Service Pack 3 (XP) IE problems?

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billyellis

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I installed SP3 for XP the other day (using IE, which I never use for anything else, to run Windows Update). After doing so, I tried to go to Tools->Internet Options to clear cookies, etc. and got an authorization error saying I was not authorized to do so. Even though I am the sole user profile and administrator of this computer.

WTF? Is MS now deciding they have the right to lock me out of parts of my own computer (I admit I did not read all the legal stuff in detail), or is this an error? Anyone else have this issue? I can Explore to the Temporary Internet Files folder, etc. and manually delete the files, but I am concerned with having authorizations messed with by MS, here and potentially in other places on MY computer that I just haven't noticed yet.

Anyone else have authorization issues after installing SP3??
 
This is the first i heard of such a problem from an SP3 user. What version of IE are you using (see Help->about for version number)

and could you state the exact error message
 
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The IE version is not IE7, but that should not be an excuse for MS to change the permissions I have set on my own computer! :mad: I am the adminstrator for crying out loud.
 
the problem you report doesn't seem to be occuring on any widespread basis (at least based on what i found online). So you seem to have the singular complaint.

Interesting, there IS a fix in SP3 for that exact error message under certain circumstance see KB894179

There were some (somewhat) similar cases of problems when trying to clear IE stuff.. but those users traced the problem to viruses/spyware. Have you run a thorough check on your computer lately?
 
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The IE version is not IE7, but that should not be an excuse for MS to change the permissions I have set on my own computer! :mad: I am the adminstrator for crying out loud.



This is not due to Windows Updates or Service Pack 3. I have seen this problem happen about three times before, and all three times it was related to the machine being infected with a virus prior to a system change. Before you go shaking your fist at Microsoft, you should take the machine offline and run a fully up to date anti-virus and spyware scan on it.

The problem is compounded when installing updates on an infected system, as sometimes the files that a virus is targeting are the very same ones the update will attempt to replace.

You may also want to try creating a new user on the system, with Administrator privileges, and logging on to that account and seeing if the problem persists.
 
Interesting, there IS a fix in SP3 for that exact error message under certain circumstance see KB894179

There were some (somewhat) similar cases of problems when trying to clear IE stuff.. but those users traced the problem to viruses/spyware. Have you run a thorough check on your computer lately?

Interesting. I read that article from almost exactly a year ago. Same problem, but only while downloading a file. Weird. Of course, it's entirely possible that I have actually had this problem since last year, since I never really use IE.

The virus/spyware possibility is far more depressing. :( I have Spybot, Ad-Aware, and AVGFree and update them all at least once or twice a week, and run full scans every week or two, most recently just a few days ago. Although it was probably before I noticed this problem. Sigh.
 
That problem should affect only IE6, which is why I suspect an infection.

If your scan turns up clean, I do still suggest trying to create another profile, logging into that one, and seeing if it persists.
 
That problem should affect only IE6, which is why I suspect an infection.

If your scan turns up clean, I do still suggest trying to create another profile, logging into that one, and seeing if it persists.

Oops, sorry Soul Harvester. Your post went up while I was writing my reply and after posting I did not look back up and notice that you posted while I was typing.

I am running IE6, which is why I hold out hope that it may just be a bug I can live with. I never use IE, so I am probably not going to install the patch in LookinAround's link. But I will run a full scan. Any particular viruses or spyware that have caused this problem? I wonder if the standard scans will find it if it is already embedded, or whether I will need to go full-scale assault and go beyond a regular full scan...

EDIT: And IMHO, there is never anything wrong with shaking one's fist at MS. Whether they are responsible for the problem at hand or not, they are responsible for so many problems that they have a lot of fist-shaking coming to them. :)
 
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