Internet Explorer Suddenly Not Working!?

[trowand]

I've got the system in my signature running XP Home. I installed Mozilla Firefox about a month ago and have been using it as my main web browser. I still have Internet Explorer on my machine because I want to have that as a backup browser in case I come across a site that doesn't display or work correctly in Firefox. Well, just yesterday, I tried to use IE and it didn't work. So I tried FF and it did. Both browsers are set with Yahoo as my home page and I tried IE a bunch of times and it just wouldn't open Yahoo. I kept getting that white screen that says "Page not available. Check your settings...". So I've been trying to figure it out. I even opened msconfig and set it for normal startup (enable all startup items and services) just in case I had somehow disabled something that IE needed in order to run but it didn't help. Any ideas?... THANKS!

[Dead_D3ll]

personally i use FF 1.0 (Firefox) all around, up until the other did i recieve a problem which i corrected in no time, other than that i have had no prob what-so-ever with Firefox, and that is y i stand by it. IE allows to many unnecessary ads and cookies into ur system, along with a lack of configuration. where-as with FF it is controlled and u have many more options. Id say just stick with FF and ull be fine, seein how it is runnin np for u, and IE is givin yah all the probs- just some advice bro, but u can hang it out and wait for one Mechs to give yah more thourough hand

[rightcoast]

No you won't be fine....You can't do an online virus scan or use Windows Update without it, along with some online banking and other sites. I would first check under IE's file menu that you aren't "working offline"

The next step is going to be malware scans.
I like this tutorial on malware removal, It does however miss what I think is an important step. First thing you should do is update your antivirus definitions and run a virus scan. It only tells you to scan online and if you can't use IE you can't do that.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

[Dead_D3ll]

dont mean to barge on thread- not intention. trowand, cant u just run Windows Update on 'Auto' or manually, as well as a virus scan manually with any other net browser either way?

[glc]

That's not the point. Trowand asked for help to get IE working again, and that's how we will approach this thread.

[Dead_D3ll]

i apologize, i misread for whom my post was intended, i meant to direct that towards "rightcoast", not trowand, for this i am sorry- i looked at the wrong post.

[trowand]

Thanks everyone for the replies so far. I'm at work right now, so I haven't tried anything yet. I'm pretty sure that my PC is secure and virus free but I guess you can never be too certain. I've got Norton Internet Security Suite, Spybot S&D and Ad-Aware SE all of which I constantly update but when I get home I'll run a full virus scan and malware scans. Someone on another forum had recommended that I uninstall and then reinstall IE via "Add/Remove Windows Components". I'll give that a shot too.

[rightcoast]

Dead D3ll, I am a huge advocate of Firefox. But test your hypothesis by going to http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ (using firefox) and try a scan. It won't work. Neither will manually updateing Windows, wupdmgr.exe launches IE, this user's IE isn't working. This is the main reason people like HAL and GLC say it is not a "cure" for anything, which they are a hundred percent right about.

Trowand, let us know how the scans work out

[glc]

I despise IE, I don't use IE unless I HAVE to, but I have it and keep it working because it's necessary to have it. What browser you use should be totally a personal choice and this forum is not the place to evangelize about any particular browser. We help people with issues with their browsers no matter what they are or which browser they choose to use.

My personal choice just happens to be Opera.

[bailey]

maybe one of these methods may help

Note: Both methods listed require that the Microsoft Windows XP CD-ROM be available.

Method 1: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x Repair for Windows XP

From the Start menu, select Run.
In the Open field, type sfc /scannow (Note: There is a space between sfc and /scannow)
Select the OK button.
Follow the prompts throughout the System File Checker process.
Reboot the computer when System File Checker completes.

Method 2: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x Repair for Windows XP

From the Start menu, select Search, select All Files and Folders.
Select More Advanced Options and place a checkmark beside Search Hidden Files and Folders option.
Ensure that Search System Folders and Search Subfolders are also checked.
In the All or Part of the File Name box, type ie.inf
In the Look In drop-down menu, select C: or the letter of the hard drive that contains the Windows folder.
Click the Search button.
In the search results pane, find the ie.inf file located in Windows\Inf folder.
Right click the ie.inf file and click Install on the context menu.
Reboot the computer when the file copy process is complete.

[SCRYED]

also try system restore. start -> all programs -> accessories -> system tools -> system restore

[trowand]

Well, I checked Norton Internet Security for updates and then ran a full system scan. It found absolutely nothing. Then I did the same for Ad-Aware SE. It also found nothing. Then I checked for updates to Spybot S&D and ran a full scan. It found five "Registry Changes" so I chose to fix them but it didn't help. The problem still exists, FireFox works but Internet Explorer doesn't. I also played around with "Add/Remove Windows Components" (which is kind of confusing to use, MS should work on it) but so far it hasn't helped. I still have to try Bailey's suggestions yet.

[glc]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=120672

[trowand]

Hey everyone, I've tried every suggestion in this thread and IE still doesn't work. It's driving me nuts. FireFox works but Internet Explorer doesn't. The only thing that I haven't tried is going back to an old restore point because the latest restore point that I made was quite a while ago. But I guess I'll have to try it. Any other suggestions?

[alfie2]

check Norton Security's firewall settings; it may be that IE is set to "not allow" in NIS. I have ZoneAlarm which sometimes disallows IE from accessing internet.

[glc]

Did you try the IE fix tool in the thread I linked to?

[trowand]

IT'S WORKING! It was my Norton Internet Security Firewall as alfie2 had suggested! Yes GLC, I tried the IE fix tool but it didn't seem to help. (Thanks for the link though!) I don't know how the heck the firewall setting changed to block IE from accessing the web. I had never even seen that firewall configuration page before. But it's working now! Thanks to everyone for taking the time to help me out. This really is the BEST PC forum and it's all because of you!