Member Avatar for actfray

Running Windows 7 and IE9. Today I suddenly can't log in to my Youtube account. I've done everything you can imagine - cleared cookies and cache, rebooted, reconfigured start-up, enabled compatibility view, etc. I've also made sure my Google account was connected to YT.

I keep getting an error page that says "Oops! There was an issue signing you in to Youtube." I've done all the troubleshooting they suggest, but nothing has fixed it.

I can log in with Google Chrome, but I hate using that browser. I'd never had any problems logging in with IE before today.

Thanks for any suggestions.

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Following the posts from and , a short technical note explaining a common root cause and safe, practical steps to avoid the same problem in future.

Internet Explorer isolates web content into sandboxes (Protected Mode / Enhanced Protected Mode). If an identity provider (for example, Google’s sign‑in endpoint) runs in a different sandbox than the site you’re visiting, cookies and session tokens are not shared across those sandboxes — that can make an otherwise-correct login flow fail. Microsoft documents this exact class of cookie/idP issues when Enhanced Protected Mode is enabled. (support.microsoft.com)

At a lower level, Protected Mode runs IE with a “low integrity” token and stores browser data (Temporary Internet Files, Cookies) in low-integrity locations; processes running at higher integrity cannot read those low-integrity cookies without special handling. That integrity/isolation model is why changing how the browser is started or which security zone a site is in can suddenly make sign‑in succeed or fail. (codemag.com)

Practical, safer steps to try (in order of risk and permanence):

  1. Add the Google domains you need (for example, https://accounts.google.com and https://www.youtube.com) to Internet Explorer’s Trusted Sites zone, and then adjust that zone’s settings rather than globally lowering security. Microsoft documents how to manage zones in Internet Options → Security. (support.microsoft.com)
  2. If Enhanced Protected Mode (EPM) is in use, test temporarily disabling EPM or install the most recent IE cumulative updates Microsoft recommends for EPM cookie fixes; the KB article above explains the update-based resolution. (support.microsoft.com)
  3. Avoid using the browser with elevated/administrator privileges as a regular workaround — elevation changes integrity context and can break sign‑in flows and also increases security risk (some browsers explicitly block or alter sign‑in when run elevated). (learn.microsoft.com)
  4. If practical, move to a modern, supported browser or use IE mode in Edge for legacy pages; Google also recommends using a supported browser for sign‑in. ()

If those steps don’t help, check corporate Group Policy or third‑party security/antivirus software that may block cross‑site cookies or web redirects — those are common hidden causes of idP failures.

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Member Avatar for rubberman

It is possible that someone has pwnd your youtube account. Have you contacted their support page? Have you tried creating a new account? Have you changed your gmail/google password?

Member Avatar for actfray

I figured out what happened. Somehow the "Run as administrator" function had been turned off. Once I turned it back on, I was able to log in without a problem.

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