SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer, Internet Explorer may start unexpectedly,
and you may receive one or more of the following error messages:
Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site ftp://<myftp>
Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site http://<myhttp>
Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site gopher://<mygopher>
You may also receive one of these error messages if you attempt to start
a program by using the Run command on the Start menu.
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if Internet Explorer incorrectly interprets a
command as an Internet-related command. For example, this behavior can
occur if a program listed on the "Load=" or "Run=" line in the Win.ini
file begins with any of the following letter combinations:
This behavior can also occur if you use the Run command on the Start menu
and the command you type begins with any of the letter combinations listed
above.
RESOLUTION
WARNING: 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.
For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys
And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and
Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics
in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit
it.
To resolve this behavior, use the appropriate method:
Using the Run Command on the Start Menu
If you want to start a program that contains any of the letter
combinations listed above, follow these steps:
- Click Start, and then click Run.
- Type the complete path to the program you want to start in the Open
box, and then press ENTER.
Using a Shortcut to the Program
If you want to start a program that contains any of the letter
combinations listed above, start the program using a shortcut. For
information about how to create a shortcut to a program, please see the
following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
152122
How to Customize the Start or Programs Menu
140443
How to Create a Shortcut on the Desktop
Using the "Load=" or "Run=" Line in the Win.ini File
Disable the "Load=" or "Run=" line in the Win.ini file. To do so, follow
these steps:
- Click Start, click Run, type sysedit, and
then click OK.
- On the Window menu, click Win.ini.
- On the Search menu, click Find, type the following line, and then press
ENTER:
- Place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the "Load=" line if it
contains one of the letter combinations listed above.
- Repeat steps 3-4, but substitute "run=" for "load=".
- On the File menu, click Save.
- On the File menu, click Exit.
- Restart your computer.
Using the Registry
Remove the string value that matches the letter combination in the
following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
URL\Prefixes
NOTE: This causes Internet Explorer to not add the appropriate protocol
prefix (for example, ftp:// or http://) to the Uniform Resource Locator
(URL) when you try to access resources on the Internet. For example, if
you type
www.example.microsoft.com in the
Internet Explorer Address box, Internet Explorer automatically adds
http:// to the beginning of the URL. If you type
ftp.example.microsoft.com in the Internet
Explorer Address box, Internet Explorer automatically adds ftp:// to the
beginning of the URL. If you remove a protocol prefix from the registry
key, Internet Explorer can no longer add it to URLs you type.