Linkage Problems in IE

Factual Questions
1

Currently, I have a lot of trouble clicking on links. I cannot click on any links in email, for example (Outlook Express); nothing happens when I do so.

In an open browser window, it’s intermittent. For example, I can’t click on links in Straight Dope posts. If I hover my mouse over the link, the message in the lower part of the IE window is something like “shortcut to” such and such. It does not display, in other words, the URL over which I’m hovering.

However, if I go to a site like ESPN.com, I can click to my heart’s content, moving from the main page to the baseball page, and so forth, with no errors.

This has been going on for a little while (I’m running Win98, IE 6). There have been a couple of potential factors contributing to this:

  1. I tried to install the latest Mozilla. The installation had problems, and I was unable to complete it. In fact, for a little while whenever I would boot up a message would indicate that the setup hadn’t completed - but I’ve now removed Mozilla and any hint of it from the Startup file. And I’ve deleted and uninstalled all Mozilla folders (there weren’t many, since it hadn’t really installed completely).

  2. I also installed Desktop Themes. These looked really neato, but then with these browser problems, I figured it would be wise to uninstall them - so I went back to Control Panel and removed them (under Windows setup).

I’ve posted about this problem on virtualdr and on Fathom. Some suggestions have helped, but none have solved the problem.

I’ve clicked on “Microsoft Internet Explorer 6” in Add/Remove programs and chose Repair Internet Explorer.

I’ve gone into IE’s tools/options and restored defaults.

I’ve gone into tools/options and unclicked “automatically check for IE updates,” two “enable install-on-demand” boxes, and “Reuse Windows for launching shortcuts.”

So I must have done something really wrong; I just don’t know what. I guess I could reinstall Windows…

I can cut and paste links, of course, so that’s not the end of the world. But it’s tougher when links are on pages, because usually I have to view the source and find the URL (or, in the case of message poasts, I have to Quote the post to find the URL).

Any input is definitely welcome - thanks in advance. If I left out some info, please ask…

2

This sounds like a problem with file associations. Try opening Windows Explorer and going to Tools|Folder Options|File Types. Scroll down to the first entry for URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol. Double-click it, then double-click open. Make sure the settings match these:

**Application used to perform action:
“C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\iexplore.exe” -nohome
**(The above will be different if your copy of IE isn’t in the default location.)

**DDE Message:
“%1”,-1,0,

Application:
IExplore

DDE Application not running:
**(blank)

Topic:
WWW_OpenURL

3

In that area, I have two that say URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol.

The second one says “URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol with Privacy.”

Both have the settings as you’ve described…

How about “Set Default”? Or “Enable Quick View” or “Confirm Open after Download”?

4

Hmm. Try highlighting open and click Set Default.

If that doesn’t work, try opening IE, going to Tools|Internet Options|Programs and check the box for Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser. Close all browser windows, then go back in. If it asks to make IE the default browser, hit Yes.

5

That worked! (The first.)

I set “open” as default (on both of them), and it opens up a new window - and finds the page, as instructed. So it looks fine.

Thanks!

6

Well…

It works for links in emails. When I get email notification about a thread here, I can click on the link just as I used to.

However, when there’s a link IN a post, clicking on it doesn’t do anything… :frowning:

7

Well, I’m glad to hear that it helped at least a little. Here’s another thought. Go back to File Types and double-click on Internet Shortcut. Enable Quick View should be checked. The default should be open and if you double-click it, it should read rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,OpenURL %l. Use DDE should not be checked.

8

Yup, that’s what it reads, and that’s not checked…

9

Another problem - almost certainly related - is that sometimes there will be buttons (not just links) that don’t work for me.

For example, I have a Geocities account. If you click on NEW to put in a new page, there’s a button called LAUNCH TABLEMAKER. But clicking it does nothing for me - although the other buttons on the page (NEW, SAVE, PREVIEW, SAVE and EXIT, etc.) work fine.

This isn’t limited to Geocities, either.

10

Ok, last idea. Boot to a DOS prompt and run scanreg /restore. Choose a date before the failed Mozilla install.

11

Ok, I did that. Chose the earliest date I could, and I think it was before that install, but maybe not… At any rate, no change. I take that back - I had to redo the changes you suggested, of course.

I even retried the Repair Database command in Tools…

12

Well, I don’t know what else to suggest except grab a harmonica. You may have a case of the reinstallation blues.

13

Try going to Start>Run and typing regsvr32 urlmon.dll and see if that doesn’t do it.

14

Done. No apparent change.

It’s improved from when I first posted (thanks, Number), but it’s still not up to snuff.

If I click on a link in any post, for example, nothing happens. However, hovering over the link does display the URL, so I can type it in myself without having to QUOTE someone.

15

I referred a customer to the sdmb tonight who was having this problem. I hope you don’t mind if I bump the thread…

16

Not in the least…

I went to Microsoft’s site last night and redownloaded the newest version of IE, but no change. This tells me (I think) that it’s not an IE problem but a problem elsewhere, such as in (gasp) Win98 itself.

17

The person I talked installed Netscape and that browser worked for him, but not sure you want to go that route…

18

Well, if I was going to install another browser - and don’t think I wouldn’t! - it would be Mozilla, which is basically Netscape dressed up. And since I had problems downloading Mozilla last time…

We’ll just have to see…

19

Crap! My post got et.

Anyway, problem solved. :slight_smile:

I couldn’t figure out why some links would work and others wouldn’t (not to mention some buttons).

Then it dawned on me that the system was treating these links and buttons as if they were popups - that is, was trying to open a new window for each.

So then I thought, hmm, do I have some kind of blocker on?

I had disabled and then uninstalled Earthlink’s own Popup Blocker when this problem first came about. But then I remembered another blocker (PopupRemoveR).

It didn’t appear in my toolbar for quick launch, so I went to Programs and clicked on the program. Voila - it was blocking popups.

I toggled it off and then navigated to a link that hadn’t worked before.

And now it does.

So thanks for everyone’s help. The email/link problem wouldn’t have been solved were it not for this thread.