Internet Explorer cannot download / from ftp....

[zootweller]

Can anyone offer an explanation on the following?

When connecting to an ftp over http site e.g. ftp://ftp.sitename.com, some (not all) sites refuse to open, when they should be prompting for ID/password details. It gives the error:
"Internet Explorer cannot download / from ftp.sitename.com The requested site is either unavailable or cannot be found."
Also adding the ID/password into the string also produces this error.
FireFox works fine, as does FileZilla. It is just IE (5.5 & 6.0) that produces this issue.
I have tried connecting over broadband, dialup, behind several proxies etc. removed/added the 'use passive FTP' and 'FTP browsing' options, deleted the IE cache/history etc etc.

Any advice would be most welcome.
Many thanks.

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

A quick search on Google for your error turns up this:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=816037

Hope this helps,
Dan



Coedit Limited - Delivering standards compliant, accessible web solutions

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[smah]

I suspect that you're seeing behavior related to this

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q135975

You can end up with slightly different behaviors depending on the ftp server configuration (wether anonymous login is allowed, etc.)

 

[zootweller]

MS article 816037 applies to a hotfix for IE6.0 where items cannot be downloaded. As stated, both IE 5.5 & 6 refuse to prompt for the username & password so logging in cannot occur. The error message stating that it cannot download a file called '/' is misleading though - it should be asking for the login credentials instead of attempting to download anything. There is no annonymous account available.

MS article 135975 unfortunately does not shed any light on this either, as (although passive FTP is already selected) the login option does not appear in the File menu once canceling the error msg, regardless of what IE version is being used.

Thanks for trying though,

 

[smah]

The part of 135975 that I was trying to point out is that [under certain server conditions] you will not get prompted for a username & password. You will need to use File, Login As... Adding the username & password to the url no longer works in IE.

If the Login As is not available in the file menu, check Internet Options, Advanced tab, Enable folder view for ftp sites.

 

[zootweller]

Adding the usernameassword in the address is not the intention here, I only used it as part of my troubleshooting (I manage to access ftp://anonymous:anonymous@ftp.microsoft.com/ with no drama - what you mention only applies to http:// addresses).
The 'login as' option still does not appear with or without the usernamew added to the address, although the FTP settings are correct in advanced options.

This has been tried on NT4 (IE5), W2K (IE5.5) and XP (IE6) both with & without a proxy and directly connected to the internet with the same result each time. The only common element here is IE. Firefox prompts for the id/pw with no hassle. Likewise, ftp clients work also. The client (human) does not have the luxury of using anything other than IE though, hence my request for help here!

Many thanks.

 

[smah]

What I mention applies to any version of IE5+ to access FTP sites - the password can no longer be included in the URL. The KB article explains the correct method to log in to a ftp site that requires authentication.

However it's very odd that all those different browser & OS versions have the same problem. That would tend to rule out most problems with security settings & malware. If all these systems have this problem, I would suspect something at the client's site or with the client's service. When you connected to the anonymous ftp server at MS, was 'File, Login As' available in IE?