Email links won't work in Thunderbird

My sister downloaded and installed FireFox and Thunderbird; the same apps I use. When she recieves a link in her email, Thunderbird will not load Firefox to display the page. When she moves the mouse over the link, the arrow becomes a "finger pointing "; but when she clicks - nothing happens. I have checked her settings to compare to mine and they are identical; yet I do not have this problem.
Originally FireFox would respond to the link by pulling up IE; even though she had set FireFox as her default crowser. She wanted Thunderbird to use FireFox so she then "folded up" IE (instead of uninstalling), and now the links don't do anything. So it would seen that her actions with IE are to blame; but what to do to fix? Any ideas? Thanks!

Thanks,
Becky

 

Welcome to the Forum, becky!

Hi becky,

Did your sister disable IE as the default browser before folding it up? She can do that by clicking on Start | Settings | Control Panel | Internet Options
Click on "Programs ". Enable this option: "Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser." Open IE, and when prompted, she should answer NO.

If that doesn't work, then have her check this Registry Key:

Code:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\http\shell\open\command

The string value should be the path to firefox.

Let us know the results.

Ramona

P.S. The word "open" in the Registry Key should NOT have any spaces between "e" and "n ". It is all one word, no spaces, but for some reason the BBS software does this on occasion...

 

Thanks for the welcome and your reply

My sister made sure that IE was not checking to be the default browser.

Also, in the registry, it appears that the command line does indeed point to Firefox the exact entry is as follows:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\HTTP\SHELL\OPEN\COMMAND c:\PROGRA~1\MOZILL~1\FIREFOX.EXE -url "%1 "



It should also be mentioned that she has loaded on IE, Mozilla 1.7.1 and Firefox 0.93
She also just uninstalled AOL.

Any other ideas?

 

Becky,

The theory was to have IE check so she could check NO. However, if the Registry says FF is the default, it won't be necessary.

For the sake of thoroughness:
Check Mozilla Preferences in:
Edit | Preferences | Advanced | System

Ensure that HTML is disabled
Ensure that http is disabled
Ensure that https is disabled

These settings are what make Mozilla the default browser.

Ramona

 

Mozilla preferences

Thanks again for your help. She was hoping to run FireFox, not Mozilla. Where would I find those settings in FireFox?

Sorry to be such a problem. And thanks again for your help and patience!

-Becky

 

becky,

Disabling the settings in Mozilla, keeps it from being the default browser. If the settings are enabled, then Mozilla is the default. That's why I said to disable them.

In Firefox: Tools | General Settings
"Firefox should check to see if it is the default browser when starting "

Ramona