I've got a mess...

Yesterday, a member of our computer club called stating that he was
attempting to do a repair install on his Windows XP computer because he
couldn't get Internet Explorer 6 to work. Not working meant that a blank IE6
page AND Firefox would open instead. When attempting use Windows Udate,
Firefox isn't the way to go.

The repair install would get two-thirds of the way along and hang up with a
message regarding his audio card. I asked him to bring it over. I determined
that the Creative Audigy 2 driver was out of date, so I pressed ahead and
completed the installation. I visited the Creative site and downloaded and
installed the driver. I then installed SP2 from my USB Flash drive. On
completion, the system was re-started and, lo and behold, it restarted the
Windows Repair install. This time the install progressed smoothly all the
way. Service Pack 2 was installed again.

Service Pack 3 was installed from my USB Flash drive. All went well. Then
Windows Update again went to Firefox. So I opened Windows Update on my
Windows XP machine and typed the URL into Internet Explorer 6. Twenty
updates were installed including Internet Explorer 7.

Now that all is updated, I again went to Windows Update only to have a blank
IE7 and Firefox...

I have uninstalled Firefox. IE7 will not open. I get a momentary flash of
the browser and then nothing. I thought maybe the shortcut was corrupted. I
drilled down into the Program Files and double clicked on IEXPLORE.EXE Same
flash in the pan. I then attempted to uninstall IE7, to resort to IE6. In
Add or Remove programs there is no Remove button...

Any thoughts?

Answer to one question as to why you can't uninstall IE7 after updating to
SP3.
IE and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/200...and-xpsp3.aspx

As for the blank IE on WU site -
Register JSCRIPT.DLL
Click Start, Choose Run.
In the Run box, type regsvr32 jscript.dll
Click OK.

You may also need to re-register the mshtml.dll

Other info:

Internet Explorer stops responding, stops working, or restarts
http://support.microsoft.com/gp/pc_ie_intro
Internet Explorer stops responding, stops working, or restarts unexpectedly,
or you are asked to report a problem with Internet Explorer Self-help steps
for a beginning to an intermediate computer user
--

TaurArian [MVP] 2005-2009 - Update Services
http://taurarian.mvps.org
======================================
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
Disclaimer: The information has been posted "as is" with no warranties or
guarantees and doesn't give any rights.
Computer Maintenance: Acronis / Diskeeper / Paragon / Raxco


"Charles W Davis" <> wrote in message
news:0465F5CE-B4AE-4B7C-8EB6-...
> Yesterday, a member of our computer club called stating that he was
> attempting to do a repair install on his Windows XP computer because he
> couldn't get Internet Explorer 6 to work. Not working meant that a blank
> IE6 page AND Firefox would open instead. When attempting use Windows
> Udate, Firefox isn't the way to go.
>
> The repair install would get two-thirds of the way along and hang up with
> a message regarding his audio card. I asked him to bring it over. I
> determined that the Creative Audigy 2 driver was out of date, so I pressed
> ahead and completed the installation. I visited the Creative site and
> downloaded and installed the driver. I then installed SP2 from my USB
> Flash drive. On completion, the system was re-started and, lo and behold,
> it restarted the Windows Repair install. This time the install progressed
> smoothly all the way. Service Pack 2 was installed again.
>
> Service Pack 3 was installed from my USB Flash drive. All went well. Then
> Windows Update again went to Firefox. So I opened Windows Update on my
> Windows XP machine and typed the URL into Internet Explorer 6. Twenty
> updates were installed including Internet Explorer 7.
>
> Now that all is updated, I again went to Windows Update only to have a
> blank IE7 and Firefox...
>
> I have uninstalled Firefox. IE7 will not open. I get a momentary flash of
> the browser and then nothing. I thought maybe the shortcut was corrupted.
> I drilled down into the Program Files and double clicked on IEXPLORE.EXE
> Same flash in the pan. I then attempted to uninstall IE7, to resort to
> IE6. In Add or Remove programs there is no Remove button...
>
> Any thoughts?

1. Do a format & reinstall.

2. A Repair Install will not resolve a hijackware problem.

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

Run a /thorough/ check for hijackware, including posting your hijackthis log
to an appropriate forum.

Checking for/Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=5878
http://wiki.castlecops.com/Malware_R...:_Introduction
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/tshoot.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://defendingyourmachine2.blogspot.com/
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/...moving_Malware

When all else fails, HijackThis v2.0.2
(http://aumha.org/downloads/hijackthis.exe) is the preferred tool to use (in
conjuction with some other utilities). HijackThis will NOT fix anything on
its own, but it will help you to both identify and remove any
hijackware/spyware with assistance from an expert. **Post your log to
http://spywarehammer.com/simplemachi...php?board=10.0,
http://forums.spybot.info/forumdisplay.php?f=22,
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=30, or another appropriate forum for review
by an expert in such matters, not here.**

If the procedures look too complex - and there is no shame in admitting this
isn't your cup of tea - take the machine to a local, reputable and
independent (i.e., not BigBoxStoreUSA or Geek Squad) computer repair shop.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/


Charles W Davis wrote:
> Yesterday, a member of our computer club called stating that he was
> attempting to do a repair install on his Windows XP computer because he
> couldn't get Internet Explorer 6 to work. Not working meant that a blank
> IE6
> page AND Firefox would open instead. When attempting use Windows Udate,
> Firefox isn't the way to go.
>
> The repair install would get two-thirds of the way along and hang up with
> a
> message regarding his audio card. I asked him to bring it over. I
> determined
> that the Creative Audigy 2 driver was out of date, so I pressed ahead and
> completed the installation. I visited the Creative site and downloaded and
> installed the driver. I then installed SP2 from my USB Flash drive. On
> completion, the system was re-started and, lo and behold, it restarted the
> Windows Repair install. This time the install progressed smoothly all the
> way. Service Pack 2 was installed again.
>
> Service Pack 3 was installed from my USB Flash drive. All went well. Then
> Windows Update again went to Firefox. So I opened Windows Update on my
> Windows XP machine and typed the URL into Internet Explorer 6. Twenty
> updates were installed including Internet Explorer 7.
>
> Now that all is updated, I again went to Windows Update only to have a
> blank
> IE7 and Firefox...
>
> I have uninstalled Firefox. IE7 will not open. I get a momentary flash of
> the browser and then nothing. I thought maybe the shortcut was corrupted.
> I
> drilled down into the Program Files and double clicked on IEXPLORE.EXE
> Same
> flash in the pan. I then attempted to uninstall IE7, to resort to IE6. In
> Add or Remove programs there is no Remove button...
>
> Any thoughts?