Member Avatar for Eugene66

Ok this is how the problems developed.

OS: Windows XP pro service pack 3 IE6 originally

I installed Eusing registry cleaners. Mallerware and AVG 9

Scanned and cleaned a lot of stuff off. Then the IE (6) Icon changed and looked like an "unknown file" but only in the start menu. It worked when you used it but it was also slow.

So I tried a simple uninstall-reinstall. After that when you click on it nothing happens. I opened Program manager on the side and for a split second I see it reads "Sysvader" and then dissapears when I click on the icon. In the beginning there was a flicker of a window and then nothing.

I tried to upgrade it to IE7 but it does not help. The problem remains exactly the same.

Please dont tell me to go into internet options to fix this. There is NO internet explorer client to work with. No window no tools no nothing. Just a desktop. I tried to find internet options off the control panel. It's missing. When I right click and say "Open without add-ons." Or "Open internet options." It does not open. When I uninstall it I get an internet options Icon in the start menu that still does not open.

I cannot use "system restore". It s wiped out as I had to disable it to scan in it in safemode when I cleaned the machine out. So all the restore points have been erased.

When I log in as another user I still have the problem.

I gave up and loaded Mozilla for my client and it works now on Mozzilla but she might call me later when this becomes a problem and then I will have to find a solution.

I recall having this problem before and I found a simple fix but for the hell of me I cannot remember what it was.

  • 2 Contributors
  • 1 Reply
  • 230 Views
  • 7 Months Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by hope4agape

Dani AI

Generated

Short expert summary and practical next steps tied to the thread: the symptoms describes (IE icon changing, then iexplore briefly appearing and closing after a registry-clean + reinstall) most often point to missing or wrong COM/Urlmon registrations or damaged IE DLLs — a documented cause of “new window is blank / IE does not open” behaviour. A stuck error‑reporting or a third‑party startup/shell hook (the situation mentioned) can also stop IE from launching. See Microsoft’s notes on these IE failure modes. Microsoft: new IE window may be blank / nothing happens. (support.microsoft.com)

Quick, safe ordered diagnostics (perform in this order, from least invasive to more intrusive):

  1. Kill any lingering iexplore.exe in Task Manager; then try launching IE from a command prompt with add‑ons disabled:
    "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -extoff
  2. Run System File Checker to repair core Windows files:
    sfc /scannow

    (Windows XP may request the installation CD).

  3. Re‑register core IE COM DLLs from an elevated command prompt — run each line and confirm “DllRegisterServer succeeded”:
    regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 mshtml.dll
regsvr32 browseui.dll
regsvr32 jscript.dll
regsvr32 vbscript.dll
regsvr32 oleaut32.dll

    Microsoft documents re‑registering IE components and SFC as supported recovery steps. Re-register IE files guidance. (learn.microsoft.com)

If IE still dies immediately: collect evidence and isolate hooks. Use Sysinternals Autoruns to disable non‑Microsoft startup items / shell extensions and Process Monitor to trace which DLL or registry access fails when iexplore starts; booting to Safe Mode or performing a clean boot (msconfig) can quickly reveal if a startup item is the offender. Process Monitor (Procmon) · Autoruns. (learn.microsoft.com)

When nothing fixes the broken registrations, the remaining recovery paths are: repair‑install or clean reinstall of Windows XP after a full backup (repair install preserves apps/data while restoring system files). Avoid downloading individual DLLs from random sites; use original Windows/IE media or official sources. For reinstall guidance see a Windows XP install/repair walkthrough. How to clean/repair install Windows XP. (lifewire.com)

Notes and cautions: create a registry backup or image before editing or running repair steps; registry cleaners can remove vital registrations (which matches the timeline in this thread), so proceed methodically and collect logs (Procmon/Autoruns) before a reinstall.

Member Avatar for hope4agape

SImple fix, had the same issue was impacting both IE explore and Firefox. Firefox when I opened said "Another instance is running.
IE wouldnt open but the process would open multiple occurences .
I went into MSconfig and turned off all auto-start programs and one of them running was a MS regdump .
Looking up this process it was a reporting mechinism back to microsoft stating a problem.
OK this makes sense, I got some kind of issue on microsoft and it wants to call back to daddy . Only this occurs when you open a browser.
So the solution was to turn off MS reporting. Control panel - System - advanced error reporting. Click disable error reporting .
I believe the error reporting program got hung and was preventing IE and Fire fox from opening because it was trying to send a report to Micro-soft.
SInce I disabled the reporting everything is working great.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.