nomad said:
Hi Robert, sorry for the delay in replying. Thanks for your attempts to help
me fix these problems (yes, I've found more since uninstalling IE7.0).
I tried the iecustomizer website you linked and I did get the side pane to
open with Altavista. The search works fine, but I still can't get any of the
links to work wth the left mouse button. I have to right click "open in new
window" to get anything to open. The links are inactive with the left mouse
button. Until I installed and uninstalled IE7.0, this worked correctly. I
don't want a new window to open for each click!
I don't see what this has to do with Altavista. What I'm talking about is
the "search" button at the top line of my IE6.0 browser window. I don't
think any websites control this function as it's part of IE.
The point is that AltaVista supports/supported the requests that you make
by clicking links in the Search bar. Use Fiddler2 to see the format of the
requests and the HTML source that comes back in the Search bar.
Alternatively, it appears that you could also use right-click View Source
in the Search bar and then at least look at the HTML source in Notepad.
I'm not an HTML expert but I think it is this tag (from the header section)
which makes that page work
<base target="_main">
E.g. notice that any links which will open in the right side frame have no
target= attribute, while ones which do open in that page have a target="_self"
attribute. I guess that target="_main" must be some kind of reserved
frame name because I don't see anything explicitly naming the other frame
that. We could probably use the W3.org spec's to check that idea.
I'm not going to take the time to do that now.
FWIW those unattributed links open (in IE7) in the right-side frame
as expected. But that might be a difference between IE7 and IE6,
either due to their User-Agent string or to differences in their processing
of that case.
If your browser can't find the right target frame perhaps you should try
dragging the links there. FWIW that option works in IE7 too.
Also, in case others who are actually using IE6 have no trouble too,
you should look at possible sources of interference with such links,
such as alternate browser, other Internet apps, IE add-ons, etc.
As I mentioned, everthing worked fine until I installed IE7.0, then
uninstalled it using the Control Panel "add and remove programs" function.
Here's what's happened:
1. When using search, I can't get the links to work with a left mouse
button click
2. Some websites (like microsoft support login) links don't work
3. My computer can't read some CDs that worked fine before, and still work
fine on a Vista PC (I don't want Vista!). I don't know if this is a related
problem or not.
Could be a security thing.
4. Adobe Acrobat was appartently damaged as well, since I couldn't get any
.pdf files to open. I installed an update to 8.0 today and it works now. I
think IE7.0 damaged my Acrobat, and the reinstall fixed it.
That's possible. You could also have used AR's Repair feature.
5. System restore won't work. When I try to restore my system to a date
before I installed IE7.0, it fails and the system tells me it can't be
restored to that date.
There's a known issue about XP repair and restore and certain updates.
Are you sure all that you did was uninstall IE7?
I would like to try re-installing XP, but my computer didn't come with any
discs. All the software was pre-loaded. I didn't make any backup discs
because it said it took something like 18 CDs to do it, and I didn't want to
do it at the time...later I forgot to go back and do it.
How can I re-install XP?
I have tried to reinstall SP2.0 from the MSFT website, I have run MSFT's
malware removal tool (nothing found) and I have read through the "How to
reinstall or repair IE in Windows XP" on the MSFT site here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318378
One thing I noticed is that under "method 4" it says to RUN
%systemroot%\inf. I did that and tried to execute it, but it says I need a
SP2.0 CD which I don't have.
Actually it says to run ie.inf from that folder.
However, it has been some time since I last read that article.
(It is so different now it might as well be a different number.)
E.g. I wasn't aware of that option. I have always thought of the article's
objective as reinstalling IE6sp1 into base XP but in order to do that
you would have to uninstall XPsp2. Now, it seems the article's
objective is to "repair" IE but those mechanisms seem much less certain
to me. FWIW I have always doubted that sfc /scannow really achieves
the same objective as /rereg (or the old IE Repair)
If you have a slipstreamed install of your OS for a particular maintenance
level (sounds likely) you might not be able to do any of that anyway.
The cross-post is still active but I imagine that anybody who might respond
would at least need details about where you got your XP system and how it
was installed?
If you are really back at IE6 again you could try using this cmd file
provided courtesy of MVP Kai Schaetzl:
http://iefaq.info/index.php?action=artikel&cat=24&id=31&artlang=en
Download it and execute it. Since it is based on the old IE Repair
which used to be done during a boot when *nothing* else is running
I usually suggest as well that it might be a good idea to do it during
a safe boot when at least *less* is running. ; )
Note for IE7 lurkers: there are known incompatibilies if you re-register
IE6 modules such as shdocvw.dll while it IE7 is still installed.
Any help you can offer would be appreciated. I've been really frustrated
with these problems, but realize that I need to be patient to resolve them.
I wish I'd never installed IE7.0!
Ironically one way to try reinstalling IE6 again may be to first try reinstalling
IE7 and then using its Reset... command. I notice that that is now officially
KB318378 "Method 1"... Supposedly IE7's Reset... is better than the old IE6sp2
/rereg command-line switch (i.e. what Kai's command file fixes and replaces.) YMMV.
Note, in any case, that Reset... wipes any AutoComplete data that a normal
IE7 install would have preserved for you, including saved passwords.
Good luck
Robert
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