Internet Explorer Won't Open

[Warp Coil]

This might sound like a relatively simple problem... hopefully it has an easy solution. My Internet Explorer suddenly stopped working. If I click on the icon on the dock (or even go into my Apps and try to open the program from there), the program begins to load and the Explorer window appears, then the program crashes and closes and I get a box telling me the app unexpectedly quit. Restarting my computer didn't help. Running Norton Systemworks didn't solve the issue either. Any other suggestions for how to get it back? It's quite annoying! (thankfully I've got Netscape as well so I can use that instead right now).

[idea_hamster]

You might consider emancipating youself from MS programs -- they're just not so hot. Consider a different browser:

Safari (http://www.apple.com/safari/download/)
Camino (http://www.mozilla.org/projects/camino/)
Opera (http://www.opera.com/download/)

But that wasn't your question.... You might try repairing the permissions on your hard drive using Disk Utility. You could also just trash your copy and [*shudder*] get a new one:

IE (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx#IE)

[Vector]

So what is the problem?:)

[Wes]

Try trashing your prefs, User/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.explorer.plist

[OutThere]

Typical M$ app behavior. Mozilla is also a good browser: http://www.mozilla.org/

If anything try Safari, it has the best feeling of integration with the rest of OS X.

[idea_hamster]

Originally posted by Wes
Try trashing your prefs, User/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.explorer.plist
A good suggestion! I had forgotten about this, but I had an problem with instant "Unexpected Quits" with Illustrator and this cured it.

(But dude -- come on. Lose the bloat! Lose the pop-up ads!)

[rainman::|:|]

repair permissions... once you get it up and running, get something like Safari and keep IE around only for the rare incompatability...

pnw

[tazo]

I recommend firebird. its fast and not made by M$

[Warp Coil]

Well... no luck so far. Explorer still won't work. And, in fact, there seem to be much more going on than just one stubborn program. I think updating my computer to 10.2.6 is causing trouble.... Everything was fine on 10.2 but then a couple of days ago I updated my OS to 10.2.6 and suddenly the computer got a lot slower. It takes a lot longer to boot, and longer to shut down. My DSL connection is slooooooow. And Explorer doesn't work. Suggestions? Ideas?

BTW, I tried running Norton Disk Doctor and it told me that the only way for it to repair major problems is to boot from the Norton disk. By doing this, my computer starts up in OS 9.2 instead of X. Is that normal? Doesn't the program work native in OS X?

(for the record, I'm getting sick and tired of my computer giving me grief. it isn't the first time I've had trouble with it and needed assistance to fix the problem. I'd love to just guy a new G5 but I don't have the money).

[Goggles]

I am experiencing the exact same problem. I've so far been able to trace it back to ~\Library\Internet Plug-Ins\QuickTime Plugin.plugin. I temporarily removed the plugin from the root Library Internet Plug-Ins folder and IE launches fine. You may also experience problems with Safari when trying to download files and also when trying to launch OmniWeb. I don't know what the permanent solution is yet as reinstalling QuickTime 6.3 doesn't solve the problem. The only time I can get it work properly is after a fresh, clean installation of 10.2.

Anyone have any ideas?

Cheers,
Goggles

[kgustin]

I also had the same problem. I took goggles advice and removed the quicktime plugin from the root library/Internet Plug-In folder and the problem was fixed.

I don't understand this but I only had problems with the internet browser on one user account. A new account functioned fine. How can a 'bad' file in the root only affect one user?

Also, what does removing the quicktime plugin from the library folder do? Any downside?

Thanks,

Kurt

[Goggles]

An unusable QuickTime preference can cause Safari to quit when you click on a media link. To check for that issue, follow these steps:

1. If Safari is open, quit it (Command-Q).
2. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
3. Choose Go > Go to Folder.
4. Type: ~/Library/Preferences/
5. Click Go.
6. Locate this file: com.apple.quicktime.plugin.preferences.plist
7. Drag the file to the desktop.
8. Reopen Safari.

If behavior is back to normal, move the "com.apple.quicktime.plugin.preferences.plist" to the Trash. It will be recreated as needed by Mac OS X.