Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

None of the URL's (links) in any e-mail's from MSN hotmail work. The "print view" and "help" buttons on the tool bars also are inactive. Everything else appears normal. From a couple of postings way back (which I read two days ago), some said it might be the firewall. I use Norton's Personal Firewall and I disabled it to see if that corrected the problem. It did not. I use IE 6.0.2800.1106 and Win Me. All IE and Win Me updates have been downloaded and installed. I'm on a high speed wideband wireless ISP with a P3-1GHz, 384 MB RDram box. I've run Spybot Search & Destroy, Ad-Aware, and a complete virus scan with Norton. Nothing turns up. IE works in every other way. Just dead links in the e-mails. (side bar ad links work OK). Holding the CONTROL key down while clicking on the URL's does not work either. No error messages or lock ups experienced.

I've seen a lot of postings on this problem, but none of the answers solve my problem. I'm currently moving stuff to another browser, but I'd sure like to know what's going on in MSN's Hotmail.

Any ideas?

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A short, practical troubleshooting checklist and a few fixes that were not covered in the replies above. The problem described by (links and toolbar buttons inside Hotmail becoming unresponsive) can be caused by either a client-side browser environment (scripts blocked, helpers intercepting clicks, corrupted IE components) or a temporary server-side rollout. The steps below are ordered so you can isolate the cause quickly.

  • Quick isolation: try the account from a different machine or a different browser. If it works elsewhere the issue is local to your PC.
  • Clear the browser cache and cookies for Hotmail, then sign out and sign in again.
  • Look for software that intercepts HTTP traffic or injects code into pages (local proxies, privacy/ad filters, web‑security “shields”, or browser toolbars). Disable or uninstall any nonessential toolbars/filters and retry.
  • Confirm scripting is allowed for Hotmail: add hotmail.com (or mail.msn.com) to the Trusted Sites zone and ensure Active Scripting is enabled in Internet Options -> Security -> Custom Level.
  • Check the hosts file in your Windows system folder for entries redirecting MSN/Hotmail domains; remove any suspicious lines.

If the problem looks like a broken IE runtime (scripts load but links do nothing), re-register a few core DLLs from a Command Prompt (run as Administrator where applicable):

regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 mshtml.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll

Create a backup or a restore point before changing system components. If those steps fail, try booting with a clean environment (another user profile, or Safe Mode with Networking) to rule out per‑user settings.

Note: sometimes the cause is on the provider side and multiple users see the same breakage until the rollout completes. As observed, patience can resolve server-side faults; if the issue persists after trying the steps above, collect OS/browser/add‑ons details and escalate to support with that diagnostic information.

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Member Avatar for crunchie

Do you have an on board proxy like proxomitron? Found that it can play up with MSN.

Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

Please explain "on board proxy like proxomitron". I have no idea what this is.

Member Avatar for crunchie

I would say that you do not have one :). It's a small program that you install on your PC that filters out ads in web pages, as well as a few other things. It can interfere with javascripts.

Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

Thank you Crunchie for the explanation. After asking this question, I did read the many posts in the "Coffee House" regarding the how, when, where, etc. of posting and asking questions and bit my lip while I awaited the dreaded RTFM or some simular reply. Thanks for taking it easy on a newbi. I did a Google search on "proxy" and even after having read several definitions, I'm not sure I fully understand its real function suffice to say that it is something doing something on someone else's behalf and protecting that some one's real identy???

And I think you are correct - I do not have one. I do block all pop ups with my firewall, but I did try turning that off to no avail. I also tried the old "Hold the CTRL button while clicking on the URL" trick which also did not work. I have not had any problems with Java script running on my PC and Sun's latest version loaded.

With the number of similar postings of people having similar problems with MSN's links not responding, I think something else is a player here. Eventually, this forum will solve it and hopefully all will benefit.

Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

EVERYONE - PLEASE TAKE NOTE!

It would appear that Microsoft has been working on IE to expand capabilities. In the next day or so, your standard 2 MB storage space will expand to 250 MB and your attachment limits will be expanded from 1 MB to 10 MB. WOW! I received a notice in my mail box dated Nov 17th, 2004 regarding these changes. BUT WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT is that with this notice being received, all the stuff that wouldn't work before is now all working. All links (URL's) once again function and the "print view" and "help" buttons both work as well. I guess we may have been chasing our tails on this one and Microsoft was at fault from the beginning. Go figure!!!

Member Avatar for Racket

i've had same problem--received mail upgrade---still have problem with pages "inside hotmail" loading slowly or not at all. In my case, everything "outside hotmail" loads fine. What else could it be?

Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

I haven't received the upgrade yet, just the e-mail telling me that it would occur between now and the end of November. But...upon receipt of this notification, everything which wouldn't work before, is now working fine. I'm on a wireless high speed ISP (broadband connection), so loading the links seems fairly quick to me. Sometime, when they are slow, the bottleneck is at the distant server's end and it's not your PC or your ISP. Don't know what to tell you. Sorry.

Member Avatar for Racket

Thanks anyway. I've inquired at several different newsgroups and haven't come up with any useful help (apparently a lot of ppl are having the same problem). In case I didn't mention it, "all pages outside hotmail load fine". I have IE6, WinXpHome, Sp2, MsnMessenger 6.2, my ISP is Rogers yahoo (no problems there). I have no virus' or spyware, and I have all new updates from windows update site. I can't get in touch with hotmail support either or their help section. If you find any info, please let me know.

Member Avatar for Racket

hey, I just noticed something. When I am signed into my Rogers Yahoo and I then try to go to my hotmail, TA-DA!! It all works---no waiting for pages to load. When I am signed out of Rogers yahoo, the pages "in hotmail" take forever. mmmmmmmmmm?

Member Avatar for Racket

Patience is a virtue....all is working fine...only took 2wks...must have been the upgrades hotmail was makin.

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