Resolved Open in a new tab/a new window - it won't!

I have two problems with IE8, but since they happened a month or so apart I suspect they're not connected, and shall create two separate threads. The other will be called "corrupt page on one PC only ".

About two days ago, the "open in a new tab" and "open in a new window" options of the right-click menu stopped working without warning. If I request a new tab, IE opens the new tab but won't load anything into it, and the mini-icon doesn't revolve or show any other sign of life. If I request a new window, IE does nothing at all, doesn't even open a new blank window.

But if I go to my chronology or favourites, I can open a new site.

Grateful for any comments or advice.

 

Many thanks for that, Terminator. No, I hadn't tried any of these. I'll try them and report back, but it won't be tonight - it's getting late this side of the pond. Top of my list for tomorrow morning!
gsw

 

Cancel that! I was so curious I tried it now anyway... ;-)
1. Starting IE with no add-ons didn't resolve it - both new tab and new window continued to refuse to work.
2. Closing down everything in the System tray didn't help either.
3. I took a look at the information about using Reset button, but got scared. I have a lot of security settings there which I've added over time and which I wouldn't want to undo. I'd like to try some other solution first. Unless, of course, anybody has published a check-list somewhere of recommended tweaks to the default, out-of-the-box Microsoft settings so that you can put them all back in place. And anyway, I don't wish to sound discourteous to somebody trying to help me, but it doesn't really smell like a settings problem to me - it came out of the blue a couple of days ago and I hadn't reset anything in recent weeks.

 

Settings have been known to be changed after a Windows update.

First, check to make sure tabbed browsing is enabled. Tools>Internet Options>General tab>Settings button in Tab section.

Then look in Tools>Internet Options>Advanced tab to see if "Reuse window when launching shortcuts" is checked. If not, check it. If it's checked, uncheck it. Click OK.

If the problem persists, go back and undo the check (or uncheck), click OK, try again. Sometimes toggling a setting or two will jog IE back into behaving.

 

Hi Miz and thanks for your input. I tried all of your suggestions one by one, and shut down and re-opened IE after each one. No visible effect: it still opens a new tab, but refuses to load anything into it, and refuses point-blank to open a new window. In both cases, I repeat, this is using the right-click pop-up menu.

 

Clicking on a link using the wheel of a wheel mouse is supposed to open the page in a new tab. Try that. If it works, at least you'll have narrowed the problem down to the right-click menu.

 

I was about to post that the problem has disappeared since I installed some Windows updates I had missed while I was on the road. But then, I didn't know about the wheel-click for new tab, so I've learned something there!
Thanks for your support and patience. I still don't know which update solved the problem, but it's gone.

 

That's good news! Thank you for the update.