You cannot access the Internet through a proxy server when you use a 32-bit version of Internet Explorer on a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows

Consider the following scenario. You are running a 32-bit version of Microsoft Internet Explorer on a computer that is running a 64-bit version of a Microsoft Windows operating system. You enable the Make proxy settings per-machine (rather than per-user) Group Policy settings. In this scenario, you cannot access the Internet through a proxy server.

This issue occurs because policy settings are not written to the following registry subkey: This subkey is read by the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer. Therefore, Internet Explorer and other 32-bit browsers are not configured to use the correct policy settings.

32-bit programs that run on a 64-bit version of Windows operate in WOW64 mode. These programs access registry keys and values that are stored in the following registry subkey:

This is a problem that occurs when 32-bit Internet Explorer browsers run on 64-bit operating systems. Currently, there are no solutions for existing 64-bit operating systems. To enable Internet Explorer to access the Internet through a proxy when the Make proxy settings per-machine (rather than per-user) policy is enabled, you can use the workaround in this section.

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:
To work around this issue, copy the proxy settings from the 64-bit registry location to the 32-bit registry location. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Locate and then right-click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
3. Select Export.
4. Save the file to the desktop as InternetSettings.reg.
5. Exit Registry Editor.
6. Use Notepad to edit the InternetSettings.reg file.
7. Click Edit, and then select Replace.
8. In Find what, type the following:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
9. In Replace with, type the following:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
10. Select the Replace All button.
11. Save the file.
12. Right-click the InternetSettings.reg file, and then click Merge.