IE8 Win7 links not working

[Mornington Crescent]

My IE8 will not allow me to open links in threads in Pprune or other sites. No messages - just won't respond.
I can of course copy and paste into the address bar and that works fine.

Firefox and Opera both work normally.
IE8 works normally on Vista and XP. (other machines)

I have tried a 2 hour conversation with Microsoft (helpline) and many possible solutions from Googling.

I use Firefox as a result and it's great. But there must be a cure for this niggle.

Anybody suggest a solution? Apart from the obvious!!

MC

[green granite]

I've just checked my IE8 in windoze 7 and it opens links with no problems from PPruNe so it must be a setting somewhere.

[Mornington Crescent]

Thanks for that. At least I know it is not inherent.

Since W7 comes with IE8 embedded (well mine did) I can't uninstall it and reload. It can be turned off, so to speak, but that's no good.

[green granite]

Interestingly I've just been playing with IE8, when I open the 'manage add on' dialogue and click on the 'find more Toolbars and Extensions' option it opens Firefox (my default browser) to go to the site, and then complains about it. :ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:

[Saab Dastard]

gg - sounds like a "default browser" setting needs to be changed?

SD

[green granite]

That's not the point Saab, I want FF as my default browser. I just find it very silly and illogical that IE should open a different browser to complete a link just because it's not the default browser. If I change the default to IE8 Fire fox doesn't open IE to complete a link so why does IE? :confused:

[rgbrock1]

green granite:

Why does Internet Exploder 8 do that? Because it's a MS product, that's why.
MS products usually don't behave as one would expect. Nor do they behave as most other programs of the same genre.

[Simonta]

rgbrock1. Please try to resist infantile (and ill informed, out of date and factually incorrect) personal prejudice in a forum like PPrune or wander over to JB. The web is littered with nonsense IT sites. Start off at the Register. (I use IE, Firefox and Chrome at different times. They ALL suffer from problems of one sort or another. Let's not get into a debate on open architectures and MS development philosophy unless you have a lot of time).

Now, Morning Crescent. Please type the following in the search box and press Enter. Click OK on the dialog(s) and let us know how it goes...

regsvr32 urlmon.dll

Cheers, hope it helps

[Mornington Crescent]

Thanks for the suggestion. I am afraid that it did not solve the problem. The dll did however re register OK.

The following may mean something to somebody:

When I run Firefox I get one instance of firefox.exe in task manager, processes.

When I use IE8 I get multiple entries of iexplore.exe come up in processes. Usually 3 but depending on how much surfing maybe 6.
Sometimes these persist even when IE is closed down.:confused:

[Keef]

That's interesting. I don't use IE other than to check that websites work with it, but wouldn't expect more than one example to be running. I'd also expect it to disappear from task manager when shut down.

I don't know if it's meant to do that, but it may be the symptom of your problem. Trouble is, you can't uninstall and reinstall IE to fix it.

If you kill all those multiple copies, does it then work correctly next time?

[Mornington Crescent]

No it doesn't. - sadly. I wonder whether it is starting a new copy each time I open a link. But it is difficult to keep track of what is happening.

Although I have a W7 disk I am reluctant to try a repair since the problem is a niggle really and is not affecting my day to day use of the PC. Same reasoning with a restore.

[Saab Dastard]

Trouble is, you can't uninstall and reinstall IE to fix it.

Keef, I beg to differ!

Google "uninstall ie8 windows 7" - for example, there's a how-to on the MS support site: How do I uninstall or remove Internet Explorer 8? (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700)

Of course, you should already have downloaded and installed an alternative... :}

SD

[Mornington Crescent]

OK up to a point SD. The phrase that MS use is uninstalled (re Win7).

Now where do you get a copy to install - to replace the one that you have uninstalled? The only copy I have available to me is the one that I have just removed. There are no downloads avaiable for Win7 IE8. Well not yesterday anyway.

[Saab Dastard]

Good point, Mornington Crescent!

However, I assumed that you could either download and use the same version as Vista: Download details: Windows Internet Explorer 8 for Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=79154fb4-c610-4a1e-811d-dfe0f1dd84d1&displaylang=en), or else it would be a case of re-installing from the installation media (Add Windows Components, or whatever it is now in Win7).

I couldn't check these because my Win 7 (RC) PC is offline, awaiting a new PSU.

If neither of the above work, then it's true that you can't re-install IE8 on Win7. Yet!

SD

[Mornington Crescent]

SD

I tried downloading the Vista version and it would not install even in compatability mode.

So, like you, I await the availability of a downloadable copy of IE8 for Win7.

In MS early blurb for Win7 they said they would not include IE but make a download available. So I guess we won't have to wait long??

[stickyb]

I have not tried IE8 or W7, so don't know if this is relevant, but in earlier version of IE there was an option that said "reuse winows for launching shortcuts" Is this still around and if so what is it set to?

[stickyb]

My IE8 will not allow me to open links in threads in Pprune or other sites. No messages - just won't respond.
Anybody suggest a solution? Apart from the obvious!!

MC

Just a rather stupid afterthought - are you sure the links aren't actually opening in another tab and you are just not spotting them?

[Simonta]

FYI, you will see multiple instances of iexplore.exe in IE8. It's designed that way.

[Keef]

Keef, I beg to differ!

Google "uninstall ie8 windows 7" - for example, there's a how-to on the MS support site: How do I uninstall or remove Internet Explorer 8? (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700)

I still don't think you can remove IE8 from Win 7 and then reinstall it. Maybe that option is coming.

Not that I'm likely ever to want to try. I'm old, and set in my ways, and I like the way Firefox "just works" and does exactly what I want it to. I'm conditioned to clicking on stuff and having it do what I ask, rather than something different but clever.

[Mornington Crescent]

Keef,

You can, by using "Turn windows features 0n 0ff" sort of uninstall EI. And you can by using the same feature get it back again. So it is not possible at the moment to install a new copy of IE, - as you said!

Simonata
Thanks for that info. Now where else would you find such knowledge?

Stickyb
Thanks. It is included in IE8. It is set to on but I have tried it in both conditions. No luck!

MC

[Mornington Crescent]

Not sure whether it is polite to answer one’s own question but I have at last found an answer. Should anyone need help in this area, here is the link.
Links in will not open a new window or tab in Windows 7 IE8 (http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/InternetExplorer/thread/e312e580-1cbc-496b-8c6b-b69b8535a7bb)

OnyXxL is your man!

[green granite]

Thanks for that MC, as a matter of interest which did it for you?

[Mornington Crescent]

It was the script as listed by OnyXxl.

In my case minus the (x86) s since I have a 32 bit machine.