Autocomplete Problem

[Bob Simon]

IE 6 on my desktop PC does not remember my userid and password for
Ameritrade. I’d really like to make this work because I access this
site several times a day and both the id and psw are long strings.
This worked several months ago, perhaps before I upgraded to SP2.

I deleted cookies and files, cleared history, cleared forms and
passwords, unchecked all four autocomplete boxes, and rebooted. Then
I re-checked all four autocomplete boxes and rebooted again. I went
to Ameritrade, logged in, out, and in again but IE still does not fill
in the userid and psw fields. I also deleted the protected storage
system branch from the registry.

Autocomplete for this site works from my laptop. Is there a way to
copy over the relevant information?

 

[Don R]

I've had some problems with Autocomplete too. My bank changed their
Log-on web page and it no longer works with autocomplete. When I asked
if there had been any changes the confessed to changing the page to
prevent autocomplete from working for "my protection and theirs." The
suggested using another browser such as Firefox. Firefox has a much
better autocomplete feature that allows for a master password and
editing of password file.

 

[Bob Simon]

Don,
Thank you for your suggestion. I saw your earlier post today where
you mentioned this. I personally prefer Firefox to IE because of
tabbed browsing. Unfortunately, some features of the Ameritrade site
do not work with Firefox. IIRC, the major problem I had was with the
streaming quotes application. So I'd really like to fix this password
problem.

I just logged into Ameritrade from my laptop. After I type the first
character of my id, autocomplete kicks in as I desire.
The laptop is running IE 6.0.2800.1106.xpsp2...
The desktop is running 6.0.2900.2180.xpsp_sp2_gdr...
Is this significant?

Even if Ameritrade is doing something to block autocomplete, as you
suggest, this info is apparently still stored on my laptop. I presume
that it's somewhere in the registry. I went looking for possible
condidates but I'm not sure I found it. Can someone confirm that this
information is stored in the following key?
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW

If so, is there any reason I can't simply copy it over to the other
machine?
Bob

 

[Alan Edwards]

AutoComplete, User Names and Passwords on Forms:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW

AutoComplete, Web Addresses:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Protected Storage System
Provider\<user name or windows logon name>

You might try this to backup settings:
Internet Explorer Backup - BackRex Software:
http://www.backsettings.com/internet-explorer-backup.html

....Alan

 

[Jan Il]

Hi Bob

Try the following and see if it helps:

AutoComplete Does Not Save Username and Password
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q306895

also..

Clearing all passwords should work to reset the "Save Password" option for
that site.
IE> Tools> Options> Content> Autocomplete> Clear Passwords.
Protected Storage PassView from
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/pspv.html
will help you recover other cached passwords *before* you clear all
passwords.

and...

Courtesy of Don Varnau - MVP

Have you tried turning AutoComplete off, restarting, turning it back on?

Next, you may have a damaged registry key.
Try this:
With no programs open,
Run REGEDIT and make your way to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft Internet Explorer
IntelliForms
SPW
Create a System Restore point or export that key (Registry> Export- just in
case you wish to undo the change) then delete it- just the SPW key.
Restart the computer.

Hope this helps.

Jan
MS MVP/Windows - Internet Explorer
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious

Replies posted only to the newsgroup for the benefit or other readers.
How to make a good newsgroup post:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Bob Simon]

Hi Bob

Try the following and see if it helps:

AutoComplete Does Not Save Username and Password
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q306895

Thank you!

Method 3: Register RSABase.dll
This may be my problem. When I run "Regsvr32 /u RSABase.dll" I get
the following error message:
LoadLibrary ("rsabase.dll") failed - The specified module could not be
found. I also get the same error message without the /u.

How do I fix this?

Before I try Method 4 (Create a new user) I want to successfully
register RSABase and see if that solves my problem.

also..

Clearing all passwords should work to reset the "Save Password" option for
that site.
IE> Tools> Options> Content> Autocomplete> Clear Passwords.

No, Even after clearing all passwords, I am not asked if I want to
save that one.

Protected Storage PassView from
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/pspv.html
will help you recover other cached passwords *before* you clear all
passwords.

That would have been nice but ... too late.

and...

Courtesy of Don Varnau - MVP

Have you tried turning AutoComplete off, restarting, turning it back on?
Yes.

Next, you may have a damaged registry key.
Try this:
With no programs open,
Run REGEDIT and make your way to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Software
Microsoft Internet Explorer
IntelliForms
SPW
Create a System Restore point or export that key (Registry> Export- just in
case you wish to undo the change) then delete it- just the SPW key.
Restart the computer.

This key does not exist on my desktop machine. I presume that's
because I cleared all the passwords. I also presume that it wasn't
rebuilt because the RSABase service is not registered. What does that
mean exactly.

Hope this helps.

I think we're getting close.

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

Thank you!

Method 3: Register RSABase.dll
This may be my problem. When I run "Regsvr32 /u RSABase.dll" I get
the following error message:
LoadLibrary ("rsabase.dll") failed - The specified module could not be
found. I also get the same error message without the /u.

How do I fix this?

Before I try Method 4 (Create a new user) I want to successfully
register RSABase and see if that solves my problem.

Note the list of products that the article applies to.
Is yours listed there? If not since you failed to disclose it
it is possible that the article does not apply to your OS.
Jan usually reminds people of this omission but it understandably
gets tiresome continually pointing out to users their failure to supply
adequate details when they need help.

FYI rsabase.dll is only present in OS which were required
by an old US export law to provide low grade cryptography.
It is now not used in IE6; hence it is not present in OS
in which IE6 is the base level of browser (such as XP).

For IE6 for all OS you could probably try doing the same commands
with rsaenh.dll. E.g.:

regsvr32 /u rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll


HTH

Robert Aldwinckle
---

 

[Bob Simon]

Note the list of products that the article applies to.
Is yours listed there? If not since you failed to disclose it
it is possible that the article does not apply to your OS.
Jan usually reminds people of this omission but it understandably
gets tiresome continually pointing out to users their failure to supply
adequate details when they need help.

Robert,
You're right. The KB article Jan referred me to applies to IE5.0 and
5.5 and I'm running IE6. Sorry I did not disclose that I'm running XP
(Pro). It didn't occur to me that there would be any doubt about this
given that this is an IE6 newsgroup. Of course, you're right -- it's
always good to specify the operating environment and I will try to
remember to do so in future posts.

FYI rsabase.dll is only present in OS which were required
by an old US export law to provide low grade cryptography.
It is now not used in IE6; hence it is not present in OS
in which IE6 is the base level of browser (such as XP).

For IE6 for all OS you could probably try doing the same commands
with rsaenh.dll. E.g.:

regsvr32 /u rsaenh.dll
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll

As you suspected, this worked. Since all four boxes of AutoComplete
settings are checked, do you have a possible explanation for why IE
did not prompt me to save this password and why
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms was not
re-created? Is there any reason it would not be a good idea to copy
over this key and it's subkey from my laptop to the other machine?
Bob

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

Since all four boxes of AutoComplete
settings are checked, do you have a possible explanation for why IE
did not prompt me to save this password and why
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms was not
re-created? Is there any reason it would not be a good idea to copy
over this key and it's subkey from my laptop to the other machine?

As a matter of fact, now that we know that your OS is XP Pro, yes. <w>
Another possibility then is that you have stopped the service
that AutoComplete and especially passwords rely on:
Protected Storage. It also has a dependent service:
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Use the services.msc console to check those out
or do it in a cmd window with:

net start | findstr /i "protected rpc"

If both of them are not listed by that command pipeline
it would explain your symptom.

For further checking you could enter:

sc queryex protectedstorage

and

sc queryex rpcss

E.g. verify that both are in a Running state.


BTW it's possible that Intelliforms is only created when you add
a password. I would run RegMon monitoring just that key name
when creating a password to find out for sure.


HTH

Robert
---

 

[Bob Simon]

As a matter of fact, now that we know that your OS is XP Pro, yes. <w>
Another possibility then is that you have stopped the service
that AutoComplete and especially passwords rely on:
Protected Storage. It also has a dependent service:
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

Use the services.msc console to check those out
or do it in a cmd window with:

net start | findstr /i "protected rpc"

If both of them are not listed by that command pipeline
it would explain your symptom.

This command returned:
Protected Storage
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
so both services are apparently running.

For further checking you could enter:

sc queryex protectedstorage

SERVICE_NAME: protectedstorage
TYPE : 120 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS (interactive)
STATE : 4 RUNNING

(STOPPABLE,NOT_PAUSABLE,IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0
PID : 644
FLAGS : RUNS_IN_SYSTEM_PROCESS

and

sc queryex rpcss

SERVICE_NAME: rpcss
TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
STATE : 4 RUNNING

(NOT_STOPPABLE,NOT_PAUSABLE,IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)
CHECKPOINT : 0x0
WAIT_HINT : 0x0
PID : 856
FLAGS :

E.g. verify that both are in a Running state.


BTW it's possible that Intelliforms is only created when you add
a password. I would run RegMon monitoring just that key name
when creating a password to find out for sure.

I set the filter to include intelliforms, turned on capture, and
logged into Ameritrade. There was only one event captured.
Process: IEXPLORE.EXE:608
Request: OpenKey
Path: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW
Result: NOT FOUND

I thought that IE (or some other process) was supposed to recreate
this key after I deleted the old one. No?

Is there any reason not to simply copy over this key from my notebook
to my desktop machine?

HTH

Robert

Thanks.
Bob

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

....

I set the filter to include intelliforms, turned on capture, and
logged into Ameritrade. There was only one event captured.
Process: IEXPLORE.EXE:608
Request: OpenKey
Path: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW
Result: NOT FOUND

Oops. I guess I should have written SPW instead of Intelliforms.
Which key did you delete?

I thought that IE (or some other process) was supposed to recreate
this key after I deleted the old one. No?

Sounds reasonable. (Don't know.)

Is there any reason not to simply copy over this key from my notebook
to my desktop machine?

If anything I would create SPW and leave it empty.

But first what happens if you use the Clear Passwords button again?
Monitor it with RegMon again for additional understanding of what that
is doing. Note that this article suggests clearing the SSL state at the
same time:

<title>KB870700 - How to troubleshoot problems accessing secure Web pages
with Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2</title>


Also I would try using the PSPV freeware tool to see what it thinks of your
current state. Perhaps it would even function as a repair tool too.

Hmm... I just tried opening PSPV while monitoring intelliforms;protected
with RegMon. It didn't look at Intelliforms at all! E.g. passwordds were
all found either under Protected Storage System Provider or somewhere
else (i.e., somewhere that my filter excluded.) The lsass.exe process,
which hosts the protectedstorage service, appears prominently in the trace.
I suspect that the SPW key may be an artifact of the old implementation
before that service was available.


HTH

Robert
---

 

[Bob Simon]

...

Oops. I guess I should have written SPW instead of Intelliforms.
Which key did you delete?

I had deleted IntelliForms and its subkeys.

Sounds reasonable. (Don't know.)



If anything I would create SPW and leave it empty.

But first what happens if you use the Clear Passwords button again?
Monitor it with RegMon again for additional understanding of what that
is doing. Note that this article suggests clearing the SSL state at the
same time:

<title>KB870700 - How to troubleshoot problems accessing secure Web pages
with Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 2</title>

Clearing the SSL state in addition to the forms and passwords did not
help solve the autofil problem.

When I add IntelliForms to the IE branch and clear passwords, RegMon
shows that this key is deleted. Regedit confirms that it's gone
again.

I exported the IntelliForms branch and merged it into the deskop
registry. I logged into Ameritrade but was not promted to save the
psw. Re-logging in does not offer to autofill.

However, RegMon proves that some encrypted key was opened.and queried.
(**** hide the actual key value.)

1 24.94972420 IEXPLORE.EXE:940 OpenKey
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW
SUCCESS Access: 0x1
2 24.94977951 IEXPLORE.EXE:940 QueryValue
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW\*********
SUCCESS 0x0
3 24.94980621 IEXPLORE.EXE:940 CloseKey
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\IntelliForms\SPW
SUCCESS

Also I would try using the PSPV freeware tool to see what it thinks of your
current state. Perhaps it would even function as a repair tool too.

Hmm... I just tried opening PSPV while monitoring intelliforms;protected
with RegMon. It didn't look at Intelliforms at all! E.g. passwordds were
all found either under Protected Storage System Provider or somewhere
else (i.e., somewhere that my filter excluded.) The lsass.exe process,
which hosts the protectedstorage service, appears prominently in the trace.
I suspect that the SPW key may be an artifact of the old implementation
before that service was available.

What an interesting tool. This solved the problem, but I was so tired
that I forgot to run regmon when I imported the key so I don't know
exactly what happened. Anyway, autofill works for the Ameritrade
site.

THANKS!

HTH

Robert

Bob

 

[Guest]

I have read all the posts by Bob and Robert, but do not understand them.

I have the same problem, I am running IE 6, Windows XP.

Autocomplete works for some websites but not others. I guess that once upon
a time, Autocomplete offered to remember a password, and I checked the box
that said "never for this site". Now I have changed my mind and I want
Autocomplete to remember my password for that site.

There must be an easy way to fix this from within IE 6, without downloading
third party software or opening or running files that I don't understand like
regedit, rsabase, rsaenh, or regsvr32.

Marla

 

[Alan Edwards]

Try this:

Remember passwords again.

IE-Tools-Internet Options-Content-Autocomplete and check "Prompt me to
save passwords"

....Alan

 

[Guest]

I have already tried that and it hasn't helped. IE promplts me to save
passwords when I visit a new site (so it is not a malfunction of IE or the
secure storage area), but not when I visit a site that I have already opted
not to save a password for. I now want it to save a password for a site that
I previously told it not to save the password for.

 

[Alan Edwards]

Have you tried deleting the cookie for that particular site?

....Alan

 

[Jon Kennedy]

I said "no" to remembering a password. How do I make IE ask again?
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/archive/answers.htm#password