Can't go to a website from the address bar ?

[Y2KGTP]

I cant type

http://www.msn.com

or any address from the address bar and hit enter, or click "Go". it just does nothing. This is IE6, SP1 on XP Pro....

I have to type the address in google, and go from there to get anywhere.....ideas?

 

[FoxEgg]

Sounds like the easiest fix is to de-install IE and re-install from the cd. And see what happens

FoxEgg

 

[smah]

You must have google as your homepage, otherwise how would you get there?

Just for my own curiosity, do links directly on your desktop work? If you type an address in Windows Explorer's address bar does it work? If the answer to either of these questions is 'yes' then my first suspicion is some spyware or malware.
FAQ608-4650 Before Posting a Hijack log file - Best Practices
FAQ608-3482 How to beat your advertising popups & other browser nasties
FAQ760-4866 Beginners General Cleanup
FAQ779-5240 What are Good Virus/Spyware?Update/Firewall Practices?

You could also try the IEFix utility:

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/IEFIX.htm

 

[FoxEgg]

Smah is right... I was forgetting hijacking and spy ware... Much more likely candidates. It was too early in the morning for me.

JF

 

[Y2KGTP]

Hmm.....I'll scan again....been using seek & destroy, and it does not find anything....

 

[Y2KGTP]

Well, found a few minor things, but no real bugs.....I was able to get it to go to MSN.com from the address bar somehow......and I can go back and forth from the homepage, to MSN.com fine from the address bar, just can't go anywhere else by typing in the address....really strange.....it's like IE does not acknowledge that there is a new address in the address bar, so it does not go there.

 

[linney]

See if this helps?

Set the Address Bar to IE/XP Default (Line 245)

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

 

[Y2KGTP]

Tried "Set the Address Bar to IE/XP Default (Line 245)" Same thing.....but thanks for the page.....looks like alot of useful info....

 

[Frank4d]

You network DNS settings may not be correct (or your ISP's DNS server isn't working). Try typing the IP for

http://www.msn.com

in the address bar: 207.68.171.245

 

[Frank4d]

BAH! Nevermind (you wouldn't be able to get to Google if that were the case).

 

[Y2KGTP]

DNS is ok....IE just does not recognise that something is "new" in the address bar.....if an item is already in the address bar, as in the dropdown, it will go to the address fine......

Thinking of doing a repair install of XP shortly.....

 

[Y2KGTP]

Repair install back to XP SP1 did NOTHING to help the problem......

 

[MarkoRamius]

If, when you go to a page and nothing happens, does pressing the Refresh button do anything? Could it have something to do with the Temporary Internet Files settings perhaps? Mine is set to 'Automatically'.

 

[Y2KGTP]

Refresh goes back to the main page.....I have the settings set to "every visit to the page" FYI....

somehow it got to ebay.com ok.....but not sure exactly how....

I'm thinking Mozilla will be the new default browser very soon...as it works just fine

 

[FlyingDevilFish]

Does the google homepage have the http:// prefix? Try typing

http://www.msn.com

in the address bar. I use avant browser an add-on to IE and there are optios on which default protocol to use. If nothing is checked it doesnt add any prefix and just hangs.

 

[linney]

Have you tried a Registry Cleaner on the problem?

Make sure your options in IE/ Tools/ Internet Options/ Advanced are correct.

Uncheck the boxes for "Install on Demand" for IE and Other programs (two boxes).

Try running temporarily with the third box "Enable Third Party Browser Extensions" unchecked and see how this goes.

"This specifies that you want to disable features you installed for use with Internet Explorer that may have been created by companies other than Microsoft.
If you encounter problems with Internet Explorer that you cannot resolve, you can use this option to help determine if third-party features are causing the problems without uninstalling the feature. You must restart Internet Explorer after turning this option on or off.