When you try to open any of the programs listed in the "Applies to" section, you may receive one of the following error messages:

This behavior may occur if some Microsoft Internet Explorer files are damaged.

To resolve this error message try rebooting your computer. If this doesn't work use the following methods in the order in which they are presented.

Delete temporary Internet files

Temporary Internet files are cached copies of the Web pages you access, as well as supplementary files such as graphic images and videos. You may find that Web pages you have accessed in the past take longer to load the first time you visit them after you delete these cached files.

To delete temporary Internet files, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Internet.
3. On the General tab, click Delete Files.
   
   Or, on the Advanced tab, click Settings, and then click Empty Folder.

If this does not resolve the issue, go to the next method.

Reduce the number of colors Windows is using

1. Right-click the desktop, click Properties, and then click the Settings tab.
2. In the Colors box, click a setting that is less than the current setting, click OK, and then click Yes.

Reduce the screen area

1. Right-click the desktop, click Properties, and then click the Settings tab.
2. In the Screen Area box, move the Screen Area slider to a screen area that is lower than your current screen area setting, click OK, and then click Yes.

Use the default values for the security settings in Internet Explorer

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Internet Options.
3. Click the Security tab.
4. Under Select a Web content zone to specify its security settings, click Internet.
5. Click Default Level.
6. Click Apply.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each Web content zone.
8. Click OK.

If this issue continues to occur, go to the next method.

Repair Internet Explorer

To repair Internet Explorer, use the Internet Explorer Repair tool. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, click Add/Remove.
3. Click Repair the current installation of Internet Explorer, and then click OK.

Note Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 is included with Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition and cannot be repaired by using the Internet Explorer Repair tool.

If this issue continues to occur, go to the next method.

Reinstall Internet Explorer 5.5

To reinstall Internet Explorer 5.5, use the following methods in the order in which they are presented.

Close programs

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL.
2. In the Close Program dialog box, click a program that you want to close, and then click End Task.
   
   Note Do not close the Explorer or Systray programs because they are Windows components.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each program that is running.

Uninstall Internet Explorer 5.5

You can uninstall Internet Explorer 5.5 from the following Windows operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows 98
• Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
• Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
• Microsoft Windows 2000

Note You cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 5.5 from Windows Millennium Edition.

Note You must have administrative privileges to install or uninstall Internet Explorer 5.5 in Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000.

To uninstall Internet Explorer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools in the list of installed programs, and then click Add/Remove.
   
   Note If Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools is not included in the list of installed programs, run Setup.exe from the "Internet Explorer\Setup" folder.
   
   If you are running Windows 2000, run the w2kexcp.exe /u command from the "Internet Explorer\IE Uninstall" folder.
3. Click Restore the previous Windows configuration or click Advanced to specify any additional components that you want to remove, and then click OK.
4. In the Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools Setup dialog box or Maintenance mode, click OK to restore the previous version of Internet Explorer and shared components.
5. When you are prompted to verify that you want to restore the previous version, click Yes.
6. When you are prompted to restart Windows, click Restart Windows.

Install Internet Explorer 5.5

1. Insert the program installation disc into the CD-ROM drive. Press and hold down the SHIFT key as you insert the compact disc to prevent the Setup program from starting automatically.
2. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
3. In the Named box, type ie5setup.exe.
4. In the Look in box, select the CD drive.
5. Click Find Now.
6. In the search results window, double-click ie5setup.exe, and follow the prompts to install it.

If this issue continues to occur, proceed to the next method.

Delete Internet-related folders

1. Click Start, and then click Shutdown.
2. Select Restart in MS-DOS Mode, and then click OK.
3. If you do not use cookie files to store information for certain Web sites, continue to the next step.
   
   If you use cookie files to store information such as passwords for certain Web sites, you may want to copy the contents of the Cookies folder to save the information.
   
   To copy the Cookies folder, type the following lines at the C:\Windows command prompt, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
   cd..
   smartdrv.exe
   md newfoldername
   copy c:\windows\cookies\*.* c:\windows\newfoldername
   
   where newfoldername is the name of the folder in which you want to copy the contents of the Cookies folder.
4. If you do not use the Favorites folder to store your favorite Web site links, continue to the next step.
   
   If you use the Favorites folder to store your favorite Web site links, you may want to copy the contents of the Favorites folder to save the information.
   
   To copy the Favorites folder, type the following lines at the C:\Windows command prompt, pressing ENTER after you type each line:
   cd..
   smartdrv.exe
   md newfoldername
   copy c:\windows\favori~1\*.* c:\windows\newfoldername
   
   where newfoldername is the name of the folder in which you want to copy the contents of the Favorites folder.
5. At the C:\Windows command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after you type each line. To confirm the deletion of each folder, press Y, and then press ENTER.
   deltree cookies
   deltree favori~1
   deltree history
   deltree tempor~1
   
6. Type exit, and press ENTER to restart Windows.

If the issue was resolved by deleting the Internet-related folders, we do not recommend replacing the contents of the new folders with the contents of the renamed folders. If you want to copy the contents of the renamed folders, it is best to do each item one at a time, and then test Internet Explorer to make sure that this particular file is not the cause of the script error. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click Start, and then click Explore.
2. In the left frame, double-click the Windows folder.
3. Double-click [newfoldername].
4. In the right frame, left click to select a line.
5. After the line is selected, right-click, and then select Copy.
6. In the left frame, double-click the folder that you want to paste this line to: Favorites or Cookies.
7. Right-click, and then select Paste.
8. Repeat the steps for each folder and each individual line in each folder.

Note Test Internet Explorer after each line copied. If you find the script error returns after a line is copied, delete that line.

Delete downloaded program files

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
2. In the Named box, type downloaded program files.
3. In the Look in box, click My Computer.
4. Click Find Now.
5. Double-click the Downloaded Program Files folder.
6. Right-click a file that you want to delete, and then click Remove.
   
   Note Do not delete the Win32 Classes file in the Downloaded Program Files folder.
7. Repeat step 5 until you delete all of the files in the Downloaded Program Files folder, and then restart your computer.

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 6

To upgrade to Internet Explorer 6, click the following link below and then follow the download instructions:

For more information about script errors in Internet Explorer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For more information about how to download and install the latest version of DirectX, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

The Internet Explorer Repair tool diagnoses and repairs the following issues:

• Out of date Internet Explorer files.
• Incorrect or incomplete registration of Internet Explorer files.
• Internet Explorer desktop or Start menu shortcuts that are missing or not working correctly.