Repair IE (IE 6 – WinXP)

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Hi all,

I think my IE browser was hijacked. The startup page was set to http://www.fastlook.net, and every time I attempted to change it, IE or something changed it back to the previous one.

In that site there’s an uninstall link. If one clicks there a screen appears where they state they have nothing to do with the attack. And they provide a 7 KB program to perform the “uninstall”. I tried it and the annoyance is gone. Well… not all of it. The problem now is when I type http://www.something.com IE will prompt me for a valid URL. You know, IE typically converts the last link to http://www.something.com, but not any more in the state it ended after the uninstall. I have to type the http:// stuff manually, which is terribly upsetting.

When I used IE 6 under Windows 98 there was a Repair IE option somewhere in add-remove programs. Now I’m using WinXP. Is there a similar feature? Where? I don’t know what else to do to revert this.

Thank you

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Replies

What do you have set for your address line search option (Tools>Internet Options…>Advanced tab, toward the bottom)?

If you are having IE search and you call up the search pane, does it have your preferred search engine selected?

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Hi Jeff,

I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you sooner.

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What do you have set for your address line search option (Tools>Internet Options…>Advanced tab, toward the bottom)?

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[/indent]I’m not sure I got you right. In the Advanced Tab I cannot find anything regarding “address line search”. Should it be just another checkboxed item?

[indent]

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If you are having IE search and you call up the search pane, does it have your preferred search engine selected?

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[/indent]I normally don’t use the Search Bar. The default search engine is Yahoo!. I don’t remember tweaking a setting to that default. The search engine I like most is Google. Is there anything I should infer?

Just in case, I’m using IE 6 and WinXP (no SPs installed).

Thank you

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Toward the bottom of the Advanced tab there are options for what to do with text typed into the Address bar. That’s what I was referring to.

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Hi Jefferson,

I overlooked the magnifier icons’ text. Yes, the option was there.
Unfortunately it didn’t change things. If I enter a web address merely as “www.site.com” an error message will appear. BUT it is a great relief to know I got rid of the annoying search-if-you-can’t-get-to-it feature.

Thank you very much

Reply | Quote

Hi Jefferson,

I overlooked the magnifier icons’ text. Yes, the option was there.
Unfortunately it didn’t change things. If I enter a web address merely as “www.site.com” an error message will appear. BUT it is a great relief to know I got rid of the annoying search-if-you-can’t-get-to-it feature.

Thank you very much

Reply | Quote

Toward the bottom of the Advanced tab there are options for what to do with text typed into the Address bar. That’s what I was referring to.

Reply | Quote

Hi Jeff,

I’m sorry I couldn’t get back to you sooner.

[indent]

---

What do you have set for your address line search option (Tools>Internet Options…>Advanced tab, toward the bottom)?

---

[/indent]I’m not sure I got you right. In the Advanced Tab I cannot find anything regarding “address line search”. Should it be just another checkboxed item?

[indent]

---

If you are having IE search and you call up the search pane, does it have your preferred search engine selected?

---

[/indent]I normally don’t use the Search Bar. The default search engine is Yahoo!. I don’t remember tweaking a setting to that default. The search engine I like most is Google. Is there anything I should infer?

Just in case, I’m using IE 6 and WinXP (no SPs installed).

Thank you

Reply | Quote

What do you have set for your address line search option (Tools>Internet Options…>Advanced tab, toward the bottom)?

If you are having IE search and you call up the search pane, does it have your preferred search engine selected?

Reply | Quote

See this MS article How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP. Have you considered SP-2?

Joe

--Joe

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Hello Joe,

Unfortunately the first method didn’t work. System File Checker ran, prompted me for the WinXP installation CD, kept running and finished its job. After that, nothing else happened.

As for the second method: I have the IE 6 installation files I downloaded to install in Win98. Now, IE comes built-in with WinXP. I fear that reinstalling IE from a different set of files might spoil something. Do you have a suggestion? Or do you know how to reinstall IE 6 from the WinXP installation CD?

What would result from installing any SP? I’ve been told to do this several times, but eventually I haven’t. Would IE 6 reinstall then?

Thank you

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Diego,
———————————————-
What would result from installing any SP? I’ve been told to do this several times, but eventually I haven’t.
———————————————

Might I ask: What is your opposition to installing the SPs?

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Hi Bob,

I don’t like the word “opposition” . The main drawback when there was SP1 was the size of the download. I don’t remember it exactly, but I recently read an article on SP2 and it’s 200+ MB. That’s a whole lot for a dial-up connection.
Now, if there’s a chance it’ll solve the problem, I’ll get a friend with a broadband connection to download SP2 and put it in a CD… Hope there aren’t legal issues with that .

Thank you

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(Edited by joeperez on 24-Aug-04 07:52. added note about file sharing)

I’d recommend that you get a friend to d/l SP-2 for you. There are no legal issues with downloading a service pack and sharing it with others. SP-2 contains many changes. If you want more information about SP-2 start here Windows XP Service Pack 2

NOTE: this does not mean you should put it on any file sharing network. MS takes a very dim view of this. It only means it is OK to burn a CD and use it to update a work network or a friends PCs.

Joe

--Joe

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Hello Joe,

Thank you for the link and advice. It won’t be exactly soon that I’ll get my friend to pass the CD over. In the meantime I’ll keep typing “http://” each time I feel like visiting a page. But be sure I’ll pick this thread up some time later and post my comments.

See you around

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Hello Joe,

Thank you for the link and advice. It won’t be exactly soon that I’ll get my friend to pass the CD over. In the meantime I’ll keep typing “http://” each time I feel like visiting a page. But be sure I’ll pick this thread up some time later and post my comments.

See you around

Reply | Quote

(Edited by joeperez on 24-Aug-04 07:52. added note about file sharing)

I’d recommend that you get a friend to d/l SP-2 for you. There are no legal issues with downloading a service pack and sharing it with others. SP-2 contains many changes. If you want more information about SP-2 start here Windows XP Service Pack 2

NOTE: this does not mean you should put it on any file sharing network. MS takes a very dim view of this. It only means it is OK to burn a CD and use it to update a work network or a friends PCs.

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote

Hi Diego,
Whatever word you want to use, it’s a good idea to get the latest service pack and security updates for your system.
See your friend with the broadband connection and get a copy that way. It’s perfectly legal and it may well fix some problems for you.

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Hi Bob,

I’m finally determined to do it. Come to think of it, I remember one occasion when I applied a MS Word patch that might have discouraged me to ever apply a patch again. It was a security update I think. I accepted the conditions and the installation took place alright. When I tried to open Word, it wouldn’t. I had to search for the very recently modified files, and found 3 which the patch had replaced. I asked my officemate to e-mail these same files on his computer and I replaced the troublesome ones.
Word worked fine ever after.

So “opposition” might have a psicological meaning after all . Not this time, though, as (both of) you have convinced me to go for it.

Thank you

Reply | Quote

Hi Bob,

I’m finally determined to do it. Come to think of it, I remember one occasion when I applied a MS Word patch that might have discouraged me to ever apply a patch again. It was a security update I think. I accepted the conditions and the installation took place alright. When I tried to open Word, it wouldn’t. I had to search for the very recently modified files, and found 3 which the patch had replaced. I asked my officemate to e-mail these same files on his computer and I replaced the troublesome ones.
Word worked fine ever after.

So “opposition” might have a psicological meaning after all . Not this time, though, as (both of) you have convinced me to go for it.

Thank you

Reply | Quote

Hi Diego,
Whatever word you want to use, it’s a good idea to get the latest service pack and security updates for your system.
See your friend with the broadband connection and get a copy that way. It’s perfectly legal and it may well fix some problems for you.

Reply | Quote

Hi Bob,

I don’t like the word “opposition” . The main drawback when there was SP1 was the size of the download. I don’t remember it exactly, but I recently read an article on SP2 and it’s 200+ MB. That’s a whole lot for a dial-up connection.
Now, if there’s a chance it’ll solve the problem, I’ll get a friend with a broadband connection to download SP2 and put it in a CD… Hope there aren’t legal issues with that .

Thank you

Reply | Quote

Diego,
———————————————-
What would result from installing any SP? I’ve been told to do this several times, but eventually I haven’t.
———————————————

Might I ask: What is your opposition to installing the SPs?

Reply | Quote

Hello Joe,

Unfortunately the first method didn’t work. System File Checker ran, prompted me for the WinXP installation CD, kept running and finished its job. After that, nothing else happened.

As for the second method: I have the IE 6 installation files I downloaded to install in Win98. Now, IE comes built-in with WinXP. I fear that reinstalling IE from a different set of files might spoil something. Do you have a suggestion? Or do you know how to reinstall IE 6 from the WinXP installation CD?

What would result from installing any SP? I’ve been told to do this several times, but eventually I haven’t. Would IE 6 reinstall then?

Thank you

Reply | Quote

See this MS article How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP. Have you considered SP-2?

Joe

--Joe

Reply | Quote