Cannot open Internet Explorer 11

Internet Explorer exe. does not respond. I have tried to disable and re-enable programme and have tried to reinstall, both without success. Even thogh I have taken ownership of the files, computer will not allow me to delete existing files and will not therefore reinstall.

The problem started after a registry clean up and I fear that a path has been deleted, as I had temporarily moved the files to the desktop whilst trying to reinstall.

I wondered if anyone can kindly offer any assistance.

Hi Avid,
OH the joys of registry cleaners, leave them alone.

Do you have a restore point prior to the cleanup, is so try it.
Look at the history log for the "registry cleaner" does it have a restore option.

Roy

Hi Roy,

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately a restore point is not an option as the problem goes back to early 2016 and I have done too much since then which I would not want to lose. I do have backup files of the registry clean-ups, but there are literally thousands of items and it would take a lifetime to wade through them. Even then I would not know how to reinstate the specific registry items. I think it is a path problem but I get no indication of why the programme does not respond. I have tried a system file check and reset default settings, but to no avail.

A reinstallation would seem to be the answer, but, even when my current programme is disabled, Windows gives the message that it can't be done as a more upto date version is already installed. This is nonsense but I can't get round it.

Hey ho

Brian

Hi Avid,
lets try and uninstall ie11, from an elevated command mode, (copy/paste)

FORFILES /P %WINDIR%\servicing\Packages /M Microsoft-Windows-InternetExplorer-*11.*.mum /c "cmd /c echo Uninstalling package @fname && start /w pkgmgr /up:@fname /norestart"

REBOOT

This should then show IE10 as the browser,
now run sfc /scannow
REBOOT,

reinstall IE11.
Download Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 7 from Official Microsoft Download Center

Roy

note if IE10/IE9 give the same error, use the same command but replace 11 with 10 > 9.

Hi Brian,
musta missed that last bit.

first can you run
sfc /scannow.

if that finds files it cannot repair then we have 2 options

Reset your registry using
Download Tweaking.com - Windows Repair - MajorGeeks
or
Repair Install
Repair install -- No loss of personnal data.

personally im not a fan of registry repair tools, BUT this program has pretty good reviews.
Talking of not being a fan i suspect AVG also has a registry tune-up option please dont use it.

Roy

Hi Roy,
Many thanks for that - I ran the Tweaking.com repair tool with partial success! My file back/forward buttons are working again but IE opens only for about a minute (with the msn Bing page) and then closes. It will not open again unless I reboot - I've done this several times and each time it stops after a short time. It did ask if I wanted to set IE as my default browser, which I do not and I wondered if this may have upset it!!
The tool also repaired 80 reparse records, but I've no idea what they are.
Is it worth running the repair tool again or trying something else?
Sorry to be a pain

Brian

Hi Brian,
Thats an awful lot of repairs SFC has made!
And the fact that that Tweaking couldn't repair the registry, to allow IE to function properly isn't good either.

Your registry cleaner has done a good job of borking your system

Im afraid the only viable option left is a repair install, as you presumably have an OEM install you will not have any discs.
Below is a link valid for 24 hrs of W7 SP1 home premium x64.
download/copy it, then use it either as a repair or new install(copy any personnal files folders)
https://software-download.microsoft....e7624e08000e9e

Roy

Hi Roy,
I'm amazed at your knowledge on these various links etc. Sadly, having completed the download to disc, I tried running it several times and each time it wouldn't get beyond "gathering files, settings & programmes" even though I left it for over two hours the first time - it just sat on 0%. This was after having selected the "upgrade" option. I did turn off my AVG anti-virus to no avail. I do also have Rapport running, but don't know how to stop this, if, indeed, it may be a problem.
These problems all started when I tried, unsuccessfully, to install Windows 10 and it was suggested to me that a Registry clean might cure the problem. The cleaner purported to find approx. 3500 problems - hence the clean!
I'm not sure that a "custom" install is worth all the hassle for the sake of IE. I wanted to get it working because I purchased the McAfee Protection package, but for reasons I don't understand, they told me that it could not be installed without IE working, even though I generally use Firefox as my search engine.
I suppose I could use the registry cleaner programme's backup to restore the registry, but I'm not sure if that is a good idea at this point in time.
Meantime, many thanks for all your kind advice and assistance - that's a pint I owe you!!

Kind regards

Brian