Page Cannot Be Displayed

[HPS Admin]

We have recently applied SP3 to our XP Pro PC's and our users are complaining
about intermittent "Page cannot be displayed" errors occurring for websites
they frequently visit. I am also experiencing the same issues, even when
trying to access posts on here, but clicking the refresh a few times or
clearing the cache eventually gets the page displayed. The SP2 PC's are not
experiencing this issue and I've been using one now all day without the same
errors that people on the SP3 machines are still getting, so I don't think it
has anything to do with our proxy service or network setup as I'd expect all
PC's to suffer the same issue.

Win XP Pro SP3 + IE 6.0.2900.5512 SP3

Has anyone got any ideas what may be causing this issue, it's annoying
rather than show stopping so I don't want to have to rollback SP3.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

What anti-virus application or security suite is installed on these
machines? What anti-spyware applications (other than Defender)? What
third-party firewall (if any)? Were any of these applications running in
the background when WinXP SP3 was installed?

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for
Windows XP, but only for Service Pack 3 (SP3), until 14 Apr-09. Chat and
e-mail support is available only in the United States and Canada. Go to
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=1173 | select "Windows
XP" then select "Windows XP Service Pack 3"

 

[HPS Admin]

McAfree VirusScan Enterprise (mix of v7, v8 and v8.5).

No Anti-Spyware or Firewall enabled on PC's during SP3 install and AntiVirus
switch off as recommended in release notes.

Also appear to have had some IE security settings altered by SP3 as our
Auditing Software was complaining about CSS Stylesheets, Cookies or
JavaScript switched off, so had to reset to Medium level to get this going
again. I did not have time to find out which settings had been altered -
anyone know what settings get tightened up by SP3?

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

To keep track of things, it helps immensely if you include all of previous
message(s) in your replies to the newsgroup. Thank you.

anyone know what settings get tightened up by SP3?

AFAIK, installing WinXP SP3 should not have affected any of those settings.

=> Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

=> Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for
Windows XP, but only for Service Pack 3 (SP3), until 14 Apr-09. Chat and
e-mail support is available only in the United States and Canada. Go to
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?gprid=1173 | select "Windows
XP" then select "Windows XP Service Pack 3"

 

[karatche]

I have the same issue- just since my os updated itself the other night. Now I
have trouble when trying to open multiple IE windows. I refrained from
installing IE7 on this machine because as I tried IE 7 last year I found it
to run slow and did not like the changes. I'm assuming it is a conflict
between IE6 and the SP3 updates. Please let me know if you find an answer
short of rollong back the SP3 installation. Thanks

 

[Frank Saunders MS-MVP IE,OE/WM]

I have the same issue- just since my os updated itself the other night. Now
I
have trouble when trying to open multiple IE windows. I refrained from
installing IE7 on this machine because as I tried IE 7 last year I found
it
to run slow and did not like the changes. I'm assuming it is a conflict
between IE6 and the SP3 updates. Please let me know if you find an answer
short of rollong back the SP3 installation. Thanks

Such problems are usually caused by add-ons or malware.

ADD-ONS
Tools | Internet Options | Advanced
Uncheck "Enable third-party browser enhancements".

MALWARE
Do a thorough check for malware, following all of the steps at one of these
Web pages, including HijackThis.
Help with malware:
All MS-MVP Sites.
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/darnit.html
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm

Unexplained computer behavior may be caused by deceptive software.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/827315

So How Did I Get Infected Anyway?
For quite a few people it's by installing programs like Messenger Plus,
whose ads for malware don't identify the malware as such and try to convince
you that you owe it to the author. See also:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=27971
Don't ever do a "default" install of anything. Always choose Custom and see
what else is being carried along. Don't install any extras you're not sure
of.

 

[karatche]

I emailed free support for SP3 and recieved the following reply. I followed
the course of action which was very easy to accomplish and it seems to have
resolved my problem. I will paste the directions here:


This issue can be caused by improper IE settings. Let’s try the following
steps to reset Internet Explorer:
Reset Internet Explorer (IE)
====================
Note: This step will help us clear cookies, restore the security level back
to the default settings, and disable third-party browser extensions. Before
trying the steps, we can export the cookies so they can be easily restored
later if you desire:

1. Press "Alt" from your keyboard, click "File", and click "Import and
Export".
2. Click "Next", select　"Export Cookies", and click "Next".
3. The file is saved by default to your “Documents†folder, click "OK".

If you would like to import the cookies after resolving the issue, please
select “Import Cookies†in file menu to import the saved cookies file and
choose the “cookies†file from your “Documents†folder.

For Internet Explorer 6.0:
----------------------------------------
1. Click Start, Run, type: “inetcpl.cpl†(without quotation marks) and press
Enter.
2. Select the General tab, and in the Temporary Internet files window, click
"Delete Cookies", and click OK.
3. In the same tab click Delete Files, check the "Delete all offline
contents" box and click OK.
4. Click the Programs tab, and click "Reset Web Settings".
5. Click the Advanced tab, and click "Restore Defaults".
6. Under the Advanced tab, uncheck "Enable third-party browser extensions"
(requires restart).
7. Click OK.

 

[HPS Admin]

This action has cleared our issue too. It would appear SP3 does make some
changes to IE6 settings, though I've done no investigation to find out which
ones, either that or SP3 fixes expect settings that are not there/invalid
values and restoring the defaults puts them in place correctly.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

99% of the time, such problems are caused by the fact the "real-time
protections" afforded by anti-virus and/or anti-spyware applications and/or
third-party firewalls were NOT disabled prior to installing WinXP SP3.

WinXP SP3 - Read all prerequisites for a successful installation
http://msmvps.com/blogs/harrywaldro...requisites-for-a-successful-installation.aspx

 

[karatche]

There-in lies the problem with automatic update. You cannot disable
aiti-virus or other running applications when this update is done
automatically. Seems that microsoft should require a hands on approach with
this update.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

[Crossposted to Windows Update newsgroup]

You have an excellent tool at your fingertips which will allow you to
configure Automatic Updates such that *you* can decide (1) what updates are
downloaded, (2) when the updates are downloaded, (3) which updates are
installed, and (4) when the updates are installed.

Automatic Updates in WinXP
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/windowsupdate/learn/windowsxp.mspx

How to configure and use Automatic Updates in WinXP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306525