clicking on thumbnail links

I'm using IE 6.0 that came with my Gateway. I am a modeler and do research by looking at photos. Earlier this week when I went to an old standby internet site, airliners.net, my system would not enlarge their thumbnails. But I could see the outline of the other window flash on the screen as it opened and imediately closed.

Since then, I've gone to other web sites and have experienced spotted results in enlarging thumbnails. If one of the site's images enlarges, they all will and if one of another site's won't enlarge, none of them will.

But I see this evening that the problem is not limited to images. I noticed when I went to this site's Read This First: Posting Rules page, I couldn't bring up the underlined posting rules or FAQ. I could see the outline of a window flash across the screen and that was it.

I've not installed any programs recently.

I routinely delete my the Internet temp files.

Any idea what I may have done? Or better, how do I fix it?

Thanks much,
BillP

 

The first thing to suspect when IE starts acting squirrely for no apparent reason is spyware.

If you haven't already, download, install, immediately update and then run Spybot and/or AdAware. Read the help files to familiarize yourself with how they work. I recommend you use them both since each tends to find things the other misses. Let them clean up any spyware found.

Then, to be doubly sure, download and run CWShredder.

 

Miz, thanks for the quick response. I have Spybot and had already run it - with no successful results.

I am not familiar with AdAware or CWShredder but will look into them.

Someone suggested turning off my "pop-up stopper" which I have been using for about a year. I tried that last night and turning it off seemed to fix the other problem. But, of course, all the pop-ups are back! Perhaps I need to look for another pop-up blocker. But that sounds more like a work-around than a fix.

 

Most popup blockers come with an overide switch, usually press and hold either the control or shiftkey while clicking on a link, for those times when your at a site that it can interfer or conflict with.

No need to unload yours if it has an option to override the block on an individual basis. You just need to discover how your particular one works.

 

BillP--I am really just musing here, since a problem which occurs only some of the time is a difficult problem to fix.
When you click on a thumbnail, you are actually just clicking on a supposedly active link to another site. You can see the address for that site by right clicking|clicking Properties and look on the "Address" line (or look in the status bar when you hover over the thumbnail). What happens when you Copy and Paste that address into IE's Address line and click Enter?
If you get the same results, then something is stopping IE from reaching some sites but not others. (I assume when you see that flash, that you have tried minimizing the open window to check whether the new webpage may have opened under the original window.) Usually a HOSTS file is to blame for that type of blockage. And some spyware will create a HOSTS file, but I find it hard to believe that has happened, especially with the type of sites you are visiting. However, are you running Spybot and/or AdAware with the latest reference files?
You could try the IE Repair Tool. You have not told us what version of Windows you are using. This reference will give you some ideas for all current versions of Windows.
http://help.att.net/docs/howto/othe...ustomercontent=customer_browser&platform=none

If Copy and Paste works, your IE has a problem with links. But you say this does not happen with all links. As mentioned, that makes it a harder problem.
The standard procedure is to click IE Tools|Internet Options|Programs tab and check the box "IE should check to see if it is the Default browser ". You then reboot and you will be asked if you want IE to be the default browser. Click Yes.
But since IE is already able to access some links but not others, this may not help.
EDIT--I seem to remember that an MS Critical Update patch from about six months ago could cause linkage problems with IE, and that you had to go back to Windows Update to get a patch for the patch. You might want to go to the WU site and see if anything is offered.
EDIT2--Found the MSKB article.
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=KB;en-us;813951
Do not be put off by the words "You cannot successfully authenticate with a Web site "
It means you cannot link to a website.

Good luck.

 

BillP--Just found one of those "click here to enlarge image" situations where the enlarged image indeed does come up as a pop-up. (It does not have to, since as mentioned in my last post you can right-click|Properties and get the actual webpage address, copy and paste in the address line and get the image in a separate brower window.)
But it sounds like goddez1's advice to turn off your popup stopper is the best advice. And I made a simple issue very complicated.
(Though this could have something to do with javascript permission settings in IE Tools|Internet Options|Security tab|Custom Level|Scripting section.)
Interestingly, I have a popup stopper, but it did not stop this popup. Maybe there is a difference between popups downloaded without permission from third party websites and popups initiated by our clicking on links (especially javascript links) on a webpage.

 

goddez1 (Ann): The pop-up program is Pop-Up Stopper and it has an on/off toggle. I'm currently turning it off and on. But I've had this program for at least a year so I'm puzzled as to why the problem now.

Welshjim (Jim): The system is xp.
I understand the linking to another file. With respect to the site I was looking at (www.airliners.net), when I hover over the thumbnail, I see a site name at the bottom of the screen. But that's not the name I see when I right click on the image. And the right click name is that file, not the one it's linked to.

Also I can type in the file name and go there, so there's nothing wrong with the target.

Yes, I've peaked behind the window looking for the other file, but it's not there. Jim, I don't know what a HOSTS file is. I'm not running AdAware yet. I just haven't downloaded it. IE is the only browser I have on the computer.

I haven't read the MSKB article yet.

The javascript idea sounds familiar. My company wants me to access my company email via a website. I can sign in and see the list of emails but when I click on one, I get a java error of some sort.

The scripting section shows active scripting = enable. I bet I could really ***** things up in there!

Thanks much for the responses.

 

BillP--Thanks for the further insight. For whatever it is worth, clicking on the Thumbnails at www.airliners.net does not invoke popups, but rather just takes you to the site of the larger photo. You are correct that the right click|Properties idea gives you the site of the picture already on the www.airliners.net site and not the site of the enlargement. The latter is what you see at the bottom left of the screen (status bar).