Error Message: Not Accepting Cookies

When you attempt to view a Web page, you may receive an error message similar to the following message:

This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons:

• The option to allow cookies is disabled in Internet Explorer.
• The cookie file is damaged.
• The registry was not updated correctly when you changed a cookies option in Internet Explorer.
• Your computer's system date is set too far in the future.

To resolve this issue, use the appropriate method.

Method 1

Enable the option to accept cookies in Internet Explorer. To do so, follow these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu (or View menu in Internet Explorer version 4.x).
2. In Internet Explorer 5, click the Security tab, and then click Custom Level. Click Enable or Prompt under Allow cookies that are stored on your computer.
   
   In Internet Explorer 4.x, click the Advanced tab, and then click Prompt Before Accepting Cookies or Always Accept Cookies.
3. Click OK until you return to Internet Explorer.
4. Connect to the Web address from which you received the "Not accepting cookies" error message to verify that you are able to gain access to the Web page.

If you select the Prompt Before Accepting Cookies option and you still cannot access the Web page, follow the steps in method 1 again and select the Always Accept Cookies option (the Enable option in Internet Explorer 5).

Method 2

Rename the cookie file in the Windows\Cookies folder for the Web page from which you received the "Not accepting cookies" error message. To rename the cookie file, follow these steps:

1. Double-click My Computer, double-click the drive on which the Windows folder is located, double-click the Windows folder, and then double-click the Cookies folder.
2. In the Cookies folder, rename the "User name@Web site.txt" file, where user name is the name you used to log on to Windows, and Web site is the name of the Web site you tried to access. For example:
   user@microsoft.txt
   Using this example, you could rename the User@microsoft.txt file to User@microsoft.old. For information about how to rename a file, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type renaming, and then double-click the Renaming files topic.
3. Connect to the Web page from which you received the "Not accepting cookies" error message to verify that you are able to access the Web page.

Method 3

Change the cookies option to try to update the registry correctly. To do so, use the appropriate steps.

Internet Explorer 5

In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu, click the Security tab, choose a lower security level for the Internet zone, and then click OK.

Internet Explorer 4.x

1. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the View menu.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click a cookies option other than the currently selected option.
3. Click OK.
4. In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the View menu.
5. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the cookies option you want to use.
6. Click OK.
7. Connect to the Web page from which you received the "Not accepting cookies" error message to verify that you are able to access the Web address.

Method 4

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Internet Explorer 5

1. Use Registry Editor to change the "1A02" value under the appropriate key in:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings\Zones
   
   Values:
   
   1 = Local intranet
   2 = Trusted sites
   3 = Internet
   4 = Restricted sites
2. Connect to the Web page from which you received the "Not accepting cookies" error message to verify that you are able to access the Web address.

Internet Explorer 4.x

1. Use Registry Editor to change the "AllowCookies" value in the following registry key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\InternetSettings
   Use one of the following values for the "AllowCookies" value:

         Meaning                           Value
         ---------------------------------------
         Prompt before accepting cookies   0
         Always accept cookies             1
         Disable all cookie use            2
   					

2. Connect to the Web address from which you received the "Not accepting cookies" error message to verify that you are able to access the Web address.

Method 5

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Date/Time.
3. On the Date & Time tab, set your computer's date to the current date.
4. Click OK.

In Internet Explorer 4.x, changes to cookies options on the Advanced tab in the Internet Options dialog box are written to the following registry key: The AllowCookies value does not exist in the registry until you change the cookies usage option on the Advanced tab in the Internet Options dialog box. In addition, when you remove Internet Explorer 4.0, the setting in the registry may not be changed back to the original setting.

For additional information about cookies, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: