveX Control does not work when run in Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mode on Microsoft Windows Vista. The user will not be able to see the remote desktop in a webpage that is hosting the control. To work around the issue, the user can right-click the Internet Explorer icon and select Run as administrator. This allows the ActiveX control to run.

Hal Screen Reader and Supernova Reader Magnifier by Dolphin--These screen readers stop responding when users click commands from Internet Explorer’s file menu. These two programs are shipped with an older version of psapi.dll that causes the program to stop responding in Internet Explorer 7.

To work around this issue, follow these steps:

Go to the installation location for Dolphin Hal Screen Reader or Supernova Reader Magnifier.
Find PSAPI.DLL in the installation location for Dolphin Hal Screen Reader or Supernova Reader Magnifier and rename it to something else, such as PSAPIOLD.DLL. Do not rename the PSAPI.DLL file in your \\Windows\System32 directory.
Restart the computer.

The program will find the new PSAPI.DLL in the \Windows\System32 directory and function normally. Users might wish to contact the software vendor website to check for the latest updates.

Upgrading Internet Explorer 7 from a previous build (not uninstalling Internet Explorer 7 first) can leave the computer in a confusing state for users who require Assistive Technology programs--Assistive technology software that runs on Windows, such as screen reading software, might not be able to read the screens that appear while installation is being completed (after your computer restarts) because those screens are displayed before the assistive technology starts. When the installation is complete, your computer will restart again.

Starting Internet Explorer without incompatible browser extensions or malware--If you have incompatible browser extension or add-ons installed, or have symptoms of spyware or malware, use Reset Internet Explorer Settings (RIES) to reset Internet Explorer’s settings. See Reset Internet Explorer Settings on the Internet Explorer blog for more details.

Resetting Enhanced Security Configuration (ESC) Defaults on Server Machine--If you reset Internet Explorer settings (as discussed previously) when ESC is turned on, Internet Explorer will reset to the ESC defaults. If ESC is turned off, it will reset to the standard defaults. Resetting Internet Explorer does not cause the state of ESC to be changed.

Accessing websites that only work with Internet Explorer 6-- Some websites host pages that are hard coded to read the User Agent string, and only accept the value for Internet Explorer 6. You can temporarily appear to the website that you are using Internet Explorer 6 by using the User Agent Utility. The tool will create an instance of Internet Explorer 7 that emulates Internet Explorer 6. Other instances of Internet Explorer 7 will not be affected.

RSS feed detection button--Internet Explorer 7 uses a link in the HTML source code of a webpage to enable the feed discovery button located on the Command Bar. If a page does not have that link element, Internet Explorer 7 does not detect the feed. See the Internet Explorer Blog entry for details.

SharePoint--Windows® SharePoint® Services (WSS) cannot import spreadsheets when Internet Explorer 7 is running.

Accessing Microsoft Office files online fails to install (Vista only)--In previous versions of Windows, when you tried to open a Microsoft Office file online (such as a Word document), without having the program in office installed, it would be automatically installed. In Windows Vista, when running Internet Explorer 7 in Protected Mode Internet Explorer, the Microsoft Office installer is unable to start. Users can work around this by ensuring that the Office application, such as Excel or Word, is already installed prior to accessing Office files online with Internet Explorer, or you can use one of the following workaround methods:

Temporarily disabling Protected Mode Internet Explorer by following these steps:

From Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Security tab, and then clear the Enable Protected Mode (requires restarting Internet Explorer) checkbox. We recommend re-enabling Protected Mode once the Office file has been successfully accessed.

Or run Internet Explorer as an Administrator by following these steps:

In Windows, click the Start button.
Click All Programs.
Locate and right click Internet Explorer in your program listing.
From the menu, select Run as administrator.
Click Allow in the User Account Control dialog box.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004--If Flight Simulator 2004 stops responding after you have installed Internet Explorer 7, find the oleacc.dll file in the Flight Simulator folder and rename it to oleacc.old. Then restart Flight Simulator.

SAP GUI--You cannot use the SAP GUI with Internet Explorer 7. A fix for the issue will be available in patch level 20 of the SAP GUI for Windows 6.40 and patch level 64 for Windows 6.20.

GE Pathspeed ActiveX Control--An ActiveX control that is used on old versions of Pathspeed™ from General Electric (GE) prevents users from accessing ActiveX controls and generates the following message: "Security certificate has expired." This problem is fixed on newer versions of the Pathspeed product.

Microsoft Office Handwriting Recognition Service--If you have installed the optional Handwriting Recognition Service you might encounter the following issues in Internet Explorer 7 (on XPSP2 only). Please note that this service is not installed by default when Microsoft Office is installed. This release note does not pertain to the Tablet PC’s handwriting-input feature.

When switching tabs in Internet Explorer 7, the menus might become activated or quickly expand and collapse (this is a similar experience to when a user presses the ALT key repeatedly).
When you click on a tab, the menus become activated and the tab itself is not selected.

To work around this problem, disable the On-Screen Keyboard component of the Handwriting Recognition Service:

Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Regional and Language Options.
Click the Languages tab.
Click the Details button.
Under Handwriting Recognition select On-Screen Standard Keyboard.
Click Remove.
Under Handwriting Recognition select On-Screen Symbol Keyboard.
Click Remove.
Click OK twice to save and exit changes.
Restart Internet Explorer 7.

Freedom Scientific--When using Freedom Scientific JAWS® for Windows screen reader with Internet Explorer 7, you might encounter the following issues:

JAWS version 7.0 and earlier does not display the contents of individual frames when a page contains a frame set. To work around this problem, copy psapi.dll from the \WINDOWS\system32 directory to the directory where JAWS is installed. JAWS 7.1 does not have this problem.
Certain hotkeys for JAWS 7.0 and earlier might not work as expected in Internet Explorer 7. For example, CTRL+F will open the Internet Explorer Find dialog box and not the JAWS Find dialog box. These issues have been corrected in JAWS 7.1.
JAWS 7.0 and earlier might not correctly read selection controls (such as state, country or product selection drop-down lists) on webpages. JAWS 7.1 has corrected the majority of situations where this happens. For more details please contact Freedom Scientific.

Freedom Scientific has indicated that JAWS 8.0 will fully support Internet Explorer 7. Please contact Freedom Scientific for the most current information.

Internet Explorer 7 and Outlook Web Access (OWA)--When a user logs out of an Outlook Web Access server, any other sites open in other tabs in the same Internet Explorer window might be logged out if those sites use cookies to establish logon sessions.

Toolbars that are incompatible with Internet Explorer 7

We highly encourage you to install/update to the latest versions of the toolbars that you have installed. We have been actively encouraging application owners to provide updates to their toolbars to ensure compatibility and many have already released updates that work great with Internet Explorer 7.

If you are having problems with Internet Explorer 7 hanging, crashing, silently closing or other bizarre behavior, an incompatible toolbar or other add-on maybe involved. The fastest way to determine if an add-on is causing the problem is to run Internet Explorer 7 with no add-ons. You can do this by going to Start, clicking All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools and click Internet Explorer (No add-ons). This disables all add-ons from loading in that instance of Internet Explorer. If the problem goes away, you can manually disable specific add-ons to find the specific one causing the problem. Below are instructions on how to manually disable a specific toolbar and a list of known incompatible toolbars that can cause serious issues with Internet Explorer 7.

To disable a toolbar open Internet Explorer 7, follow these steps:

In Windows, click the Start button.
Click All Programs.
Click Accessories.
Click System Tools and then click Internet Explorer (No add-ons).

Once you determine the toolbar causing the issue, you should uninstall the toolbar through Add or Remove Programs in Windows Control Panel and then check the toolbar’s website for an updated version.

The following toolbars have known issues or have updates available.

Google Desktop--Earlier versions of Google Desktop could cause Internet Explorer 7 to stop responding when opening new tabs. You need to install the latest version of the Google desktop.

MSN 1.02 Toolbar--The MSN toolbar version 1.02 causes Internet Explorer 7 to stop responding. You can download the latest version of the MSN Toolbar here.

Microsoft Developer Toolbar and Internet Explorer 7--The latest version of the Microsoft Developer Toolbar runs correctly with Internet Explorer 7. You can download it from the Internet Explorer Download Page. Previous versions of the Developer Toolbar do not display correctly on systems running Internet Explorer 7 and sometimes cause Internet Explorer to hang.

VeriSign i-Nav™ Plug-in--Users of the VeriSign i-Nav IDN Resolver Plug-in might notice that they are unable to navigate to Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) in Internet Explorer 7. This is caused by Internet Explorer 7 enhanced support for IDNs. To navigate to IDNs in Internet Explorer 7, follow these steps:

Open Internet Explorer, and then click the Tools button.
Click Manage Add Ons, and then click Enable or Disable Add Ons.
Find and click the listing for i-Nav browser extensions.
Under Settings, click Disable.

RoboForm Toolbar version 6.3.96--Opening multiple tabs in Internet Explorer 7 with the RoboForm Toolbar might cause the browser to stop responding when it is used with Internet Explorer 7.

Cooxie Toolbar version 1.1.05--The Cooxie Toolbar might cause Internet Explorer 7 to stop responding.

Diodia Toolbar version 2.4.01--Internet Explorer 7 might stop responding when running this toolbar.

Ask Toolbar by AskJeeves version 4.0.1.1--Internet Explorer 7 might stop responding when running this toolbar.

Yellow Pages Toolbar version 4.0--This toolbar does not work correctly with Internet Explorer 7 installed.

Mojicon Dispenser--This toolbar can cause Internet Explorer 7 to stop responding.

Logos Word Toolbar--Internet Explorer 7 can stop responding if there are multiple tabs open with this toolbar installed.

Adelphia Toolbar version 1.2--Opening multiple tabs with this toolbar can cause Internet Explorer 7 to stop responding.

Website Connectivity Issues

SSL Changes--When navigating to an HTTPS site in Windows Vista, you might encounter a connection failure error page if the server does not correctly support the TLS standard. A description of the changes in SSL can be found in the Internet Explorer blog. To work around this problem, follow these steps:

Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Advanced tab, and scroll down to the Security section.
Find and clear the Use TLS v1.0 check box.
Click OK.

Proxy Connectivity--If you are on a network that uses a proxy server, and you notice slowness or a problem connecting to websites after upgrading to Internet Explorer 7, it might be due to web proxy auto-detection problems. To fix these problems, follow these steps:

Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Connections tab.
Under Local Area Networks (LAN) settings, click the LAN Settings button.
Clear the Automatically detect settings check box.
Click the Use a proxy server for your LAN check box.
Type the address and port of your proxy server.
Click OK twice.

You will now be able to navigate to Internet sites.

Internet Connection Settings--If you notice a problem connecting to websites, it might be because the upgrade to Internet Explorer 7 changed your Internet connection settings from what they were set at in Internet Explorer 6. To work around the problem, follow these steps:

Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.
Click the Connections tab.
Click the first entry in the Dialup and Virtual Private Networks list, and then click Settings.
Select the Automatically detect settings check box, and then click OK.
Repeat the previous two steps for each entry in the Dialup and Virtual Private Networks list.
Click the Lan Settings button in the Connections tab, and repeat steps 4-6. Click OK on the Connections tab.
Close Internet Explorer, and then restart it.

Functionality Removed and Changed

Functionality Removed and Changed in Internet Explorer 7

Offline Favorites--Offline Favorites and Scheduled Offline Favorites have been removed from Internet Explorer 7. Internet Explorer supports RSS feeds, which provide scheduled updates to web content and offline reading of this content. For more information about RSS feeds, read the RSS Blog.

Scriptlets--Internet Explorer 7 disables Dynamic HTML (DHTML) scriptlets by default. (Scriptlets were phased out in Internet Explorer 5). They can be re-enabled by system administrators by changing the advanced settings in the Internet Control Panel. To change the setting, open Internet Explorer, click Tools, and then click Internet Options. In Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, and then scroll down to find Allow Scriptlets. If you are a developer and your programs rely on scriptlets, we recommend that you use more efficient DHTML behaviors. Disabling scriptlets by default is done to deemphasize unsupported technology in Internet Explorer.

ActiveX controls--The new Internet Explorer 7 ActiveX Opt-In feature disables ActiveX controls on a user's machine. When the user visits a webpage that is trying to use a disabled ActiveX control, they see an Information bar to enable the control. Controls which were used in Internet Explorer 6 before upgrading to Internet Explorer 7, along with some pre-approved controls, are not disabled.

Channel Definition Format (CDF)--All CDF support was removed from Internet Explorer 7 and replaced with the RSS feed reading experience. Feeds that the user is subscribed to are available to other applications through the RSS Platform. For details, read the RSS Platform.

DirectAnimation--All DLLs to support the Internet Explorer DirectAnimation component were removed in Internet Explorer 7.

XBM-- XBM, an imaging format designed for X-based systems, is no longer supported.

SSL--Support for weak SSL ciphers was removed from Windows Vista and support for SSLv2 was disabled for Internet Explorer 7 on all platforms.

Windowed Select--The Windowed Select Element was replaced by Windowless Select in Internet Explorer 7. This results in some cosmetic changes.

BASE Element--Internet Explorer 7 strictly enforces the BASE element rule, as documented in the HTML 4.01 standard. We no longer allow BASE tags outside of the HEAD of the document. The standard specifies that the base element must appear within the head of the document, before any elements that refer to an external source.

window.opener and window.close--Internet Explorer 7 no longer allows the window.opener trick to bypass the window.close prompt. Browser windows cannot close themselves unless the windows were created in script. This security enhancement no longer allows browsing to a random site when the main browser window closes unexpectedly.

Changes that affect modal or modeless dialogs created from script--Modal or modeless dialogs created from script in Internet Explorer 7 might seem to be slightly bigger than their Internet Explorer 6 counterparts. This is caused by a change to the behavior of the dialogWidth and dialogHeight properties, which now set and retrieve dimensions of the content area of a dialog (from Internet Explorer 7 and later). It will no longer be necessary to calculate the area lost by elements of a dialog’s frame. Information on these changes will be posted on the Internet Explorer Blog.

Generic Spoofing Risk Reduction in Internet Explorer 7--The window.prompt script method is blocked and the gold Information bar is displayed by default in Internet Zone for Internet Explorer 7. The helps prevent websites from spoofing things such as the logon screens of other websites. This is a new security enhancement for Internet Explorer 7.

WWW-Auth--Internet Explorer 7 changes the precedence rules for WWW-Auth. Previous releases of Internet Explorer used the first header encountered. Internet Explorer 7 uses the first header except when the header is Basic. Internet Explorer 7 uses Basic authentication if no other authentication mechanism is present.

HTTPOnly Cookies--HTTPOnly cookies can no longer be overwritten from scripts.

_SEARCH--The _SEARCH sidebar is disabled by default in Internet Explorer 7. It is now a setting and can be turned by checking Enable websites to use the search pane in the Advanced tab of the Internet control panel.

View Source--The view-source protocol no longer works in Internet Explorer 7.

Gopher Protocol--Support for the Gopher protocol was removed at the WinINET level. (Gopher support was turned off by default in Internet Explorer 6.)

window.external.ImportExportFavorites--window.external.ImportExportFavorites has been removed in Internet Explorer 7.

Telnet--The Telnet protocol handler is no longer supported in Internet Explorer 7.

SysImage URL Scheme--The SysImage URL Scheme has been removed from Internet Explorer 7.

Status Bar Scripting--Scripts will no longer be able to set the status bar text through the window.status and window.defaultStatus methods by default in the Internet and Restricted Zones. This helps prevent attackers from leveraging those methods to spoof the status bar. To revert to previous behavior and allow scripts to set the status bar through window.status and window.defaultStatus, follow these steps:

Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
Click Internet or Restricted sites, and then click the Custom level button.
Scroll down to Allow status bar updates via script, select Enable.
Click OK until you return to Internet Explorer.

Security Settings for Script Access to the Clipboard--New security-related updates for Windows Internet Explorer 7 include a change in the default security settings for Script Access to the clipboard. Sites using scripts to access the clipboard in the Internet and Trusted sites zones will receive a prompt that will inform the user that their clipboard is being accessed by script. The prompt will require user permission to continue. Giving permission will allow the website to save information to the clipboard, and read any existing information from the clipboard. This security setting is designed to help prevent the possibility of information disclosure through script access to the clipboard.

Installing Internet Explorer 7 with The Microsoft Windows Server® 2003 operating systems with Service Pack SP1 (SP1)--The home page will be reset to the secure page (res://shdoclc.dll/hardadmin.htm).

Upgrading from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Server® 2003 operating systems with Service Pack SP1 (SP1)--Users upgrading from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Server® 2003 with the setting Enhance Security Configuration turned on might notice that the machine will not be set to the correct Enhanced Security Configuration (Internet Explorer Hardening) defaults for Internet Explorer 7. To change the settings back to the correct defaults, an administrator should turn OFF Enhanced Security Configuration and then turn it ON again. To do this,

Open the Control panel.
Select Add/ Remove Programs.
Locate the Enhanced Security Configuration option.
Turn it OFF.
And now turn it ON again.

Your server settings would be set to the correct Enhanced Security Configuration defaults for Internet Explorer 7.

Active Desktop--Active Desktop has been removed from Windows Vista. It is still available on 32-bit versions of Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP SP2 with reduced functionality. The following features have changed:

Synchronization of Active Desktop with online content is no longer supported.
The ability to restore Active Desktop if software or the operating system stops responding is no longer supported.
The Active Desktop item’s window does not show the title of the webpage (it shows the address of the webpage).
For a webpage restricted by Content Advisor, the Action Cancelled page is not displayed.

Solving problems of Internet Explorer

How do I ask for help when Internet Explorer crashes

First, you download and install Mozilla Firefox.

Then need to gather information about the Internet Explorer crash. Then, you have to find where to go for help

Obtaining information about Internet Explorer crashes

The Internet Explorer Error Reporting Tool

By clicking on the provided link in the error reporting tool window, you can access details of the error message AND you will be given the opportunity to send a report to Microsoft.

Some people prefer to disable the tool. Instructions for the various operating systems can be found at the link below:

Description and Availability of Internet Explorer Error Reporting Tool
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q276/5/50.ASP

When the Error Reporting Tool triggers, it is possible to view the data that the error report contains. This data is ESSENTIAL INFORMATION and must be provided when asking for assistance in the newsgroups.

Click on the click here link in the error window. The data we need (application name and module name) will appear. In the example below the important information is AppName iexplore.exe and ModName mshtml.dll

**NOTE** Sometimes there is no option to send a report to Microsoft. If this is the case for you, please check the URL below:

"Microsoft Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."

Where to get help

Microsoft hosts various newsgroups devoted to supporting users of their products. You will find more information about newsgroups, and how to use them, at this link.

Problems when installing Internet Explorer

Following is advice for all operating systems: (if you are running WindowsME, also have a look at the information HERE that is only for that operating system)

Disable *all* other programmes, including your virus scanner. For example, a Quick Time add-in called qttask.exe has been found to cause downloads and installs to fail.

Registry permission errors? Check out the advice here:
http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/09/04/739820.aspx

Err Msg: Setup Cannot Download Files to the Folder... [Q223818]
Setup cannot download files to the folder C:\Windows Update Setup Files, because the folder is read-only. Either change the permissions for this folder, or specify a different folder.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q223818

E5WZD caused an exception C001000H in module.....
http://support.microsoft.com?scid=kb;EN-US;Q228491

Cannot Connect to the Internet During Internet Explorer Setup
A connection to the server could not be established.
Error: The server returned an invalid or unrecognizable response
The program could not find the address for . The attempt to load the Web page http://www.microsoft.com failed
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;175989

Internet Explorer 5 Active Setup Appears to Hang During Download
When Internet Explorer Setup files are being downloaded during Internet Explorer 5 Active Setup, the progress counter may not move, you may not receive any error messages, and Setup may appear to stop responding (hang). While Setup appears to stop responding, your modem may indicate that information is being downloaded. Also (depending upon where the initial download stopped) the estimated time to completion may start at a very low estimated time and increase rather than decrease
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q222/1/25.asp

Cannot Download Site List for Internet Explorer
When you are downloading the site list in the Active Setup Wizard for Internet Explorer, an error message stating that Internet Explorer is not set up may be displayed. When this occurs, Setup stops
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q166/6/99.asp

Error Message: The Download Location Information Is Damaged
The download location information is damaged. Please clear your Internet Explorer browser cache and retry setup
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q229/3/06.asp

Err Msg: Setup Was Unable to Download All of the Required Components
Setup was unable to download all the required components for this installation. The internet is likely busy. Please try setup again later and select Smart Recovery to continue downloading.

Setup was unable to download information about available installation sites. Setup may have been unable to migrate your current proxy settings. Click the Advanced button if you know your proxy settings. This network may be busy, you can retry now or if you continue having this problem, please try setup at a later time
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q180/1/33.asp

Error Message: Setup Was Unable to Download the Required Components. Please Make Sure You Are...
Setup was unable to download the required components. Please make sure you are connected to the Internet, or try to run Setup again later
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q281320

Unable to Download Components Adding Optional Components
When you try to add Internet Explorer components by clicking Product Updates on the Help menu or by using the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel, you cannot add components from the Internet Explorer CD-ROM and you are prompted to connect to the Web. If you choose not to connect, you receive the following error message - Unable to download components
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q190/8/30.asp

Setup Was Unable to Install All the Components
Setup was unable to install all the components. Please close all applications and try running Setup again
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q202/2/46.asp

Setup Was Unable to Install All the Components
Setup was unable to install all the components - Ie4wzd caused an invalid page fault in module unknown at 0000:00000015 - Setup was unable to download all the required components for this installation. The internet is likely busy. Please try setup again later and select Smart Recovery to continue downloading - Setup could not verify the information needed for installation. Please make sure your system clock reflects the current time, and then run setup again - Setup was unable to download information about available installation sites.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q189/6/79.asp

Err Msg: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 Setup Was Not Completed Successfully
When you attempt to uninstall Internet Explorer 5 or later, you may receive the error message
Microsoft Internet Explorer *version* Setup was not completed successfully.
where *version* is the version of Internet Explorer.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q221475

The following may assist when an install does not complete successfully (click here)

A Previous Program Installation Was Never Completed
When you attempt to install Internet Explorer, you may receive the following error message:
A previous program installation was never completed. You need to restart your computer to complete that installation before running Internet Explorer Setup. Setup will now close.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q221/8/63.asp

A Previous Installation Has Pending Work Requiring a Reboot
When you upgrade to Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 on a Microsoft Windows 2000-based computer, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following one:

A previous installation has pending work requiring a reboot. You need to restart your computer to complete that installation before running Internet Explorer Setup.
You may receive this message when you run Internet Explorer Setup even after you restart your computer.
http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q312444

Q223028 Err Msg: Unable to Find Function "DLLRegisterServer" in File C:\Winnt\System32\Comcat.dll after installing IE
When you start your computer the first time after you install Internet Explorer, you may receive any of the following error messages:
Unable to find function "DLLRegisterServer" in file
C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\COMCAT.DLL.
Error occurred calling "DLLRegisterServer" in
C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\ASCTRLS.OCX (HRESULT=80004005).
Error occurred calling "DLLRegisterServer" in
C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DAXCTLE.OCX (HRESULT=80004005).
Also no version information may be displayed when you click About Internet Explorer on the Help menu.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q223028

It has been noted in the newsgroups that the file Active Setuplog.txt can sometimes cause problems with the above error. Try renaming it.

Also please note the following information about downloading IE

Changing Installation Folder Does Not Change the Download Folder
When you change the installation folder for Internet Explorer, the folder to which the installation files are downloaded does not change.
For example, if Windows is installed on drive C and you choose drive D for the Internet Explorer installation folder, the download folder (typically named Windows Update Setup Files) is created on drive C instead of drive D.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q218/7/87.asp

IE4WZD, IE5WZD, IE6WZD errors
IE5WZD caused an exception C0010000H in module kernel32.dll
IE5WZD caused an exception C0010000H in module MSJAVA.DLL
Ie5wzd caused an invalid page fault in module Msjava.dll at address
IE5WZD caused an Invalid Page Fault in module KERNEL32.DLL
IE4WZD caused an Invalid Page Fault in module KERNEL32.DLL
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q224/5/40.asp

Download or Active Setup of Internet Explorer 4.0 May Not Work
While you are installing or downloading Internet Explorer 4.0, the download may stop responding (hang) and the Active Setup may stop working properly. You may eventually receive an error message even though the download appears to be hung
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q166/6/93.asp

Unable to Download or Reinstall Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1
Active Setup Installation
Setup has detected that the newest versions of Internet Explorer components are already installed.
Click OK to exit Setup without making any changes.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q214/4/14.asp

Cannot View Internet Explorer 4.0 Component Download Page
When you try to view the Internet Explorer 4.0 Component Download page, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Error occurred Please reinitialize browser.
Please wait.. Internet 4.0 setup is initializing.
Note that Internet Explorer may stop responding (hang) after this message is displayed.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q178/9/50.asp

Advice especially for WindowsME users:

If you are running Windows ME and have Norton System Doctor installed, search your system for files called OEM****.INF (where * is variable) and the files are zero byte in size. If you find them delete them, turn off System Doctor and try the install again.

Microsoft have issued a patch that will resolve this issue - see the link below:

CreateFile Improperly Returns ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS if the Drive Is Locked and the File Did Not Exist
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;301540

Also...

Error: Windows could not update the file %1 from %2
After you install a new program or update an existing program and then restart your computer, your computer may stop responding (hang), and you may receive the following error message:

Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2 %1: %2
Your computer may or may not continue to start after this error message.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q283069

Also, see this link:

Norton System Works 2000 Is Not Compatible with Windows Millennium Edition (Q290664)
When you start a Windows Millennium Edition (Me) based computer after you run the Norton System Works 2000 Live Update feature, you may receive the following error message

Windows could not upgrade the file from %1 to %2
and your computer may stop responding.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q290664

Trouble installing Vector Graphics Rendering

1. Manually install vector graphics rendering.

Create a folder on the C: drive and call it VGX. Do this by double-clicking on My Computer, then double-clicking on the C: drive. Right-click on an open spot in that window and select New>Folder. While the "New Folder" title is highlighted, type in VGX and press [enter]

Extract the following 3 files into the C:\VGX folder: vgx.cat, vgx.inf, vgx.dll. Do this by searching for the VGX.CAB file on your hard drive. Double-click on it. Extract the 3 vgx files listed above to C:\VGX.

Register the files from step B. by clicking on Start>Run, and pasting in the following line and clicking Okay:

rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 C:\VGX\vgx.inf

Check to see if this fix worked by restarting your computer, then going nto My Computer-->Control Panel-->Add/Remove Programs. Double-click on MS Internet Explorer 6. See if we can still add in the component vector graphics rendering. If it is no longer an option, it has been installed successfully. If that did not work, try the next fix:

2. Move the C:\windows\hosts directory so that Windows cannot find it.

Double-click on My Computer. Double-click on the C: drive.Double-click on Windows.

Inside the Windows directory, right-click on the hosts folder and hold the button down. Drag the folder to the desktop and let go of the button. Click on "move here." Try adding in the components again. It should now finish everything. Remember to move the hosts folder back into the C:\windows directory when you are finished.

Blank desktop after installing Internet Explorer

Blank Desktop or Computer Hangs When Internet Explorer Installed [Q184197]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q184197

Blank Desktop or Illegal Operations Error Message [Q249191]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q249191

No Desktop or Blank Desktop After Logging On to Windows 2000 [Q256194]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q256194

Always make sure all antivirus and other programmes are turned off before updating Internet Explorer (and any other programme).

Internet Explorer troubleshooting problems

If you are tired of Internet Explorer crashing or bringing viruses, just use Firefox

Download Mozilla Firefox from the button on the sidebar. Look on the right

Problem: Crashes or hangs

If IE crashes, the most likely problem is that there's a buggy add-on (Toolbar or Browser Helper Object). In order to verify and isolate the buggy add-on, follow these steps:

Start IE in No Add-ons mode, either by right-clicking the Desktop icon, or clicking START | RUN and typing: iexplore.exe -extoff
Determine if IE fails.
If not, use Tools | Manage Add-ons to disable all browser extensions and toolbars.
Restart IE and reenable browser extensions one-by-one.
Once you've found a broken extension, contact the manufacturer and ask for an update.

(Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=928426)

If IE still crashes on startup, and you've got Google Desktop installed, please ensure that you update to the latest version of Google Desktop.

Problem: The "Mail" button is missing

You can customize the toolbar to add or remove icons, including the mail icon

Right-click the Star icon in the IE window
Choose Customize Command Bar
Choose Add or Remove commands
Click on the Read Mail item in the Available toolbar buttons list
Click the Add button to move the button to the Current toolbar buttons list
Click the Close button

If the button still isn't visible, it may be pushed off the side of the screen. To fix this:

Right-click the Star icon in the IE window
Uncheck Lock the Toolbars
Drag the dotted splitter in the command bar to the left until all of the buttons are visible

Problem: Website blocks IE7 (e.g. it "requires" IE6)

Run into a website that requires IE6? Spoof the site by tweaking your user-agent.

Problem: ClearType Text appears fuzzy

IE7 turns on a text-smoothing technology called "ClearType" by default. ClearType is scientifically proven to make text easier to read, particularly on LCD flat panel monitors.

If ClearType looks fuzzy on your monitor, you might want to try the ClearType tuning wizard, which can help you adjust the display of ClearType.

If you still don't like the appearance of ClearType, you can turn it off by unchecking the checkbox: Tools | Internet Options | Advanced | Multimedia | Always use ClearType for HTML.

Problem: Slow Startup

1. Follow the "Crashing on startup" steps above to see if starting in No Add-ons mode starts much faster

2. If you're not using a proxy, uncheck IE's "Automatically detect settings" option on the Tools | Internet Options | Connections | LAN Settings dialog.

Problem: Slow Page rendering

1. Increase the connection limit. This tweak allows IE to make up to 16 connections per server.

2. Ensure that both "HTTP1.1" checkboxes in Tools | Internet Options | Advanced are checked.

Problem: IE7 Setup fails to install Internet Explorer

See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917925

Problem: My address bar won't turn green?

IE7 includes a cool new feature that turns the address bar green when a secure site presents an Extended Validation certificate:

EV Certificate UI

If you're having trouble with this feature, on a site you know has an EV certificate:

Ensure that you either have the Phishing Filter set to "Automatic" mode or Tools > Internet Options > Advanced > Security > Check for Server Certificate revocation checked.
If that doesn't work, install this: Windows Root Certificate Update and restart.

Problem: After installing, IE7 starts then vanishes

It's possible that one of IE's DLLs isn't installed correctly

Click START | RUN and type cmd
In the command prompt, type cd\
In the command prompt, type cd Program Files
In the command prompt, type cd Internet Explorer
In the command prompt, type regsvr32 IEPROXY.DLL

(Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/?id=928427)

Problem: Error message about PSAPI.DLL

If you install IE7 and the following error message begins to show:

The procedure entry point GetProcessImageFileNameW could not be located in the dynamic link library PSAPI.DLL

Search your hard disk for PSAPI.dll.
Any copies of this DLL that are found outside of the Windows or Windows\System32 folder should be renamed to PSAPI.bak.

Problem: IE always goes to http://runonce.msn.com/runonce2.aspx instead of your homepage

If IE7 always goes to the RunOnce page on startup, even after you've tried to save the first run settings, it's possible that the mechanism that IE is using to save the settings does not work for some reason.

You can prevent IE from going to the RunOnce page and cause it to go directly to your homepage by running this script.

Problem: I installed a "branded" version of IE7, but I'd prefer a "plain" copy without toolbars and customizations.

An article on this topic can be found here: How to remove branding in Internet Explorer 7.

Problem: A remote user is having problems with Internet Explorer. How can I collect information about his system to help me to troubleshoot?

Have the user run Netcheck and send you the log file.

Even more problems with Internet Explorer

Download FireFox from the sidebar !!!!!!

Miscellaneous issues

Internet Explorer freezes, shuts down without warning, or the computer reboots.

This problem is often caused by out-of-date video drivers. Go to the Web site run by the manufacturer of your video card and download, then install, the latest (non-beta) drivers for your video card.

Alternatively, you can try the following:

1.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.	Click Display (in classic view of Windows XP), click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3.	Click the Performance or Troubleshooting tab (depending on your operating system), and then reduce hardware acceleration a notch at a time until your system stabilizes.

Internet Explorer opens off screen, or tiny, or minimized, or the window will not move

If your taskbar is set to Autohide, turn the setting off and then maximize the problem window. While the window is maximized, increase the height of your taskbar from one row to two. The maximized window will automatically resize itself to fit into the smaller area available with a taller taskbar. Then, return the taskbar to its normal single row and allow the maximized window to resize once more. This will make Windows re-calculate window size and boundaries, overwriting registry keys that may be damaged.

If the affected window is partially off screen, so that the Minimize, Maximize, Restore, and Close buttons are hidden, you can access the same options by clicking on the Internet Explorer icon on the far left edge of the Internet Explorer title bar, or by right-clicking on the Internet Explorer button on the taskbar.

Internet Explorer's window sizing options can be accessed in several ways

If resizing your Taskbar does not work, run Regedit and remove the following registry key values which are most likely corrupt. Do not delete the entire key, just the last word which will appear in the right hand pane.

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\window_placement

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\OldWorkAreas\OldWorkAreaRects

Then reboot.

The computer keeps disconnecting from the Internet

This one can raise suspicions of malware. But, before you reformat your computer, do the following.

1.	In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2.	Under Dial-up or Virtual Private Network settings, click the Settings button.
3.	Under Dial-up settings, click the Advanced button and make sure that Disconnect when connection may no longer be required check box is cleared, and that the Disconnect if idle check box is cleared as well.

1.	In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Connection tab.
2.	Turn off the option to Hang up after sending and receiving, and then close the Options window
3.	On the Tools menu, click Accounts, and then click the Mail tab.
4.	Make sure that each connection is set to use Any Available. If not, highlight the account then click on Properties.
5.	Click the Connection tab and ensure that the option "Always connect to this account using" is turned off.

"A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to debug?"

This is another symptom that tends to raise suspicions of malware.

1.	In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Advanced tab.
2.	Make sure that Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer) and Disable Script Debugging (Other) are both enabled.
3.	Make sure that Disable a Notification about ever script error is disabled.

Even more problems with Internet Explorer

Download FireFox from the sidebar !!!!!!

Miscellaneous issues

Internet Explorer freezes, shuts down without warning, or the computer reboots.

This problem is often caused by out-of-date video drivers. Go to the Web site run by the manufacturer of your video card and download, then install, the latest (non-beta) drivers for your video card.

Alternatively, you can try the following:

1.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.	Click Display (in classic view of Windows XP), click the Settings tab, and then click Advanced.
3.	Click the Performance or Troubleshooting tab (depending on your operating system), and then reduce hardware acceleration a notch at a time until your system stabilizes.

Internet Explorer opens off screen, or tiny, or minimized, or the window will not move

Internet Explorer's window sizing options can be accessed in several ways

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\window_placement

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\OldWorkAreas\OldWorkAreaRects

Then reboot.

The computer keeps disconnecting from the Internet

This one can raise suspicions of malware. But, before you reformat your computer, do the following.

1.	In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2.	Under Dial-up or Virtual Private Network settings, click the Settings button.
3.	Under Dial-up settings, click the Advanced button and make sure that Disconnect when connection may no longer be required check box is cleared, and that the Disconnect if idle check box is cleared as well.

1.	In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Connection tab.
2.	Turn off the option to Hang up after sending and receiving, and then close the Options window
3.	On the Tools menu, click Accounts, and then click the Mail tab.
4.	Make sure that each connection is set to use Any Available. If not, highlight the account then click on Properties.
5.	Click the Connection tab and ensure that the option "Always connect to this account using" is turned off.

"A runtime error has occurred. Do you wish to debug?"

This is another symptom that tends to raise suspicions of malware.

1.	In Internet Explorer, on the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Advanced tab.
2.	Make sure that Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer) and Disable Script Debugging (Other) are both enabled.
3.	Make sure that Disable a Notification about ever script error is disabled.

Issues related to default browser settings

IE (Internet Explorer) is full of bugs. Use Firefox instead - download it from the sidebar on the right.

Problems continued -

Error messages when attempting to send a page or link by e-mail

First, reset your default e-mail client from within Internet Explorer. To do this go to Tools, then Internet Options, then Programs, then select your e-mail program of choice.

The easiest way to set your default e-mail client is from within Internet Explorer

Sometimes your e-mail program will not appear in the drop down list shown above. When this happens, we need to re-register the program in question.

To re-register your e-mail program:

1.	Click Start, then click Run, and then type the appropriate command based on the following e-mail programs: Outlook Express: "C:\Program Files\Outlook Express\Msimn.Exe" /reg Outlook: "c:\program files\microsoft office\office\outlook.exe" /checkclient

Make sure the path to msimn.exe or outlook.exe is correct for your machine. Type the command line exactly as it appears, including quote marks and spaces.

If using a non-Microsoft e-mail program:

A program must be Internet Explorer aware to automatically list itself as a default program option. If the program does not appear, there are a couple of things you can do. First, you can right-click the executable file for the program, and see if Register appears as an option, (which should cause the program to be listed on the drop box on the Program Tab)

Otherwise, there's a manual method, but it involves editing the registry and adding the program under:

HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\Software\Clients\mail
-or-
HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\Software\Clients\news

You will need to contact your program's vendor for the appropriate syntax.

Hyperlinks not working

Hyperlinks will not work if a computer system does not know which Web browser is set as the default, which happens if the settings that control this choice are damaged or incorrect. The easiest way to fix the problem is to allow your preferred Web browser to rewrite the appropriate settings by resetting your default browser. Rather than walk through the steps required to achieve this in this column, I refer you to my previous column about how to set up your browser as the default.

"Open in new Window" doesn't work

Sometimes resetting our default browser is not enough to get hyperlinks to work again, especially if they trigger a new window. Open in new window is dependent upon several system files, therefore you should ensure they are correctly registered.

Click on Start, then Run, then run the following commands. After you run each command, a small window should appear stating that the command was successful.

regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll (if that doesn't work, try shdoc401.dll)
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
regsvr32 Urlmon.dll

Some programs that control pop-up windows and advertisements can stop hyperlinks from working. Also, some third-party add-ins are known to cause a problem and must be uninstalled when misbehaving in this way. Disable all third-party Internet related programs (not your firewall) and test.

Internet Explorer problems - may not always be a virus

Normal problems not malware: How to fix the top 10 Internet Explorer issues

If you have trouble with Internet Explorer, just download and use Firefox. See the DOWNLOAD link on the sidebar on the right side of this blog.

Issues viewing Web pages

"Page cannot be displayed" errors

Red x instead of pictures

View, Source doesn't work

To address the issues above, you may need to try one, some, or all of the following three procedures.

Empty the cache

The first thing to do when Internet Explorer is misbehaving is empty your Internet Explorer cache. Often the cache is not corrupt or damaged – it is simply too large.

1.	Click Tools, then Internet Options, and then click the Delete Files button.
2.	A Delete Files window will appear. Select the option to Delete all offline content, and then click OK.
3.	Click Settings and reduce the size of your cache to, say, 50 to 100 MB (more if you routinely download very large files).

This will invariably fix the dreaded red x, View, Source, and sometimes "Page cannot be displayed" errors.

Troubleshooting fix number 1—empty your IE cache.

Emptying the cache will not be sufficient to fix things if a hidden file in the cache folders, called index.dat, is corrupt. Our best alternative in such a situation is to delete the cache folders in their entirety, but this cannot be done from within Windows under normal circumstances.

Index.dat is a system file, and any attempt to delete it while Windows is running or while the user is logged on will be blocked. Therefore, we need to reboot into DOS mode or, when running later versions of Windows that support user accounts, we need to log in to Windows using a different Administrator account to that which is affected.

Note: The following procedure is for advanced users.

If you are running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

1.	Click on Start, then Shut Down, and select the Restart the Computer in MS-DOS mode option. (If you are running Windows Me use a Windows 98 startup disc to access DOS mode.)

The steps required to create a startup disk are the same for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me.

1.	Click on Start, point to Settings, and then click on Control Panel.
2.	Open Add/Remove Programs, click on the Startup Disk tab, and then click Create Disk and follow the prompts. Make sure you have an empty floppy disk ready.

If you have difficulties when using Add/Remove Programs to create a startup disk (for example, if the Wizard prompts for your operating system installation disk and you cannot find it, or you only have a manufacturer provided restore disk or partition) go to www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm. Download a Windows98 boot disk executable file from that site, put an empty floppy disk in the correct disk drive, and then double click on the downloaded file to make the disk. I recommend Windows 98 SE Custom, which includes smartdrv.

Turn your PC off, and place the startup disk in the computer’s floppy drive. Turn on your PC, which should read the startup disk and load the DOS operating system instead of Windows.

Once the system has finished booting into DOS mode, run the following commands from the Windows directory, typically displayed in DOS as c:\windows\>.

smartdrv
 deltree tempor~1

Just to be sure, let's also run:

deltree history


 deltree cookies

I should explain what tempor~1 means. The version of DOS that is included on the Windows 98 startup disk does not support long file or folder names like "temporary internet files." We are restricted to 8 letters only. Therefore, any file or folder which has more than eight letters to its name must shortened, and appended with ~1 when use the Windows 98 version of DOS.

Tip: The smartdrv command is used to speed up disk operations in MS-DOS mode. Believe me, you don't want to run the deltree commands without loading smartdrv first. I have forgotten a few times, and can tell you that computers can hobble along for hours instead of minutes during the deltree process if smartdrv is not loaded first.

Reboot using CTRL+ ALT+ DELETE. If you are running Windows Me, remember to remove the startup disk from the floppy drive first.

If you are running Windows 2000 or Windows XP

We do things differently when working with operating systems that support User Accounts, such as Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Firstly, Windows 98 boot disks do not work if a hard drive is formatted as NTFS instead of FAT . Secondly, Windows 2000 and Windows XP use a more complicated directory structure than Windows 95 and Windows 98, making DOS more difficult to use successfully.

The path to the Internet Explorer cache directory will typically be something similar to:

C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\...

Thankfully, Windows 2000 and Windows XP users can log in using an Administrator account to delete the folders in question directly from within Windows Explorer. Note that an Administrator cannot delete his own Internet Explorer cache folders. He must log on using a different Administrator account.

Edit the HOST file

Note: The following procedure is for advanced users.

The HOSTS file is a hidden file used by some Internet related programs to control Web browsing by directly linking particular Web sites to pre-set IP addresses. The only problem is, if a Web page's IP address changes, the HOSTS file will not update itself to suit, causing "Page cannot be displayed" errors.

The HOSTS file can be viewed and edited using Notepad, but first we must temporarily show hidden files.

For Windows XP

1.	Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2.	Click Appearance and Themes, and then click Folder Options.

For older systems

1.	Double-click My Computer, click View, and then click Folder Options.
2.	On the View tab, under Hidden files and folders, click Show hidden files and folders, and then clear the Hide protected operating system files check box.

Important: Files are hidden by Windows for a very good reason. It is not wise to experiment with these files. Unfortunately, to successfully complete the following steps we must turn this protection off temporarily. Please turn the protection back on when you have finished.

Find and edit your HOSTS file

The correct directory for a HOSTS file depends on what version of Windows you are running:

Windows XP = C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc
Windows 2K = C:\Winnt\System32\Drivers\Etc
Win 98\ME = C:\Windows

Once you have found your HOSTS file, right-click on the HOSTS file, and then select Open. You will be asked to choose a program to use. Select Notepad, but make sure you that you do NOT turn on any option to always use the same program.

Examine the content of your HOSTS file, and compare it to the screenshot below. We do not need to worry about any line that begins with an # because is ignored by Windows. Also, the line "127.0.0.1 localhost" can be safely ignored, because it is a standard entry.

A HOSTS file can be used to control Web page to IP address associations

Anything else that appears in your HOSTS file without an # at the beginning, apart from the "127.0.0.1 localhost" line, should be viewed with suspicion when we are trying to diagnose the cause of "Page cannot be displayed" errors. The quickest way to test for HOSTS file involvement is to right click the HOSTS file, then select Rename. Add the letter X to the beginning or end of the file name and then ok your changes. By changing the name of the HOSTS file, we stop Internet Explorer from using it, and therefore resolve any issues caused by the file.

Repair Layered Service Provider problems

Sometimes Internet Explorer is unable to access the Internet if software known as Layered Service Provider (LSP) has been removed incorrectly from a computer. You might not know you have this software; it is sometimes installed by unrelated software such as file-sharing programs, without your knowledge. In such cases, you will need to run LSPfix or Winsockxpfix. As its name suggests, Winsockxpfix should only be used on machines running Windows XP. LSPfix can be used on all other consumer versions of Windows, but make sure that Winsock 2 has been installed on Windows 95 machines.

Tip: If you are using Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) there is a command that can be used instead of Winsockxpfix. It works by resetting the winsock catalogue. Click Start, then Run and type CMD in the dialogue box that appears, and then click OK. Type netsh winsock reset into the DOS window that appears.

Other issues when viewing Web pages

Creating a new cache and checking for HOSTS file involvement are, in my experience, the most likely way to successfully resolve page view issues in Internet Explorer. But it is not exhaustive. If you are still having issues, it would be worth reviewing the advice on my Web site. Some of the information is repetitious, but worth wading through—it addresses connection settings, third-party applications that may cause problems, issues related to Internet connection sharing, and a few other bits and pieces.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Fundas on removing “Orkut is banned” svchost.exe heap41a virus

WORM

Did you get this error message when you try to open orkut ???

It is a virus that spreads through pen drives (or flash or thumb drives) or USB digital cameras or iPods or MP3 players or mobile phones and any mass storage device !!!

How to remove this virus ???

Very Simple !

How to remove “Use Internet Explorer you dope, I dnt hate Mozilla but use IE`r OR ELSE…” svchost.exe heap41a virus

How to remove the Orkut and Firefox and Youtube banning virus ?

Simple.

First press Control-Alt-Delete (Ctrl-Alt-Del is called the three finger exercise in Windows)

There Click Processes , then click User Name to arrange according to users.

Now, look for svchost.exe run by User name “user” or “admin” or “your computer name” There will be two of them. Right click and end both the svchost.exe processes where the User Name is NOT “SYSTEM” or “NETWORK SERVICE” or “LOCAL SERVICE” Only where the user name is “USER” or “ADMIN” or “ADMINISTRATOR” or “your name”
Next Click Start > Run > Type cmd in the box and press enter (Just get the Command Prompt of DOS - C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe)
There in the black Command Line, type “ cd \ ” and press Enter
It has to change to C:\>
Next, type attrib -s -r -h heap41a /s /d and press Enter
Then Open C: on My computer and delete the folder heap41a ie C:\heap41a
Then remove C:\heap41a\svchost.exe shortcut from C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (Or Start > All Programs >Startup)
That’s all
Then clean the pen drive

More intstructions are available here :

http://www.fundazone.com/2007/06/how-to-remove-use-internet-explorer-you-dope-i-dnt-hate-mozilla-but-use-ier-or-else-svchostexe-heap41a-virus/

.cbr file or .cbz Comic Books - free eBooks

Comic Book Archive file or ComicBook Reader File files. Occasionally is a ZIP, RAR, or more rarely TAR file of images with the file extension renamed to .cbz ,.cbr and .cbt respectively for the purpose of viewing the images in sequence with an image viewer and simplifying file maintenance. The idea was made popular by the CDisplay image viewer. CBZ/R/T files typically contain PNG or JPEGGIF, BMP, and TIFF are seen, but the PNG format is a better replacement for each of them for various reasons. Their contents can be extracted by any utility that can read ZIP, RAR and TAR files. CBZ/R files can easily be created by storing (not compressing) any group of images with file archivers on .zip or .rar file formats, and later changing the extension to .cbr for .rar files and to .cbz for .zip files. CBT files derive from tar, tar.bz2 and tar.gz and are rarely used. The first comic produced specifically for this format was Saturn Knight, released in August 2006 by Jim Shelley and Pierre Villeneuve.

http://www.fundazone.com/2007/09/comic-books-cbz-and-cbr-files-cdisplay/

Friday, September 07, 2007

Did any of you get a virus that said :
http://www.fundazone.com/2007/06/how-to-remove-use-internet-explorer-you-dope-i-dnt-hate-mozilla-but-use-ier-or-else-svchostexe-heap41a-virus/

"ORKUT IS BANNED,Orkut is banned you fool`,The administrators didnt write this program guess who did??`r`r MUHAHAHA!!"

"USE INTERNET EXPLORER YOU DOPE,I DNT HATE MOZILLA BUT USE IE `r OR ELSE…”

It is a virus that blocks orkut, youtube and firefox. Don't worry

Here is the cure to remove that virus

http://www.fundazone.com/2007/06/how-to-remove-use-internet-explorer-you-dope-i-dnt-hate-mozilla-but-use-ier-or-else-svchostexe-heap41a-virus/

“USE INTERNET EXPLORER YOU DOPE,I DNT HATE MOZILLA BUT USE IE `r OR ELSE…”

Another virus which wants to waste my time. I didn’t think hackers would write a virus to attack firefox. Anyway, I used Internet Explorer (IE means Internet Explorer) and typed in www.orkut.com

Yet another message “ORKUT IS BANNED,Orkut is banned you fool`,The administrators didnt write this program guess who did??`r`r MUHAHAHA!!”

What about www.youtube.com ? That is banned too !!!

It’s just a worm, a virus or a trojan or whatever malicious hacker or craker program or script it is. Wrtitten is VBScript programming labguage by a crazy rascal who deserves to rot in his/her grave for disabling Firefox of all softwares !

How to remove the Orkut and Firefox and Youtube banning virus ?

Simple.

First press Control-Alt-Delete (Ctrl-Alt-Del is called the three finger exercise in Windows)

There Click Processes , then click User Name to arrange according to users.

Now, look for svchost.exe run by User name “user” or “admin” or “your computer name” There will be two of them. Right click and end both the svchost.exe processes where the User Name is NOT “SYSTEM” or “NETWORK SERVICE” or “LOCAL SERVICE” Only where the user name is “USER” or “ADMIN” or “ADMINISTRATOR” or “your name”
Next Click Start > Run > Type cmd in the box and press enter (Just get the Command Prompt of DOS - C:\windows\system32\cmd.exe)
There in the black Command Line, type “ cd \ ” and press Enter
It has to change to C:\>
Next, type attrib -s -r -h heap41a /s /d and press Enter
Then Open C: on My computer and delete the folder heap41a ie C:\heap41a
Then remove C:\heap41a\svchost.exe shortcut from C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Start Menu\Programs\Startup (Or Start > All Programs >Startup)
That’s all
Then clean the pen drive