Internet Explorer Window Closes When You Click a Download Link

After you click a link to download a file and receive a prompt to run the file from the current location or save it to disk, the browser window closes.

This problem can occur if the primary browser window starts a secondary window, and the link points to a target file that cannot be opened in place. The secondary browser window can be created in one of three ways:

• You right-click a link in the primary window, and then click Open In A New Window.
• The primary window's link starts a second window (that is, the HREF tag contains "target=_blank").
• The primary window uses a Window.Open call to create the secondary window.

Types of files that cannot be opened in place include .zip, .exe, .mp3, .wma, and .asf files. Typical scenarios in which the secondary browser window disappears include:

• You start Internet Explorer, right-click a link, click Open In A New Window, and then click a download link in the new instance of Internet Explorer.
• You start Internet Explorer, click a link that opens a secondary window, and then click a download link in the new instance of Internet Explorer.

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Internet Explorer version 5.5. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

WORKAROUND

To work around the first scenario, use either of the following methods:

• Do not right-click a link and then click Open In A New Window. Instead, just click the link that contains the download link.
• After you right-click a link and then click Open In A New Window, right-click the download link and then click Save Target As.

For the second scenario, instead of clicking the download link, right-click the link, and then click Save Target As.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in Internet Explorer 5.5. This problem was first corrected in Internet Explorer version 5.5 Service Pack 1.