In article <telecom0.0.1@telecom-digest.org>,
TELECOM Digest Editor <ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
> This is an appeal to any Windows Internet Explorer person in our
> readership who can help me:
> Wednesday night/Thursday morning someone stuck me with a virus and the
> end result was my Internet Explorer browser is gone. I cannot get the
> browser to come up at all; clicking on the icon makes it sit for a few
> seconds, then the screen flashes ONCE as though it was getting ready
> to deliver the browser, but no such luck. I have cleared out the virus
> but apparently a driver or two or a file is gone as well.
> Not only that but I cannot even get any pages which would come via
> that browser. Now my copy of Mozilla works just fine, its only that
> Internet Explorer 6.0 wont come up (or anything that depends on it,
> such as a link in email, etc.)
> Using Mozilla I went to a download site (supposedly 'free downloads')
> and paid for a password to download an entirely new copy of Internet
> Explorer 6.0 and Outlook Express. Downloaded it, but still nothing ...
> I am wondering if it is because my index page (I was using 'my yahoo'
> as my home or starting page) somehow got wiped out.
> The newly loaded thing produces the very same results: click on the
> icon, it goes away for a couple seconds, comes back flashing once then
> goes away.
> Can you tell me WHERE to install a new 'index' page ('Documents and
> Settings/Administrator/something? so I can try that method to clear
> this up? Or got any other ideas? And where would I go to make mail
> and all the other links default to mozilla rather than IE?
> Microsoft tech support cannot help me because I have an OEM serial
> number. So I am seeking tech support from the readership here. If
> someone will send me email who can help, I will supply that person
> with an 800 number to reach me at by phone so it will not cost them
> anything to call me, and I will be right at the affected computer to
> follow their instructions. Thanks very much!
The Microsoft-standard troubleshooting and repair script for all
problems:
1) Exit the program and re-start it.
Did that fix the problem? (If yes, you're done.)
2) Re-install the software, and re-start it.
Did that fix the problem? (If yes, you're done.)
3) Re-install the operating system, re-start it. Re-install the
application and start it. Did that fix the problem? (If yes,
you're done.)
4) Sorry. Must be a hardware problem.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I know you meant to tell a funny story
but sorry, it was not all that funny. I have done numbers 1 and 2
above; am not inclined to do number 3, and it is _not_ number 4 since
the hardware, which is in common to both the Linux stuff inside the
computer and the Windows 2000 stuff is working fine. The problem still
exists and I am still struggling with it, however there is one more
piece of news in this process of elimination: Although Internet
Explorer will not start up when the 'administrator' user is on line, I
also created a user known as 'ptownson' and IE works fine on that
'user' account; just not on the administrator's account which is what
I usually use.
The problem (for those of you who missed my special mailing on it,
is that (in the admin account) when I click on the icon for IE 6.0
it stalls a few seconds, then _very briefly_ flashes up the browser
program with a blank 'home page' then after a second or less zaps
it away. If I wish to use the IE browser, I can go in through a
'back door' such as any page which presents a bunch of files, for
example 'search' or 'desktop', move my mouse up to the address line
and then manually edit the destination line and get to
my 'home page' or any URL desired. But the clicker on my desktop will
not work, nor will any link to click on which relies on IE getting
open. Mozilla, which is another desktop icon works just fine, click on
it, get my 'home page' and go to wherever. Now, if I could set the
various program defaults so that Outlook Express for example and other
programs currently relying on IE to operate instead went to Mozilla
to operate, I suppose I could just write off IE entirely _when using
the administrator account_ on my Windows 2000. By the way, when I use
the 'ptownson' account on the same machine, everything works fine.
What am I overlooking in the admin account? What about read/write
permissions on the 'home page'? It goes to look for the home page,
sees the permissions won't allow it to be read, so it closes down and
goes away? What is the exact directory location in DOS where I can
find that file? Something like
C:\documents and settings\administrator\something else? Clues are
welcome. Look at the special request message in the special mailing
Friday afternoon and see if you can help me. PAT]
Robert Bonomi (bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com)