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My Internet browser won’t let me watch anything or listen to anything. When I click on Explorer it says that Explorer is currently running without add-ons. Under the toolbar it says that my Explorer is running with add-ons disabled. How can I fix this problem?

Internet Explorer and Add-ons

Internet Explorer on its own is an extremely basic Web browser. In order to get the most out of Web browsing, add-ons are added to the browser which add additional functionality. Microsoft Windows adds a few add-ons while other add-ons are added by third parties such as Adobe or Sun Microsystems. In some cases, you are prompted before an add-on is added; in others, the add-ons are added without your knowledge.

Internet Explorer No Add-ons

Your computer comes with two versions of Internet Explorer: the normal Internet Explorer and “Internet Explorer No Add-ons.”  The Internet Explorer No Add-ons is located in Start> Programs > Accessories > System Tools. This version is used for troubleshooting IE errors. For example, if your Web browser is not functioning as expected, add-ons are often suspected of causing the error. By running with no add-ons, you can test this theory. If the browser works fine without add-ons, then you know that you need to disable each add-on one at a time until you figure out which one is interfering with Internet Explorer.

Since your browser continues to display this message, it’s time to look at how you’re launching Internet Explorer. Are you using a Desktop shortcut? A shortcut in the Start menu? It’s possible that a shortcut was made from the No Add-ons version in which case you’ll want to use a different shortcut.

Creating a New Shortcut to Internet Explorer

If you no longer have a legitimate shortcut to Internet Explorer, you can create one by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Explore. Navigate to Program Files and Find Internet Explorer in the list. Right click iexplore.exe and choose one of the following:

• Pin to Start menu
• Add to Quick Launch
• Send to > Desktop
• Create Shortcut

Pin to Start menu creates a shortcut that displays in the list of favorite programs whenever you click the Start button. Add to Quick Launch creates a shortcut that is found next to the Start button. Send to > Desktop creates a shortcut on the Windows desktop. Create Shortcut creates a shortcut icon within the current folder. From there, you have to drag and drop the shortcut to the desired location.

When I go online, no backgrounds to anything show up. How do I fix this?

This is one of those questions that will take some troubleshooting to find and fix your problem because there are so many possibilities. Let’s take each one at a time:

• Are your security settings too high? Try turning down your security, removing third-party firewalls (as long as you have a Microsoft firewall in place) and disable ad-blocking programs and see if that makes a difference.
• Clear your temporary Internet Files. For Internet Explorer - go to Tools and Internet Options. Click on the General tab, go to Browsing History and click Delete. In the Browsing History box, check to clear all of the boxes except the one by Temporary Internet Files. Now choose Delete and OK to close.
• Make sure your Controls and Scripting is enabled. Go to Tools and then Internet Options. Go to the Security Tab and select the Default level for the Internet Zone.
• Auto Select your Encoding. Go to the Page menu and select Encoding. Make sure that Auto-Select is checked.
• Have you installed and updated the correct motherboard and video card drivers? The wrong drivers can cause display issues.
• Check your Accessibility Options. Go to Control Panel and click on Accessibility Options and choose Display. Make sure there is no check mark by High Contrast. Now go to Internet Options and Accessibility and make sure that nothing is checked.
• You can also try to make a new account and see if the same thing happens. Create a new user and try the same web pages. If they display properly, move your files to the new account and delete the old one.
• Is this a recent problem? It’s possible that deleting a program took something with it that your computer needs to display web pages properly. If so, you can try System Restore to bring your computer back to a time before this problem started. Go to Start, All Programs and then Accessories. Choose System Tools and click on System Restore. You will see a Welcome Screen. Choose “Restore my computer to an earlier time”. Click Next and then you will need to select a date to restore to - pick one that is close to, but before this problem started happening. Your computer will shut down and reboot.
• Although I haven’t heard of this specifically, it’s possible that you are having some sort of virus infection that is affecting your display. It can’t hurt to update and run your antivirus program to make sure that isn’t the cause.

Hopefully, one of these solutions will do the trick. If you are still having problems, let us know what operating system you are using and what you are seeing when you try to access a particular page.

How do I disable a proxy?

How to Disable a Proxy

Disabling a proxy is fairly easy and is done via your Web browser. Once you know what steps you need to take, it is relatively easy to disable a proxy server. However, the manner in which you do so depends not only on the Web browser that you are using, but also on the version of that Web browser. I’ll give you directions for several of the most current, popular browsers.

 To disable a proxy server in Internet Explorer 7.0, 6.0, or 5.0 follow these steps:

• Open Internet Explorer.
• Navigate to “Tools.”
• Select “Internet Options.”
• Select “Connections.”
• Select “LAN Settings” if you are using LAN. If you have dial-up or a private network connection, choose the proper connection and click on settings.
• Uncheck the box in front of “Use a proxy server.”
• Select “OK.”

To disable a proxy server in Netscape 8:

• Open Netscape.
• Navigate to “Tools.”
• Select “Options.”
• Select “General.”
• Select “Connection Settings.”
• Choose “Direct Connection to the Internet.”
• Select “OK.”

To disable a proxy server in Netscape 7:

• Open Netscape.
• Navigate to “Edit.”
• Select “Preferences.”
• Navigate to the symbol located to the left-hand side of “Advanced” and click.
• Select “Proxies.”
• Choose “Direct Connection to the Internet.”
• Select “OK.”

To disable a proxy server in Firefox:

• Open Firefox.
• Navigate to “Tools.”
• Select “Options.”
• Select “Advanced.”
• Select “Network.”
• Select “Settings.”
• Mark off the box in front of “No Proxy.”

To disable a proxy server in Opera 9 and 8:

• Open Opera.
• Navigate to “Tools.”
• Select “Preferences.”
• Select “Advanced” and select “Network sub-category”.
• Select “Proxy servers.”
• Delete proxy information.
• Select “OK.”

I am getting an error when I try to log into a certain Web site. The error says, “You may have a third party firewall that is not allowing BlackPeopleMeet.com to use cookies.” I’ve tried everything and I still don’t have access to this Web site (I pay a monthly subscription). I have already tried setting the site as a trusted site and have even turned off my firewall but still nothing. Please help.

BlackPeopleMeet.com’s Cookie Requirement

This Web site, like many, requires that your computer has cookies enabled in order to log into the site. Let’s start with the basics of enabling cookies and then move on to clearing the cache and adjusting the firewall.

Enabling Cookies

To enable cookies in Internet Explorer, open Internet Explorer and then click Tools > Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab followed by the Advanced button. Next, click “Override Automatic Cookie Handling.” And then choose Accept under both First-Party Cookies and Third-Party Cookies. Confirm your choice by clicking OK.

Clearing the Cache

To clear your browser’s cache and cookies, go back into Internet Options and click on the General tab. Find the Temporary Internet Files section and then click the Delete Cookies button, Delete Files button, and click the checkbox next to Delete All Offline Content. Click OK as needed to confirm your choices.

Working with Firewalls

Since the BlackPeopleMeet.com messages specifically suggested that the firewall may be interfering with cookies, let’s take a look. You may have several firewalls involved including Windows Firewall, the router’s firewall, and a firewall that is part of your Internet security software package. Since you’ve already added BlackPeopleMeet.com as a trusted site, in theory, you shouldn’t have a problem connecting to it. You might want to double check all possible firewalls to ensure that this site is not blocked. Because each firewall type is different, it’s impossible to go over all of the settings. For example, in Trend Micro’s Internet Security, setting an approved site is done through the Internet & E-mail Controls feature (not the Personal Firewalls Control feature).

Hopefully, clearing the cache and enabling cookies is all that’s needed and you’ll be able to start using the site. Since you are a paid member, if you continue having trouble, consider contacting the BlackPeopleMeet Customer Service department for help.

A few days ago I was able to access a website called soccermanager.com and since then I have not been able to access this site. I have tried several file clean-ups, defragmentation, etc., but to no avail. This is really strange as I am still able to access any other sites very easily such as Yahoo and MSN. Any ideas on how to get this sorted would be most appreciated.

Several factors come to mind concerning this problem. The website, soccermanager.com, could be experiencing temporary problems that are preventing you from accessing it. The website might be blocked on your end. You might accidentally be clicking an incorrect URL for the website. Since we aren’t sure what the problem is, a bit of troubleshooting is in order. Since you can access other websites, the problem is more specific.

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Troubleshooting Blocked Webpage Access: Run Diagnostics Tool for Networking on IE

If you are using Internet Explorer (IE), you can run the diagnostics tool that should appear on your IE page as “Diagnose Connection Problems.” Once you select this link, the tool should run automatically for you. If any specific problems are noted, suggestions should be generated.

Troubleshooting Blocked Webpage Access: Clear the Temporary Internet Cache

Clearing the temporary Internet cache often resolves trouble with problematic websites. Occasionally, the stored data in the temporary cache prevents you from accessing particular webpages, especially if you click on the stored webpage URL rather than typing it in yourself. To clear this data in IE, click on “Tools” and select “Delete Browsing History.” Mark off the small boxes in front of each of the following: form data, history, cookies, and temporary Internet files. Click “Delete.”

Troubleshooting Blocked Webpage Access: Lowering Security Level

One of the options that you have open to you is to lower the security level setting for browsing activity. If you do so, then you will be raising the security risk to your computer and you will need to be more vigilant about scanning it for spyware and viruses. To lower the security level, complete these simple steps:

• Select the “Start” tab in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
• Open “Internet Explorer.”
• Select “Tools.”
• Select “Internet Options.”
• Select “Security.”
• Select “Internet.”
• Move the slider for the security level to a lower setting. If you cannot see the slider, click on the button labeled, default level.

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Troubleshooting Blocked Webpage Access: Add URL to List of Trusted Websites

It is also possible to add a website to your list of trusted websites so that you can access it readily. This eliminates the problem of a blocked webpage due to the security level remaining at a high security level. To do so, follow these directions:

• Select the “Start” tab in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
• Open “Internet Explorer.”
• Navigate to the website that you want to add or enable in a security zone. You might have to lower the security setting first in order to do this and then you can switch back.
• Select “Tools.”
• Select “Internet Options.”
• Select “Security.”
• Select “Trusted sites” and then “sites.”
• Look in the “Add this website to the zone” field and see if the website (in this case, soccermanager.com) is listed. If it is, select “Add.”
• Clear the check box for the “Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone only if the website is not a secure one showing HTTPS.
• Select “Close” and “OK.”

My computer is playing but when I log on a site i.e. littlewoods or try to buy anything, it just clicks off and clears the screen back to the wallpaper.

I am wondering if this is a new problem in general or if these are new websites that you are trying to use when experiencing page display errors. If you have been able to visit these websites in the past and now suddenly, you cannot, I might be inclined to think that your computer is infected with a virus or spyware.

However, if these are new websites that you are trying to visit for the first time, then I might be inclined to think that your security might be creating the issue. If you aren’t sure, then just try each of the following solutions. Otherwise, you can try the one that you think is most likely going to resolve the problem first and then move on down the list.

Spyware and Viruses

It is possible that your computer is infected with a virus or spyware. Either one of these can lead to problems such as the one that you are describing. What you need to do is to use an up-to-date anti-spyware/anti-virus application to scan your computer and remove any infections that exist. If you do have an anti-spyware/anti-virus application, make sure that it is updated with the latest version. If you don’t have one, I can recommend Anti-VirusPLUS.

Security Programs

It is possible that the security settings that you are using are set too high to allow you to gain access to these websites. If you are using a security program, open the program and check the security level that you have it set at. Typically, you can open the security icon by right-clicking on it or you can access it through the main menu for programs.

Web Browser Related Issues: Cookies and Temporary Internet Files

One of the first strategies to try is to clear the temporary Internet cache that has been stored on your web browser. This data can sometimes create glitches that lead to bigger problems. Follow these directions for Internet Explorer:

1. Open the browser.
2. Click on “Tools.”
3. Select the tab for “Delete Browsing History.”
4. Click on the section labeled, “Temporary Internet Files.”
5. Click the boxes for each of the following: history, cookies, form data, and temporary Internet files. Then, click on “Delete.”

If you have a different browser, you can generally find the section that you need in the “Tools” section or the “Edit/Menu/Preferences” section.

Web Browser Related Issues: Repair or Uninstall and Reinstall

It is possible to repair Internet Explorer by going through this path: Tools>Internet Options>Advanced>Reset. Sometimes this strategy will fix display errors. Alternatively, you can also uninstall your web browser and then reinstall it in your attempt to correct the problem.

Web Browser Related Issues: Switch Browsers

If the internet explorer cannot display the page error continues to haunt you, you might want to consider using a different web browser when visiting those particular websites. I use Mozilla Firefox and rarely have problems with it.