IT Queries: Computer problems answered

When I surf the web using Internet Explorer, I can’t see any images and just get an empty box with a red X in it. How do I see my images?

You can turn images on in Internet Explorer by clicking the Options menu in Internet Explorer then choose the Advanced Tab and make sure the Show Pictures check box is ticked. Click Okay and you should find that resolves the problem.

If it doesn’t you may have a security program interfering or there may be an other setting you need to change, Microsoft go into some detail on this in their Pictures are not displayed on Web sites in Internet Explorer Knowledge Base post.

Is it possible for websites to be in your history that you did not visit (using windows internet explorer)? if so, how?

Unless your computer has been seriously infected with a very malicious bug, it’s impossible for un-visited sites to be in your browsing history list.

However it is possible you don’t know you’ve visited these sites as some web locations activate new sites called pop-ups, these are the screens that appear while you are surfing other sites. They have a relation called a pop under that sometimes appears when you shut down your other pages. It could be that some of these sites are appearing in your history.

Generally though it’s unlikely any site you haven’t visited to appear in your browser history, it is possible though someone else using your computer is visiting sites you aren’t aware of.

I decided to Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from my computer and change to Firefox and Opera for my web browsers.  However, when going to uninstall IE8 it told me that I risk corrupting all the programs that I had loaded since installing IE8. Should I ignore the warning or simply leave IE8 unused on the computer? Thanks.

The warning is a bit over the top however, technically speaking, damaging some files or settings is a possibility (although that’s an indictment on Microsoft’s installation routines and Windows’ general susceptibility to mischief by rogue programs).

Internet Explorer 8 is probably the best of all the IE versions and Internet Explorer is critical to running a lot of basic Windows processes.

On balance, unless there’s something important on your computer that insists on running on an earlier Internet Explorer version, it’s best to leave IE8 on your system. We’ve listed the main four alternatives to IE previously and think all of them do a good job.

Everytime I open an internet site I get a box with the following dialogue:

Line 11
Char 56
Error Object does not support this properly or method
Code  0
URL   http/www.google.com.au/search?
sourceid = navclient&ie=UTF
&&rlz=IT4TSAU_enAU354AU354&q=

I run Windows Vista Home Basic. Around June, I could no longer view my emails using Web Access for Outlook. All toolbars and folder trees were visible but the main area to view the list of emails in any folder is empty with the statement across the top saying – There are no items to view. Using my desktop, I don’t have a problem. Seems to be a change to my laptop in recent months. Our IT dept is unable to suggest a fix after many hours of review. Can you make a suggestion?

The obvious problem is a security patch or update to your system has blocked something on the laptop. You may want to ask your IT department to have a look at the security settings on your system and add your organisation’s server address to the “whitelists”, the list of sites trusted by your laptop’s security programs.

It may also be that your server address has somehow got onto a blocked list in your program settings. If you are using Internet Explorer on Windows Vista, follow these instructions from Microsoft on how to resolve the problem.

You many also want to try another web browser, although  Outlook Web Access works best on Internet Explorer.

When I attempt to access the Internet via Internet Explorer I get the message “You appear to be connected to the Internet but the page cannot be displayed” regardless of the page I am attempting to open. Any ideas?

This sounds like a classic web browser hijack where your web surfing is redirected through another page. You should follow our Removing a Trojan instructions.

Replacing Internet Explorer with another browser is highly recommended as well. We like Mozilla Firefox, but there are other alternatives as well.

If you are still having problems, we have further ideas on our Browsers not connecting to the Internet page.

I have some names & urls I’d like deleted off my tool bar. When I highlight them & click the delete button, they appear gone; however, when I begin typing the previous name & url is right back there again. How can I get rid of unwanted names & urls permanently?

You can delete Internet Explorer’s history by clicking Tools, History and clicking Delete under the Browsing History section.

Another quick way of doing this is using a clean up tool like CCleaner or Cleanup! These have the advantage of tidying up a lot more than just browsing histories.

My Outlook Express dissapeared after I shut down with it still open, I found a 2nd copy in control panel[that computer tech pmade when OE froze a year ago] and dragged and am using it.

BUT my files dont recognise it, I can ATT; pics to emails but I cant send a picture to be emailled, mess; Cannot start Microsoft Outlook ,requires M O Express 4.01 or greater. You can install OE by runnig IE5 setup .exe from the IES folder located on your cd or through the windows website

It sounds like your Outlook Express 5 is damaged and your computer is actually using Outlook, which is a totally different program.

To fix this, you’ll need to repair the Internet Explorer 5 installation by following our instructions on Removing Software.

When you select Internet Explorer, it will give you the choice to remove, repair or modify. Choose modify and make sure the Outlook Express is ticked in the list of installed options. If it is, cancel the modify, repeat the process and choose repair then follow the wizard through the repair process.

You should keep in mind Outlook Express and Internet Explorer 5 are extremely out of date programs and you should upgrade to the newest version your system can support. You may also want to consider buying a new computer as these problems are probably related to the age of the system.

I want to change my browser search engine to use Microsoft’s Bing. How do I do this?

The simplest way is to simply type www.bing.com into your browser’s address bar and go from there, but if you want to set your system so it always uses Bing, you need to change the default settings.

Google Chrome

Click the spanner icon in the top right hand corner, select Options and under the Basics tab choose Default Search.

As a new browser, Bing won’t be listed so select Manage, then Add and type the Microsoft Bing into the Name box and the address www.bing.com into the URL field. Click Okay and Close.

Internet Explorer

Next to the Search box in the top right hand corner is an arrow pointing down, click on that and select Change Search Defaults. Highlight Live Search and click Set Default. Click Okay.

Firefox

In Firefox, go to the Mozilla Live Search Add On Page, click the Add to Firefox button and a box will appear asking if you want to add Live Search to your system. Tick the box that says “start using right away”  and click Add.

Keep in mind you can undo these settings easily by simply changing the settings back to Google, Yahoo! or whichever search engine you prefer so it’s no great problem if you find Bing doesn’t work for you.

The Windows Scripting Host is an important part of all Windows versions later than the first version of Windows 95. It automates various functions and it’s critical to operation of various Windows features like Automatic Updates.

It does have some problems however and using it to infect Windows computers through “drive by downloads” has been a favourite trick of virus and spyware writers in recent years.

While it does create security problems for Windows users, it is an essential part of the system so you need the latest updates for it.

Microsoft have a number of updates for Windows Scripting;

• Windows XP and Server 2003 users should download Version 5.7
• Windows 2000, 98 and ME users should use Version 5.6.
• Vista users should use Windows PowerShell

It’s best to download and install the appropriate package and then run the Windows Update program.