Internet shortcuts on Desktop won't work--Solved

Question

Edit: Problem solved by selecting 'IE should check to see if it is the default browser' even though it was always the default and no other browser installed. When I next clicked on an Internet shortcut, a message appeared. 'IE is not the default browser. Would you like it to the default?' Clicked YES! and problem fixed. Internet web page shortcuts that are on the Desktop suddenly will not work. Error says: 'Windows cannot find http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board?board.id=sw_winxp  Make sure you type it correctly.' Then a blank IE page opens and never loads an address. If IE is already open, then they work. File associations for URL, HTML, Internet shortcuts all check out. All other web shortcuts--Favorites, Internet Explorer, links to web pages work. Other non web shortcuts on the Desktop also work. I'm stumped. Message Edited by Mary G on 06-13-2004 06:19 PM Message Edited by Mary G on 06-14-2004 12:03 PM

maxd · Answer

Could you possibly have the Swen flu ?

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;837334&Product=winxp

Try re-installing/repairing IE ?

http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=04db01c313ee%2427c08b20%243301280a%40phx.gbl&rnum=2&prev=/groups%3Fq%3DIE%2520%2522Windows%2520cannot%2520find%2522%2520Make%2520sure%2520you%2520type%2520it%2520correctly%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg

Margaret's 'solution'.

http://groups.google.ca/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=uBhgn4LbDHA.880%40TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fq%3DIE%2520%2522Windows%2520cannot%2520find%2522%2520Make%2520sure%2520you%2520type%2520it%2520correctly%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DN%26tab%3Dwg

Mary G · Answer

No, not possible. Complete virus scan came up clean and only Desktop Internet shortcuts do this--even brand new ones. The Internet Explorer icon works perfectly and then the others work. It seems that Windows instead of IE tries to open the shortcuts.

rjmat · Answer

Mary G,
I see you edited your original post and your problem is fixed.
I wonder how some of these selections we consider to be 'in place', (such as IE being your default browser, etc.,) get changed without any cognizant action on our part? The reason I bring this up is I recently had a bout with my laptop not going to standby, and I blamed it on updates to some of my applications, windows critical updates, and whatever else seemed to have changed my system status in the preceeding days and weeks; only to find that in the Power Options Properties, the power schemes selection was somehow changed (?) to Home/Office Desk. When I changed it back to Portable/Laptop -- the 'standby' function performed as it should.

Mary G · Answer

I can't figure that out either. I tried rebooting, restoring, scanning for viruses, replacing dll's....etc. My problem started when I used system file checker. (sfc  /scannow) I don't even know if that was the cause. I've got 2 computers and all the settings were the same on both. The solution I found in the MS Knowledge Base was for Netscape--which I don't have--but I figured it couldn't hurt.

redwolfe_98 · Answer

the forum was down for several hours just before you reported the problem.. i thought that maybe that was the problem..

Windows General

Internet shortcuts on Desktop won't work--Solved

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