How to Troubleshoot Internet Explorer Startup Problems on Macintosh (258569)

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Possible causes of startup problems include:

• Damaged, Beta, or older versions of shared libraries
• Damaged, older, or incompatible versions of plug-ins
• A damaged History or Favorites file
• A damaged cache
• A damaged Internet Preferences file
• Extension conflicts
• Font utilities
• Problems with Open Transport
• Damaged fonts
• Damaged system files

To troubleshoot the startup problem, follow these steps:

1. Delete shared libraries and allow the first run installer to reinstall them cleanly. See the steps in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article for a list of files to delete:

   192852 How to Manually Uninstall Internet Explorer and Outlook Express

2. Move all the plug-ins to a folder on the desktop, reinstall Internet Explorer, and test. The Plug-ins folder is located in the Internet Explorer folder. You can locate the folder by using the Find command. For the first test, make sure that only the default plug-in and the QuickTime plug-in are loaded because these are the only plug-ins Internet Explorer installs. Add the remaining plug-ins one at a time. If a large number of plug-ins are loaded, you may want to increase Internet Explorer's memory partition. You can allocate more memory for the program by clicking the program icon in Finder, and then clicking Get Info on the File menu. Increase the number in the Application Memory Size (K) box.
3. Move the Favorites.htm and History.htm files to the desktop and test. The files are located in the System Folder:Preferences:Explorer folder. If Internet Explorer starts, move one file back and test again. Do not delete the Favorites.htm file if you determine that it is the problem. Because it is a text file, you may be able to recover some or all of the data by using a text editor (such as Simple Text), or you may be able to import the Favorites into Internet Explorer safely.
4. Delete the Cache.waf file. It is located in the System Folder:Preferences:MS Internet Cache folder. Internet Explorer re-creates the file the next time you start Internet Explorer.
5. Move the Internet Preferences file to the desktop and test. The Internet Preferences file is located in the System Folder:Preferences folder. If Internet Explorer works, the file is re-created with default settings. Save the new file, copy the old file back, and see if you can view the settings by using the Internet control panel or Internet Config. Avoid deleting this file if you can because it contains your cookies, autofill information, customizations, and so on. Deleting this file should always be a last resort.
6. Perform standard extension troubleshooting. You can find more information at Apple's Tech Info Library Web site (http://til.info.apple.com). Search for article number 30929.Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.
   
7. Temporarily disable font utilities that may be contributing to a conflict. This includes turning off the Font Smoothing feature in the Appearance control panel and turning off Adobe Type Manager, Adobe Type Reunion, and so on.
8. Move all fonts (except the Chicago, Charcoal, Geneva, and Monaco system fonts) to a folder on the desktop and test.
9. Try to prevent Open Transport from attempting to dial when you start Internet Explorer. You can disable this feature in the Remote Access control panel by clicking Options and then clicking to clear the Connect automatically when starting TCP/IP applications check box. Test to see whether the browser can start if it does not try to connect to its default home page. You can set the default home page to blank in the Internet control panel or in Internet Config.
10. Perform a "clean" installation of the Macintosh operating system (MacOS). Install Internet Explorer and test before installing any other programs and before moving any preferences or other files from the previous system folder.

Further information about troubleshooting program problems on the Macintosh is available in the following article in Apple's Tech Info Library Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.