IE6 shortcuts and hyperlinks won't open unless IE is open

IE6 shortcuts and hyperlinks won't open unless IE is open PLus many other wierd things.

#1 Shawn_Evans

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 10:51 AM

Alright, I am going to be as detailed as possible but first, let me post the link to my logs from the HJT Team.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic181310.html

I picked up a trojan/Vundo. Anywho, according to HJT Billy O'Neal, i am good to go.

Not so long ago I upgraded to IE7 but after realizing that it had issues with Credential manager I tried removing it. I think this is where it all started. My IE browser, for some reason, is eff'd. Pretty sure it had something to do with me trying to remove IE 7 or with the removal of IE 7 but I am not certain.
Anyway, if I try to open a hyperlink from my email, desktop, run command or a folder, it locks IE. It will only open if I have the browser open. In addition to that, I cannot open links in the same window. I have to launch links to an external window. Again, it locks. If I navigate to certain sites like yahoo, espn or various other general sites, I rcv an error, does not look like a windows error, and subsequently 65 blank windows appear and oddly enough, does not lock up my system. Also, blank windows just sometimes open when launching links from the open command or address bar.

Sidenote.. With houshmozilla (Firefox) set as my default, everything works just fine. Any ideas.. If I was able to screen capture the whole issue I would but I think I explained everything fairly clearly.

#2 dc3

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:08 AM

How did you uninstall the IE7, via add and remove in the control panel?

Is IE7 still showing in the add and remove? If it is try this.

How to roll back to IE 6

Start> Control Panel> Add or Remove Programs.

Place a check mark in the Show Updates box at the top of the page.

Scroll down the list and highlight the version of Internet Explorer 7 that you are running, and then click Change/Remove.

If you get an error message saying you can't uninstall from the logged on user account, you may have to log off and log back on with a different account, or edit the registry to bypass the user account.

Start> Run

Copy and paste rededit in the Open: box and click on OK.

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer.

Right-click the Internet Explorer key, select New, and click DWORD value.

Copy and paste InstalledByUser as the name of the new value, and then press ENTER.

Try uninstalling it again.

Have you tried reinstalling IE7?

Another option would be to stick with Firefox, there are some advantages security wise. There is a plug-in which will allow Firefox users to access Microsoft for updates, this site has directions for installing the plug-in for Firefox 1.5 through 3.0a5.

This post has been edited by dc3: 02 December 2008 - 11:09 AM

#3 Shawn_Evans

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 03:18 PM

Well, I would not mind using Mozilla but it is a work laptop and my IT dept is hardly what you would call aces, if ya follow. Anyway,
two things:

1. IE does not appear in my installed programs list... Not under Internet explorer or Windows Internet explorer. So my guess is, IE6 is currently running??
2. I just noticed that my Windows media player was uninstalled and I did not do it.
3. If I reinstalled IE7 then tried to back it out the correct way, am I asking for a massive headache.

Again, i have no problems using Houshmazilla.. But.. I would like to square away my internet explorer to prevent any further problems down the road.

#4 Michael-Anthony

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 03:24 PM

have you by chance installed sp3?

http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx said:

Internet Explorer 6 Users

XPSP3 will continue to ship with IE6 and contains a roll-up of the latest security updates for IE6. If you are still running Internet Explorer 6, then XPSP3 will be offered to you via Windows Update as a high priority update. You can safely install XPSP3 and will have an updated version of IE6 with all your personal preferences, such as home pages and favorites, still intact.

If you are currently running IE7 or IE8 on Windows XP SP2 (XPSP2) and you are thinking of upgrading to XPSP3, read on.

Internet Explorer 7 Users

If you are currently running IE7 on XPSP2, Windows Update will offer you XPSP3 as a high priority update. If you choose to install XPSP3, Internet Explorer 7 will remain on your system after the install is complete. Your preferences will be retained. However, you will no longer be able to uninstall IE7. If you go to Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs, the Remove option will be grayed out.

This behavior is by design and here is why. When we install IE7 on Windows XP SP2, we backup the existing IE6 files in an uninstall directory. Those IE6 files are the ones that shipped on XPSP2 plus all the security updates you’ve installed while using IE6. Windows XP SP3 contains a newer version of the Internet Explorer 6 files. If you have XPSP3 on your system and uninstall IE7, your system would revert to the backed up (older) version of the IE6 files rather than the newer XPSP3 version. You would end up in a mixed file state in Windows where most files would be the upgraded XPSP3, except for the IE6 files restored when uninstalling IE7. This state is not supported and is very bug prone. To ensure a reliable user experience, we prevent this broken state by disabling the ability to uninstall Internet Explorer 7.

If you must uninstall IE7 after you have upgraded to XPSP3, then you have to first uninstall XPSP3, and then uninstall IE7. After this series of uninstalls, you will be reverted back to a XPSP2, and a stable version of IE6, so feel free to upgrade to XPSP3 again.

If you install IE7 after you install XPSP3, then you will be able to uninstall IE7 at any point and be reverted to the newer IE6 version that ships in XPSP3. The restriction on uninstalling only applies to when you install a Windows Service Pack release on top of a standalone IE release.

Keeping this in mind, you might want to uninstall IE7, upgrade to XPSP3 and then install IE7 again so you can uninstall IE7 in the future if need be.

#5 Shawn_Evans

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 04:12 PM

Ah yes.. This is where it gets kind of fuzzy.

I believe our IT person may have updated to sp3 before IE 7 was uninstalled successfully. I know I had issues backing it out. That was when I pulled in some help from the IT department. Not indicating she missed something, but, SP3 and the IE7 were kind of installed in a grey area. In other words, I don't know if IE 7 was uninstalled correctly when sp3 was added.

#6 Michael-Anthony

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 04:37 PM

i would say its time to get the fuzzbuster out and give those IT personnel a chance to really earn their pay...

This post has been edited by Michael-Anthony: 02 December 2008 - 04:37 PM

#7 Shawn_Evans

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 09:05 PM

any other year, I would agree... But the IT dept has been skinned and well, I think it would be easier to give this a shot on my own. So any ideas that I can try, I am more than willing..

This fuzzbuster software you speak of, where can I get it... :thumbsup: