Heads Up to BLANK PAGES in IE alert

To follow up on an important alert that started out highlighting the 'endless slowdown' in IE after the most recent MS update, there is also another update-related problem that seems to be growing and growing: Clicking a link and either having nothing happen, or getting a totally blank page. After having read at least 100-200 posts already about this, I am posting the main links and a little synopsis in terms of fixes. The largest thread on this is over at tektips, in the desktop software, browsers, MS IE, under the heading "Can't Open Window From Within IE". There are already over 230 posts. and the links just fan out from there. Supposedly the culprit files are all .dll's that get hosed during updates because MS can't keep the dates straight and the best fix is to slip in an older version. That works pretty well with 98SE, but have you ever tried to circumvent WFP? It's not like the old 'boot from a dos floppy days', that's for sure. But here's a link that goes into the most technical detail:
http://members.aol.com/axcel216/newtip21.htm

And one that offers more of a straight 'fix it and forget it' approach:

http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/answers2.htm#blank_windows


Other folks using Win 98 have found success d/l'ing the following MS utility and running it:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/msninvestor/Patch/1.0/WIN98/EN-US/mcrepair.exe

The most universally agreed upon fix is this, for those who tend to get lost in links:


IE6 opens blank (empty) windows
Try disabling *all* other programmes, including virus scanners, to see if there is an improvement. If not, proceed as follows:

You probably have a broken entry in file associations.
Go to my computer, view/folder options/file types (or control panel, folder options depending on your operating system).
Scroll down to the URL:Hypertext Transfer Protocols, click edit twice and make sure the following is in the application used to perform action box:
"C:\PROGRAM FILES\INTERNET EXPLORER\iexplore.exe" -nohome
The same applies for URL:Gopher
DDE should be set to: "%1",,-1,0,,,,
Application should say: IExplore
DDE application not running should be blank
Topic should be: WWW_OpenURL

Mike Burgess MVP was kind enough to point out to me the other day that 'open in new window' is dependent on the following files, therefore you should ensure they are the correct version for your system, and correctly registered.

Run the following commands from start/run. Run each line individually. After each run, you should see a short message stating the command was successful. The first command is the one most likely to work.
regsvr32 Urlmon.dll
regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 Shell32.dll (only applicable to Windows ME, Windows 2000 and XP - if using an earlier operating system, run regsvr32 shdoc401.dll)
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
Some people have noted that replacing urlmon.dll or oleaut32.dll with the versions that came with their operating system has helped. I would not try this except as a last resort.

Note: If the IE repair tool is available to you (control panel, add/remove programs, highlight IE, select add/remove) - running a repair will often fix the above associations automatically.
Further note:
I thought installing Mozilla 0.9.2 (which, may I say, is damned SLOW to start up) was quite a polite event, especially considering the fact that I didn't allow it to take over any defaults as part of the install.
But still, I discovered that hyperlinks in emails weren't working properly anymore - IE was opening, but just to a blank window. No attempt to access the URL was made.
Somehow or other, WWW_OpenURL disappeared out of 'topic' in the default open action for the URL:Hypertext Transfer protocols and Gopher - nothing else was out of whack - go figure :-/

Some knowledge base articles addressing the blank window problem are:

Browser Window Is Blank After You Install First Aid 98 [Q182038]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q182038

Current Web Page Is Blank After Opening an Outlook:// URL [Q257136]
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q257136

New window is blank or nothing happens when you click on a link - Q281679
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q281679

Finally, BHODemon is an excellent troubleshooting programme, available at http://www.definitivesolutions.com/bhodemon.htm. It does not need installing - simply unzip and run the EXE programme. It is very easy to use.

Also, you may like to use a programme called BHOCop available here:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,2023,00.asp


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How do I uninstall IE6?
After uninstalling Internet Explorer 6 Public Preview, it is not possible to remove the browser that was installed prior to Internet Explorer 6 Public Preview.

How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 6.0
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q293/9/07.ASP

Use the uninstall option at Control Panel, add/remove programs.

If this option is not available to you, try this:

Open C:\Program files\Internet Explorer. Right click the folder Uninstall information. Click Properties
Uncheck the hidden mode and press OK. Go to C:\Program files\Internet Explorer\Setup. Run setup.exe

How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP Q318378
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q318378

Windows 2000

If you reinstall a W2K Service Pack you will not be able to uninstall IE6. W2K users can try running w2kexcp.exe /u

And the 'inuse' tool from MS can be gotten here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/inuse-o.asp

That's pretty much the heart of everything.
If I left anything out, I'll fill in tomorrow.

sk

Added URL tags

 

Sk

Is this issue only related to IE6 ?


snowy

 

If I'm not mistaken I believe the problem started from IE 5.1 onward. I'm running IE 5.5 and have it.

sk

 

Hi sk!

I am aware of this problem. I used to use IE 5.5 too. It was one of a steadily growing list of problems I began having with it. I had already tried IE 6+ and it was worse.

My solution? I had Opera 6.05 as a backup browser so I went and registered it. It is now my primary browser. Unlike IE, it is truly secure, faster and more versatile. And, since I work at a multilingual board, it can do more languages and fonts.

By all means, use what you are most comfortable with but if that becomes uncomfortable don't be afraid to try something new.


Best regards from Larry

 

Thanks for your post Larry. I'm not afraid at all to try different browsers; frustrated as hell, but not afraid. I've tried Opera, Phoenix, Beonex, and Avant Browser (which is more of an IE shell, but it's got a lot of nice features.) And yes, each one fixed several of IE's nasty little annoyances.

But whether it was the way the other programs handled bookmarks/favorites, or how they looked, or felt, or how fast or accurately they rendered pages and fonts, I found myself coming back to the primary core trio of IE and AdShield and Cookie Wall for the primary setup; I just liked the speed and look and fine tuned operation that using that combo provided.

I really wanted to like Avant Browser because of not only the tabbed browsing feature but also because it allows you to save whatever sites are open before a shut down and then reopen everything exact the way it was before.

And I also wanted to like Phoenix, based on a recommendation by Cypherswipe at Becky's Forums. But each time I tried one there was something that just didn't work or didn't fit. With Avant Browser, it was the fact that it was incompatible with AdShield. And after having used AdShield for the past 6 months or so, the highly touted 'popup stopping ability' of ANY of the other non-IE browsers paled by comparison. Because AdShield removes not only the popups but virtually every ad as well. (Aside from the ones Doug's working on for the next release, 1.3).

So I kept looking for some configuration in those programs to match what I already had with IE/AdShield, and couldn't find one. And from what Doug has said, it's not easy to make his product and Avant Browser compatible; I believe because they both enter via the BHO route. It is compatible, I believe, with Opera, and I think Beonex and Mozilla, though; I just didn't care for those browsers as well as IE. So the bottom line for me came down to a choice: Which annoyances ultimately were the most annoying. And for the time being, I decided to stick with the IE/AdShield/Cookie Wall combo; not so much for IE's strenghts; more for the strengths of AdShield. But it would be much too one-dimensional to say that IE has no strengths at all. I despise MS for it's totalitarian policies and practices, and if it were purely a matter of moral or philosophical grounds I wouldn't touch any MS product with a ten foot pole. But from a perspective of practical day to day use, IE is clearly not without some formidable strengths, IMO.

sk