How to use Reset Internet Explorer Settings (RIES) (923737)

MORE INFORMATION

Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Microsoft Windows Vista have many security enhancements that make Internet Explorer 7 less susceptible to spyware and to malware. Typically, badly written add-ons can affect the browsing experience in Internet Explorer 7. RIES enables Internet Explorer 7 to recover from such situations.

To use RIES in Internet Explorer 7, follow these steps:

1. Click the Tools menu, and then click Internet Options.
2. On the Advanced tab, click Reset.
3. In the Reset Internet Explorer Settings dialog box, click Reset.
4. When Internet Explorer 7 finishes restoring the default settings, click Close, and then click OK two times.
5. Close Internet Explorer 7. The changes take effect the next time that you open Internet Explorer 7.

Note If you cannot start Internet Explorer 7 for some reason, use RIES from Internet Options in Control Panel.

RIES restores the default settings of the following features:

• Home pages
• Search scopes
• Browsing history
• Form data
• Passwords
• Appearance settings
• Toolbars
• ActiveX controls

How RIES works

RIES resets the following settings:

• Browser settings
  
  RIES resets all user-defined browser settings to Internet Explorer 7 defaults. These settings include those that are set by installed extensions, toolbars, and other add-ons. If you have administrative credentials when you are running RIES, the corresponding computer settings are located in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry subtree. RIES resets these settings to Internet Explorer 7 defaults. These settings include all the customizations that you can make to Internet Explorer 7 by using the Internet Options dialog box. For example, this resets security settings, privacy settings, and zone settings.
• Extensibility
  
  All extensibility entry points that you install are prevented from running automatically. If you load extensions such as toolbars, browser extensions, and Browser Helper Objects when you start Internet Explorer 7, the extensions are disabled. Additionally, the ActiveX Opt-in state of ActiveX controls are restored.
• Browsing history
  
  RIES clears temporary Internet files, cookies, browsing history, form data, passwords, and auto-complete data.
• Manufacturer settings
  
  RIES restores Internet Explorer 7 customizations that are applied by the OEM in the initial package. These customizations are applied to Internet Explorer 7 by using the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK). Alternatively, these customizations are applied by using the settings that are applied by the OEM during the installation of the operating system.

What you must know

• RIES disables all toolbars, browser extensions, and customizations that you install. To use any of these disabled customizations, you must selectively enable each customization through the Manage Add-ons dialog box. Some toolbars may require that two or more controls are enabled to work correctly. These toolbars have controls for the corresponding Browser Helper Object and toolbar extensions. You can easily enable all the disabled controls that are from a trusted publisher from the Manage Add-ons dialog box.
• For Web pages that have ActiveX controls, you must approve running specific ActiveX controls. You approve running specific controls the first time that you encounter these controls.
• RIES neither clears the favorites nor clears the feeds. Also, RIES does not reset connection settings because the settings can be used from other programs.
• RIES does not affect Group Policy settings. After you use RIES, all the policies and restrictions that administrators control on a domain are still respected in Internet Explorer 7. However, RIES does not respect some policies that affect how RIES works when RIES is in progress. For example, when you enable the Turn off Delete Browsing History functionality Group Policy, RIES clears temporary Internet files. The policy continues to work after you use RIES by disabling UI entry points to the Delete Browsing History dialog box. However, from the RIES context, this Group Policy is not in effect. You can disable RIES features on end-user computers by using the Do not allow resetting Internet Explorer settings Group Policy.
• When you run RIES with administrative credentials, the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry subtree settings are reset. These settings apply to all the users on this computer. This affects the browsing experience of users who are currently using Internet Explorer 7 and users who open a new browsing session. If users do not change the settings, Internet Explorer 7 reads those settings from HKLM, and then the settings are cleaned. However, RIES does not touch the settings that users specifically customize. Therefore, we recommend that administrators use RIES after they communicate with all affected end-users.
• Many applications interact with Internet Explorer 7. These applications may start Internet Explorer 7, or these applications may embed Internet Explorer 7 as needed. For example, Microsoft Outlook opens Internet Explorer7 when you click a hyperlink in an e-mail message. Such interactions with Internet Explorer 7 during an RIES operation could lead to unexpected results. Therefore, we recommend that you close all other applications and windows before you run RIES.
• If one or more RIES tasks fail, the tasks are identified by an X that is located next to the tasks in the Task in Progress dialog box. Additionally, the details of failed actions are logged in the Ried.log log file and the Brndlog.txt log file. You can find these files in the %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ folder.

Special cases for administrators

ActiveX compatibility key

The compatibility kill bits are stored in the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility

This registry subkey contains kill bits that prevent known harmful controls from being loaded. RIES resets the compatibility bits of the CLSIDs. These CLSIDs are known at the Beta 2 release time. RIES leaves other CLSIDs as they are. For more information about kill bits, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Feature Control keys

The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl registry subkey lets you select certain secure settings that multiple features and applications can use. Additionally, you can use Feature Control keys to selectively opt in to hotfixes. This key is not reset by RIES.

Enhanced Security Configuration

If the Enhanced Security Configuration feature is turned on, RIES resets Internet Explorer 7 to the Enhanced Security Configuration feature defaults. If the Enhanced Security Configuration feature is turned off, RIES resets Internet Explorer 7 to the standard Internet Explorer 7 defaults. RIES does not change the state of the Enhanced Security Configuration feature. For more information about Enhanced Security Configuration, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Group Policy

As previously mentioned, RIES does not affect Group Policy. However, branding settings can also be applied by using the Internet Explorer Maintenance Extension in the Group Policy Object Editor. Most of these branding settings are preferences and not policies. Therefore, after you use RIES, these settings are lost. RIES restores the preference settings that are created by using the IEAK or by using the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK). As administrators, if you have any settings that are configured by using the Internet Explorer Maintenance Extension and you run RIES for end-users, the end-users lose those policies.

• Reason
  
  The infrastructure of IEAK enables RIES to restore branding settings. However, the infrastructure of Internet Explorer Maintenance Extension is not supported because the .ins files that contain these settings are only temporarily present in the local system.
• Workaround
  
  You can enable a policy setting to reapply any policies that you first applied through Internet Explorer Maintenance Extension. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Log on to the computer as a local administrator.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
  3. In the left pane, expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand System, and then click Group Policy.
  4. In the right pane, double-click Internet Explorer Maintenance policy processing.
  5. Click Enabled, click Apply, and then click OK.
  After you enable this policy setting, any policies that are set through Internet Explorer Maintenance Extension are refreshed when the Group Policy object (GPO) is updated.

Scenarios for OEMs and other users who brand and redistribute Internet Explorer 7

Scenario 1

• An OEM brands Internet Explorer 7 and distributes this package to end-users.
• An end-user experiences an issue with Internet Explorer 7, and then uses RIES.
• RIES applies OEM branding.
• Part of the OEM branding is a toolbar or a browser extension that is disabled.

Details If an OEM, an Internet service provider (ISP), or a corporate administrator creates a customized Internet Explorer 7 package for distribution by using either OPK or IEAK, an end-user who is using RIES can change the browsing experience. The creator of this package is referred to in this section as the IEAK partner.

Consider this scenario. An IEAK partner creates an Internet Explorer 7 package. However, instead of directly specifying the search provider, the IEAK partner includes a custom component that runs after Internet Explorer 7 is installed. In this scenario, when this partner IEAK Internet Explorer 7 package is distributed and installed on the end-user computer, the custom component also runs. When this occurs, the search provider can change to a search of the company. Because the custom component uses its own means instead of using the .ins file, this custom component does not rerun when you use RIES. When you use RIES, the toolbar custom component is disabled even though the component comes as a part of the original branding from the IEAK partner.

Also, if the IEAK partner configures the command bar after an end-user uses RIES, the command bar comes back to the original Internet Explorer 7 command bar state. This is because the IEAK partner adds the customizations as browser extensions, and then those browser extensions are disabled as a part of RIES behavior. To re-enable them, the end-user can use the Manage Add-ons dialog box in the Tools menu.

Scenario 2

• An ISP or an Internet Content Provider (ICP) brands Internet Explorer 6, and then distributes the package to end-users.
• The end-user installs Internet Explorer 6 with the package.
• The end-user later upgrades to Internet Explorer 7, and then invokes RIES.
• The end-user loses the Internet Explorer 6 branding by using RIES. The branding had been preserved during the upgrade to Internet Explorer 7.

Details When an ISP or an ICP creates a branded Internet Explorer 7 package by using IEAK, the Install.ins file is located in the Signup folder. When you are upgrading to a non-branded version of Internet Explorer 7, the installation program overwrites the Install.ins file in the Signup folder by using the default .ins file. The Custom folder does not contain any .ins file, and the Signup folder contains the Internet Explorer 7 default .ins file. When this end-user runs RIES, Internet Explorer 7 first looks for the .ins file in the Custom folder and then looks for .ins file in the Signup folder. In this case, the .ins file in the Signup folder is the Internet Explorer 7 default .ins file. However, the branding that is accomplished by using IEAK in corporate mode puts the .ins file in the Custom folder instead of in the Signup folder. Therefore, the file is retained even after you use RIES.

Scenario 3

• A corporate administrator brands Internet Explorer 7 and distributes the package to end-users.
• The end-user later installs another branded Internet Explorer 7 package over the corporate branded Internet Explorer 7.
• The end-user invokes RIES.
• The end-user has the corporate branding in Internet Explorer 7.

Details RIES uses corporate branding if it is available. When the corporate branding is missing, RIES either applies ICP branding or OEM branding.