Browser Features and Functions

This section describes some of the problems you may encounter when you use browser features and functions. Troubleshooting topics include:

• You do not want to disconnect from the Internet when closing Internet programs.
• Problems occur when you use a proxy server and Novell NetWare.
• You are unable to remove an ActiveX control.
• You cannot enable or disable style sheets in Internet Explorer.
• Errors occur when a Java program is run.
• An ActiveX control doesn't run properly.
• You cannot connect to the Internet-the proxy server configuration is not working.

You do not want to disconnect from the Internet when closing Internet programs

For dial-up connections, you may be prompted to disconnect from the Internet when all Internet programs, such as Outlook Express and Internet Explorer, are closed. You can change this setting on a per-connection basis. For example, you could specify that a RAS connection does not disconnect while an ISP connection prompts you to disconnect.

To change whether or not you are prompted to disconnect from the Internet when closing Internet programs

1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2. Under Dial-up Settings, select the connection that you want to change.
3. Click Settings, and then under Dial-up Settings, click Advanced.
4. Clear the Disconnect when connection may no longer be needed check box.

Problems occur when you use a proxy server and Novell NetWare

When you use Internet Explorer with a proxy server and Novell NetWare 32-bit client software to browse the Internet, you may experience the following:

• Slow connections
• Inconsistent downloads
• An inability to view non-Microsoft sites

First, verify that you are using the Novell NetWare 32-bit client and that you are connecting to the Internet by using a proxy server.

To verify that you are using the Novell client

1. On the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Network icon.
3. On the Configuration tab, verify that Novell 32 appears on the list of network connections.

To verify that you are connecting to the Internet by using a proxy server

1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2. Click LAN Settings.
3. Verify that the Use a Proxy Server check box is selected and that the Address box contains entries. This indicates that Internet Explorer is set up to connect to the Internet through a proxy server.

If you are using the Novell NetWare 32-bit client and are connecting to the Internet by using a proxy server, you will need to add to the Internet settings registry key to resolve the connection and download problems.

Warning This section contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows\System folder. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To add to the Internet settings registry key

1. Open Windows Registry Editor and locate the following registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
   CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

2. In this key, create a new binary value named:

   DontUseDNSLoadBalancing

3. Set the value of the new registry key to:

   01 00 00 00

4. Restart your computer.

   Note The Novell NetWare 32-bit client is not manufactured by Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

You are unable to remove an ActiveX control

Internet Explorer includes the Occache.dll file, which is used to enumerate, update, and safely uninstall ActiveX controls by using a shell folder. Internet Explorer supports multiple Occache folders. The list of Occache folders is located in the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\ActiveX Cache

By default, Internet Explorer stores ActiveX controls in the Windows\Downloaded Program Files or Winnt\Downloaded Program Files folder. If you upgraded from Internet Explorer 3.x, both an Occache and Downloaded Program Files folder may exist. In this case, all new ActiveX controls are installed in the Downloaded Program Files folder, but previously installed ActiveX controls still work in the Occache folder.

Restoring the Ability to Easily Uninstall ActiveX Controls

The Downloaded Program Files folder contains functionality that enables you to easily uninstall ActiveX controls. When this folder is deleted, a new Downloaded Program Files folder is created the next time Internet Explorer downloads new program files. However, the newly created folder does not contain the functionality to easily uninstall ActiveX controls. You can restore this ability to the Downloaded Program Files folder by using the Internet Explorer Repair tool. For more information about the Repair tool, see "Problems occur due to out-of-date, deleted, or corrupted files" earlier in this chapter.

Errors When Removing an ActiveX Control

When you try to remove an ActiveX control by using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, you may receive an error message for the following reasons:

Share Violations

The following message appears:

These program files are currently being used by one or more programs. Please close some programs, and try again. You may need to restart Windows.

This message occurs if the ActiveX control you are trying to remove is currently loaded in memory by Internet Explorer or an Internet Explorer desktop component.

To resolve this share violation

1. Close all open Internet Explorer windows.
2. Disable the Internet Explorer desktop.

   To do so, right-click an empty area on the desktop, point to Active Desktop, and then click View As Web Page to clear the check mark.

3. Restart Windows.
4. To remove the ActiveX control, click the Add/Remove Programs icon in Control Panel.

Note The following ActiveX controls are used by Internet Explorer and should not be removed:

• DirectAnimation Java Classes
• Internet Explorer Classes for Java
• Microsoft XML Parser for Java
• Win32 Classes

Component Removal

The following message appears:

About to remove a Windows system DLL: (<path\filename>). Okay to delete?

This error occurs if the ActiveX control installed files into a folder other than a registered Occache folder (for example, Windows\System or Winnt\System32), and Occache cannot determine whether those files are shared by other programs.

If you are certain the file listed in the message is not being used by Windows or another program, click Yes. Otherwise, click No.

You cannot enable or disable style sheets in Internet Explorer

When you use Internet Explorer, you may experience the following symptoms:

• You disabled the use of style sheets in Internet Explorer 3.x, but after you upgrade to Internet Explorer 5 or Windows 98, you cannot re-enable them.
• You cannot disable the use of style sheets in Internet Explorer 5.

This problem can occur because the ability to disable style sheets was removed from Internet properties. You can resolve this problem by setting registry values to disable or re-enable the use of style sheets.

Warning This section contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the Windows\System folder. Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To disable or re-enable the use of style sheets

1. Open Windows Registry Editor and locate the following registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

2. To disable the use of style sheets, set the string value of Use StyleSheets to no.

   To enable the use of style sheets, set the string value of Use StyleSheets to yes.

Note When you disable the use of style sheets, it may affect the appearance of Web sites or the Internet Explorer desktop.

Errors occur when a Java program is run

If a problem occurs when you run a Java program, a summary of Java error messages might be displayed in the status bar in Internet Explorer. However, if the Java program cannot be loaded, it may not write Java error messages to the status bar.

When a Java program is run and an error occurs, Internet Explorer also creates a Javalog.txt file in the Windows\Java folder. The Javalog.txt file provides information about the Java error and the classes affected.

In order for Internet Explorer to create the Javalog.txt file, you must enable Java logging.

To enable Java logging

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Internet Options icon, and then click the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Java logging enabled check box.

An ActiveX control doesn't run properly

If a Web page is not displayed properly, an ActiveX control may not have loaded or may be out-of-date. The following procedure helps you determine whether an ActiveX control is the cause of the problem.

To determine whether an ActiveX control may not have loaded or may be out-of-date

1. On the Internet Explorer View menu, click Source.
2. Look for source code similar to the following:

   <OBJECT ID=NewsBrowser WIDTH=92 HEIGHT=244 BORDER=0
   STANDBY="Click here for help installing MSNBC News Menu"
   CLASSID=CLSID:2FF18E10-DE11-11d1-8161-00A0C90DD90C
   CODEBASE=/download/nm0713.cab#Version=3,0,0713,0>

   This source code indicates that the MSNBC NewsBrowser is an ActiveX control by listing the CLASSID (CLSID) where it is stored in the registry under HKCR\CLSID. It also lists the CODEBASE, which indicates where to retrieve the .cab file for installing the control and the version that it currently needs.

   The control is loaded from the Downloaded Program Items folder. This process is not visible to the user. If the control cannot be loaded from this folder, Internet Explorer tries to download the control from the CODEBASE. If the control is corrupted, it may not load and won't display the proper control needed to view the Web page properly.

After you check the source code to determine whether an ActiveX control may not have loaded or may be out-of-date, update the control, if necessary.

To update the ActiveX control

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
2. In the Temporary Internet Files area, click Settings.
3. To view the ActiveX control installed on the computer, click View Objects.
4. Right-click the ActiveX control, and then click Update.

Note If you are not sure which control in the Downloaded Program Files folder is associated with the control identified in the source code, you can check the registry under HKCR\CLSID\<clsid number that is listed in the source>. Click the number, and it will list the name of the control at that registry key.

5. Try to view the Web page.
6. If the Web page is still not being displayed correctly, repeat steps 1 through 3, right-click the ActiveX control, and then click Remove.
7. Try to view the Web page again. The control should automatically be reinstalled based on the CODEBASE information.

You cannot connect to the Internet-the proxy server configuration is not working

Your organization might use a proxy server on a local area network (LAN) to connect to the Internet. A proxy server acts as a gateway for the computers on the network to access the Internet. A proxy server does not prevent other people on the Internet from accessing your network-a firewall can serve this purpose.

To successfully connect to the Internet, you must correctly configure Internet Explorer to use your proxy server. If Internet Explorer is configured for your proxy server, you should consider the following:

• If you configured the settings for the proxy server manually within the browser, you should verify the proxy server address.

To verify your proxy server address

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2. Click Settings, or click LAN Settings.
3. In the Proxy Server area, verify the address.
• If you are using automatic detection and automatic configuration, the DHCP and DNS servers should automatically detect and configure the browser's proxy settings on a per-connection basis. You should verify that automatic detection and automatic configuration are enabled within the browser. Your DHCP server must support the DHCPINFORM message; otherwise, use DNS.

To verify that automatic detection and automatic configuration are enabled

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2. Click Settings, or click LAN Settings.
3. In the Automatic Configuration area, verify that the Automatically detect settings check box is selected.

Note that automatic detection is enabled by default for LAN connections and disabled by default for RAS connections. For more information about automatic detection and automatic configuration, see Chapter 21, "Using Automatic Configuration and Automatic Proxy." For more information about setting up DHCP and DNS servers for automatic detection and automatic configuration, see Chapter 13, "Setting Up Servers."

4. If automatic detection and automatic configuration are configured correctly and proxy server detection still fails, you can click Detect my network settings on the error dialog box to try proxy-server detection again.
5. If you are using an auto-proxy URL, you should verify that the browser is configured with the correct URL address.

To verify that the browser is configured with the correct auto-proxy URL address

1. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Connections tab.
2. Click Settings, or click LAN Settings.
3. In the Automatic Configuration area, verify that the Use automatic configuration script check box is selected and that the address is correct for your auto-proxy URL.