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Hi guys, can you give me some help?

It all basically started some times ago. I don't remember doing anything but suddenly my IE stopped working. Everything, and I mean it - everything opens in Firefox. It may be OK in 90% of cases, but I want to be able to use IE when I want to.

If I open IE and type in address - immediately FF fires up and opens that link. If I select something from IE's favourites - it opens in FF. I try Windows Update - it goes to FF and of cours I can't get any updates because of that. IE stays blank.

It is really annoying, and I can't think of anything. Its a nightmare if I want to check my site, have to go to Uni just to see how it works.

I don't think I had that problem before, but then it suddenly broke.

Any ideas?
Thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by 4ukh

Dani AI

Generated

A few brief, practical diagnostics and fixes to go beyond the quick replies from and . Their suggestions point toward the right area (which app handles web links), but the goal is to identify whether the problem is system-wide, user-specific, or caused by a hook/hijacker before taking bigger steps.

Try these targeted checks (in this order) and watch what actually happens when a link is opened:

  • Test with a clean profile: create a new local user and see if IE behaves normally there. If it does, the issue is in your user hive, not the OS.
  • Run IE without add-ons to rule out a BHO/extension capturing links: iexplore.exe -extoff.
  • Explicitly launch IE with a URL and observe which executable actually runs. Use Task Manager or Sysinternals Process Explorer/Procmon while clicking an IE favorite to capture the CreateProcess/registry activity.

Here are quick commands to use while diagnosing:

iexplore.exe -extoff
start "" "iexplore.exe" "http://example.com"
assoc .htm
ftype htmlfile

If a link click still ends up launching Firefox, inspect protocol handlers and file-type bindings rather than immediately reinstalling. Relevant registry locations to view (export before editing) include:

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\http\shell\open\command
  • HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\http\shell\open\command
  • The same keys for https, and the .htm / .html associations.

If those handlers point to Firefox (or a third-party stub), correcting them or restoring defaults will fix the behavior. Also scan for adware/hijackers with up-to-date tools (Malwarebytes/AdwCleaner) and try Safe Mode with Networking. Only after the above fail should more invasive repairs (system restore or a Windows/IE repair) be considered. Back up the registry and set a restore point before making changes.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for 4ukh

it seam your proxy settings check that out... and firefox is a good option...

4ukh

Member Avatar for caperjack

What version of IE,make sure IE is set to be the default browser , tools .internet options /programs

Member Avatar for 4ukh

Reinstall the IE....

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