Internet Explorer in XP Pro will not open

[IdahoTech]

Hello all,

I have been fighting this for a few days now. I can not open Internet Explorer in WinXP Pro. I installed Firefox and it opens just fine. I can go into safe mode and it opens without issue.

I have run every kind of Antivirus, Spyware, Adware, Malware software I have found on my system and it finds bits and tidbits here and there but nothing that would tell me that it is taking over my IE.

Here is some of the software I have used so far:

Norton Antivirus 2005
Spybot Search and Destroy
AdAware PE
CounterSpy
Microsofts Antispyware
Hi Jack This
CWShredder
HSRemover

And a few online scanners such as Pandas Online scanner and Trend Micros online scanner as well.

Anyone have any ideas on what it could be or what I should be looking for?? When I click on any of the Internet explorer Icons it doesnt open and if you open task manager it shows that it is open, I think. If I click 2 to 3 times it shows up that many times.

Firefox will not open until I close those instances. Anyone please any hints at all. Is it maybe a new type of worm??

Any help would be greatly greatly appreciated. This one has me stumped!!!

Thank you for any help anyone can give.

IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[IdahoTech]

Hello Again,

This is to let you know what version and all the good stuff.

Windows XP Pro
Service Pack 2 installed
All Service Packs installed
Windows Media Player 10
2 GIG Ram
P4 2.6 800 mhz

I think that is all that is needed. Please anyone with any ideas let me know.

IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[linney]

Internet Explorer Fix

http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/IEFIX.htm

Search your machine for Iexplore.exe the size in SP2 is 91.0 KB (93,184 bytes) and the version is 6.0.2900.2180, look for any other versions that seem corrupt or out of place.



Some general things to try.

See if System Restore will get you back to a restore point before your problem with Internet Explorer.

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

As you say it works in Safe Mode these might help you track down the problem.

310353 - How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310353&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

316434 - HOW TO: Perform Advanced Clean-Boot Troubleshooting in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;316434&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;310560&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[IdahoTech]

Hey Linney,

Thanks for all the great info and sites. After working on it for about a hour I noticed there was a file running that was out of the norm. It said it was a active X file and so I went into IE settings and dissabled and or told it to tell me when it wants to download a active x control and rebooted and it worked!!

The one thing I did find interesting is that when I ran the SFC like above it asked for the XP CD and when I put that in it said it could not recognize it so I tried the Slipstream CD with SP2 and it said it was the wrong CD. You ever run into that little issue? I am sure it is a simple fix but hey got my system back up to par so thanks for your help.



IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[bcastner]

Your next stop: faq608-4650

 

[DragonQ0105]

Heh...I would have said that you had IE opening Minimised in the shortcut. I did that once with Media Player - I didn't know minimised actually meant "Invisible except in Task Manager"...lol.

 

[POLMafia]

bcastner

do you have a book on all this stuff? I'd love to pick your brain for a few months.

 

[IdahoTech]

I thought about that to Dragon but it was not showing up in task switcher so figured it wasn't that.

Thanks for the link and info bcaster. I will use it in good faith. I will make copies to for my counterpart so we can use this at the schools as well.

To bad there is not ONE Antivirus, Spyware, Adware, Malware, HiJacker, etc software out there for all this crap. Thanks again to all.



IdahoTech
'Only two things are infinite - the Universe and human Stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the Universe' Albert Einstein

http://www.sd60.k12.id.us

 

[bcastner]

All,

You are welcome to distribute in any way you want anything written here by me.

That is the point of users helping other users.

As to POLMafia's question about a book, I am thinking about one on networking Windows Longhorn. I have no intention of doing one for XP or Windows2003 Server. There are literally tons of books already, and many of them do a far, far better job than I could. But Longhorn opens the tcp/ip stack and protocol space in interesting ways, and something user oriented might be needed. (For example, the use of the "Castle" feature as one example):

Castle

What This Feature Does:
The "castle" feature allows users to have the networking functionality of the domain, including roaming the user's profile, machine trust and having a consistent user identity throughout the network. The main difference with Castle is that users do not have to setup a dedicated machine, such as a domain controller, to maintain the trust and identity relationship. It also makes it easy to share and access files on those computers. Each computer on the same subnet can discover and join an existing castle. Or, the user can create a Castle. To join an existing castle, you must know the login credentials of an administrator account already part of the castle. Only non-blank passwords can grant access. This helps ensure only authorized computers join the castle (use of strong passwords for administrator accounts is highly recommended). When a computer joins a castle, the accounts on that computer will be added to the list of accounts accessible from any computer in the castle. User specific data (e.g. their password, access rights, and preferences) will be replicated on each computer in the castle and kept in sync. In addition, the newly joined computer will inherit and respect all policies from the Castle."

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/longhorn/privacy.mspx

 

[POLMafia]

very, VERY interesting. anyone know how to get on the list to be a beta tester for stuff like longhorn?

 

[LloydSev]

very, VERY interesting. anyone know how to get on the list to be a beta tester for stuff like longhorn?

You sign up, and then get lucky enough to be accepted.

Computer/Network Technician
CCNA

 

[linney]

IdahoTech,

"To bad there is not ONE Antivirus, Spyware, Adware, Malware, HiJacker, etc software out there for all this crap."

The closest thing to this is the person in front of the computer, but I get your point.

"I tried the Slipstream CD with SP2 and it said it was the wrong CD. You ever run into that little issue?"

Only when I have inserted the wrong CD or there is a problem with reading the correct CD. It is a problem you should rectify as SFC is a handy tool.

Prompted for CD-ROM When You Run System File Checker
While Correct CD-ROM Is in Drive

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=263499

XP Home--SFC prompting for XP Pro SP2 CD?
thread779-733121

Change the souce file path
thread779-362427

 

[POLMafia]

where do you sign up at?

 

[linney]

To register as a Beta Tester:

http://beta.microsoft.com

You need a .NET Passport or Hotmail Account to sign in.

Fill out the application form and wait.......and wait......
If you don't hear anything for 6 months (apart from an initial receipt E-mail) you were not successful.

 

[POLMafia]

thanks linney

 

[bcastner]

Forum member linney gave you the front door information to the Microsoft Beta program.

It is my understanding that there will be at least two public release candidate exposures of Longhorn prior to its formal release. (I have zero idea if this is true, but I think it a good guess at least.)

There is a great deal of information (speculation) out there for the Google searcher: from example, Paul's site:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/longhorn_preview_2005.asp

I warn you that if you do a full Longhorn you will be very unhappy without some serious consideration of the hardware you are now using. I personally am waiting on a true dual core P4 from Intel. The demands by Longhorn are formally not that overwhelming, but consider your change from Win9x to XP originally. Expect to want some hardware changes.

I warn you that it likely is too late to be accepted for the formal Beta of Longhorn, but try. There may be other product Betas you would enjoy testing. But what you can use and test as public release candidates are versions not that horribly different than what Beta testers are using. (And you do not get bugged daily to fill in surveys).