IE lost ability to reach Windows Update site

On my XP Media Edition, SP 2, I've been getting Automatic Updates
successfully since I bought the computer. This week I noticed I
didn't get the publicized June 13 update. I tried to get it
manually, and discovered that Internet Explorer 6 has lost its
ability to reach the update site
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsu....aspx?ln=en-us
Every time I try to browse to that URL, or use any of the links
from microsoft.com to its update pages, IE shows a blank white
window, begins to show progress in its green fuel gauge, then
locks up. I have to end the task to recover.

IE can reach every other URL that I've tried without problem,
including other parts of microsoft.com.
That made me suspect the ActiveX stuff the Update site uses.
I have in the past successfully used the Microsoft Update
site manually with this machine.

I've relaxed the permissions for Microsoft URLs to use ActiveX,
popups, and everything else in the security and privacy options.
I've tried the advice at MS's FAQ at the Update pages, and in
http://support.microsoft.com/default...EN-US;q316524&
(though that's about permissions, and I don't have any reason
to suspect permissions are the cause of my trouble).

Firefox can reach the URL, but of course the page then says I
have to use IE instead.

I have had problems in the past with Windows Update destabilizing
security software, so I uninstalled everything except Windows
Firewall. I can reach the site from a different computer.

I haven't made any changes in my system that should have affected
this. That makes me suspect the last batch of successful
updates. I really don't want to do System Restore and roll back
a whole month. Is that the next thing to try?

Thanks for insights and advice.

--
Glenn Holliday

I have this issue too. If you recently had WMP 11 Beta installed, and then
uninstalled it, then what probably happened is you lost a needed file to
display those types of web pages. Open System Restore and see if it shows up
as a blank white page too. If not, then you don't have the same problem as me


"Glenn Holliday" wrote:

> On my XP Media Edition, SP 2, I've been getting Automatic Updates
> successfully since I bought the computer. This week I noticed I
> didn't get the publicized June 13 update. I tried to get it
> manually, and discovered that Internet Explorer 6 has lost its
> ability to reach the update site
> http://update.microsoft.com/windowsu....aspx?ln=en-us
> Every time I try to browse to that URL, or use any of the links
> from microsoft.com to its update pages, IE shows a blank white
> window, begins to show progress in its green fuel gauge, then
> locks up. I have to end the task to recover.
>
> IE can reach every other URL that I've tried without problem,
> including other parts of microsoft.com.
> That made me suspect the ActiveX stuff the Update site uses.
> I have in the past successfully used the Microsoft Update
> site manually with this machine.
>
> I've relaxed the permissions for Microsoft URLs to use ActiveX,
> popups, and everything else in the security and privacy options.
> I've tried the advice at MS's FAQ at the Update pages, and in
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...EN-US;q316524&
> (though that's about permissions, and I don't have any reason
> to suspect permissions are the cause of my trouble).
>
> Firefox can reach the URL, but of course the page then says I
> have to use IE instead.
>
> I have had problems in the past with Windows Update destabilizing
> security software, so I uninstalled everything except Windows
> Firewall. I can reach the site from a different computer.
>
> I haven't made any changes in my system that should have affected
> this. That makes me suspect the last batch of successful
> updates. I really don't want to do System Restore and roll back
> a whole month. Is that the next thing to try?
>
> Thanks for insights and advice.
>
> --
> Glenn Holliday
>