Help wanted to confirm a bug in IE6 and/or W2K

[J Dubya]

Hi Folks,
There is a known bug in IE5.x wherein attempting to use

rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler (url)

to open an instance of the default browser viewing (url)
when (url) ends in ".htm" or ".html" if IE5.x is the default
browser. Cf.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283225

However, I am encountering this problem using IE6
(SP1 w/all patches) on Windows 2000 Pro (SP4 w/all
patches).

I would like assistance in determining exactly which
combinations of IE and OS have this bug. Here are a
couple of combinations that do *not* have the bug:

Windows NT4 SP6 and IE6 (w/all patches).
Windows XP Pro and IE7 (w/all patches)

If you have any other combination of MS OS and IE, and
IE is your default browser, could you please try to launch it
to the web page of your choice that ends in ".htm" or ".html"
by entering the following (all on one line) at the command line
or Run box:

rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler (url)

where your web page is substituted for (url). E.g.,

rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/
index.html

(all on one line), and report your findings here?

TIA,
-Jeremy

 

[Jon Kennedy]

This works fine with WinXP SP-2 and IE 6.

 

[Gary Smith]

Win 2K SP4, IE 6 SP1
Tried three different URLs ending in .htm or .html. All failed with a
message box labeled "Problem with Shortcut" containing the text "Unable to
open ". [QUOTE="J Dubya"] Hi Folks, Th...ttp://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/ index.html[/QUOTE]

 

[Jeremy]

Win 2K SP4, IE 6 SP1
Tried three different URLs ending in .htm or .html. All failed with a
message box labeled "Problem with Shortcut" containing the text
"Unable to open ".

Gary,
Thanks. I have the same combination, and you've confirmed that
the problem is not a mis-configuration of my set-up.
It is surpassingly strange that NT4 SP6 with IE6 SP1 does *not*
have the problem...

Anyone else with a different combination of OS & IE care to
weigh in?

TIA,
-Jeremy[/QUOTE]

 

[Guest]

I also have the same problem with the same set up (Win 2K Pro SP4 & IE6 SP1).
The strange thing is that this problem only started happening a month or so
ago (maybe more and I just didn't notice it). I've tried messing with my
firewall, completely shutting it down. The problem persists.
Solar
--
Thank God for Smart People! Where would I be without you?

Win 2K SP4, IE 6 SP1
Tried three different URLs ending in .htm or .html. All failed with a
message box labeled "Problem with Shortcut" containing the text
"Unable to open ".

Gary,
Thanks. I have the same combination, and you've confirmed that
the problem is not a mis-configuration of my set-up.
It is surpassingly strange that NT4 SP6 with IE6 SP1 does *not*
have the problem...

Anyone else with a different combination of OS & IE care to
weigh in?

TIA,
-Jeremy

http://".[/QUOTE] Gary, Thanks. I...& IE care to weigh in? TIA, -Jeremy [/QUOTE][/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[Jeremy]

I also have the same problem with the same set up (Win 2K Pro SP4 & IE6 SP1).
The strange thing is that this problem only started happening a month or so
ago (maybe more and I just didn't notice it). I've tried messing with my
firewall, completely shutting it down. The problem persists.

It's not your firewall, it's a bug in IE6 or W2K (not sure which).

-Jeremy

 

[Jeremy]

There is a known bug in IE5.x wherein attempting to use

rundll32.exe url.dll,FileProtocolHandler (url)

to open an instance of the default browser viewing (url)
when (url) ends in ".htm" or ".html" if IE5.x is the default
browser fails. Cf.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283225

After some digging, I found a way around the problem:

rundll32.exe shell32.dll,ShellExec_RunDLL (url)

This makes use of W2K's (& subsequent MS OS's)
file association feature whereby entering a filename
with a registered file extention at the command line
causes the OS to open the app that is associated
with that file type.

I am still interested in finding out exactly which
combinations of OS & IE have the bug. According
to MS (in the KB article above), IE5.x is affected,
but they make no mention of IE6, and it definitely
suffers from the bug, at least on W2K.

-Jeremy

 

[Peter Foldes]

Checked on my W2K Advance Server with IE6 SP1 and cannot replicate. All works fine

 

[Jeremy]

Checked on my W2K Advance Server with IE6 SP1 and cannot replicate. All works fine

OK, now that's interesting...
W2K Adv Svr w/IE6 SP1 doesn't have the bug, but
W2K Pro w/IE6 SP1 does.

Closed source software is mysterious.

;-)

-Jeremy