Internet Explorer 6 - Possible Version Dilemma ???

[webgecko]

Hello

I just installed IE version 6 service pack 1 onto two different systems, one is a Win98
system and the other is Win Me (Millennium).

The IE6 service pack 1 software came off a PC World magazine CD.

Both copies\installs seem to work OK but there is one strange anomaly I have noticed.

When you go to Help\About Internet Explorer in the browser you get the information
you would expect on the IE6 install for the Win 98 system
( version : 6.0.2800.110615 cipher strength:128 bit Product ID: 55736-OEM-6734242-04529
SP1 etc).

On the Win Me system in IE6 in help\about internet explorer you get :

mostly a blank white window ( no colour IE6 logo at top ) you get version : but NO
version information (no info like that quoted above for the win98 install of IE6).
All you get in that blank white window is the text info about mosaic in the
scrollable text box and a microsoft copywrite line below that ???

I am wondering if there is anything here to be suspicious about ?

Could it just be down to file differences etc between the two windows versions
( either windows\etc files or file differences that come off the install or as a product
of processes it runs ?) ?

If anyone has any ideas on this then I will be all ears\eyes.

Thanks

webgecko

[webgecko]

This evening I fired up my Win Me system and went online with IE6
and now find that the Help/About Internet Explorer information
is now displaying correctly (as you normally would expect).

I can only surmise that maybe there was a bug etc last time I ran IE6 ???

BUT Here is the New Twist :

The Product ID has CHANGED ??? As I said the software came off a
PC World CD and I installed the same IE6 package on two different
systems (Win98 and WinMe).

The product ID for IE6 on the Win98 system is :

55736-OEM-6734242-04529

The product ID for IE6 on the Win Me system is :

55736-OEM-9715794-04329

Does the product ID change for every installation of the same package of
MS software ? I didn't think it did ?

Perhaps there is a bug in the program which displays this
information ( bug or maybe data corruption) ?

Still a bit confused. BUT I may download IE6 sp 1 from Microsoft
and install that. Hopefully my IE6 is not suspect.

Any ideas still welcome.

webgecko

[GaryRouth]

Hi webgecko

I don't think you have anything to worry about. "Product ID"s are generally unique to each system, whether they are for programs or even for the operating system itself.

Once and a while, after re-installing IE6, no product ID will display at all. That is a confirmed bug, but one that Microsoft didn't feel was significant enough to warrant a patch. Here's their little blurb on that: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308079

Looks like your systems are in good hands --- you are more thorough than I would've been!
. . . Gary


[Hope everything's looking up in the Land Down Under ]

[webgecko]

Thanks for the info and the explanation. Hadn't noticed that particular
situation before. Left me a little bamboozled .

I am always keeping security/system integrity issues in mind as it saves so much
time on cleaning\fixing a system that has been broken by malicious software,
intrusion etc.. Thing is that even the best/modern systems can display weird
behaviour that at times has you guessing (many times it's just bugs, data
corruption etc and not a security issue).

I hope your Vista journeys bear fruit. I may even be able to run Vista on my
best machine [this one] ( A7N8X-X mobo AMD 1.4GHZ Duron [applebred] 512MBDDR400
80GB 8MB cache WD HDD, 120GB WD HDD Pioneer DL DVDRW etc).

Things are OK downunder BUT very same old same old (thatz life). Plenty to keep me
busy and interested though.

I like old machines still and I mean VERY old stuff going back to the old 8086/8088
based PCs and DOS ( I like the old CPUs too like 8080, 8085, Z80 and many others
remember the 4004, 4040 etc ? 4 bits in 70/71 where microprocessors started).
I have been messing with Internet stuff for DOS (email, text based http browsers etc)
and even Win 3.1 . Painfull but also fun if it works.

Thanks again

chou 4 now

webgecko