Kirbtech Blog

I have a brand new Dell computer, windows 7, and it keeps giving the exact same message. I have tried changing the default provider a couple of times, but the message keeps coming back. March 4, 2011.

Hello,

I’ve had this bug since IE beta and it carried over to the final IE 8 release. I have searched for the solution and your solution worked for me. Hooray! Thanks for the help.

Worked for me.

Internet Explorer 8
Windows XP Pro sp3

Correction and additional info for above comment

Under above setting was Default no value set and

Local AppData Reg_Expand_SZ %userprofile%LocalSettingsApplication Data

This solution dosen’t work for me. There is already value name of AppData in the set of keys so I cant create a new string with the same name.

Ok
When I used the solution above it worked for IE 8 but my other programs like Turbotax, Firefox, Thunderbird lost all data and I would have had to start at the beginning. Another way is to create a new user account with full admin rights. This also solved the problem but its also like starting over again. I suppose if I back up all data to another drive I could import things like Turbotax and other saved Pics etc. to my new log on name/user

Great!. worked very well

Solution did not work for me..Same as Kenneth’s reply of 23 march 2009..
Any alternate solution to try would be great!
Thanks

can you now solve my ënter Network Password”problem in Outlook 2007

This worked for me on windows xp and cleared up my outlook 2003 password issue. Bonus!

Im assuming everyone is using XP. Does anyone have a fix for the 32bit versions of Vista? Does the Outlook password fix work in 2007 or just 2003

Hey, cool tips. Perhaps I’ll buy a bottle of beer to that person from that forum who told me to visit your site

If you find this Local AppData Reg_Expand_SZ %userprofile%LocalSettingsApplication Data
just delete it and follow these steps

Make sure IE 8 is closed then navigate to registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders
Add a new “Expandable String value” inside the above mentioned key with a value name of “AppData” and a value data of “%USERPROFILE%Application Data”.

thanks this worked for me also, Im also using XP. Glad some one figured this out I was sick and tired of the pop up and turning things off and back on trying to figure it out… I owe you one.

I’m not sure how you know this stuff. Yes, absolutely worked. I am so glad to be done with that error window and I was only living with it for a couple days. Thanks a lot.

This worked for me & I’m not that experienced.I didn’t delete the exisisting file though, as some say I just left it & added a new one below it & it worked perfectly! Thanks a bunch!

Your solution, thankfully, worked. Microsoft seems be to on another planet in finding information on this very commone problem. I wished they had it together as much as you do, or at leset make it easier to find a solution.

Thanks for getting my sanity back!

hey, this not only fixed the IE8 search issue, it stopped Outlook 2003 from forgetting my email servers’ passwords, a problem which started with a vengenace a couple of days ago….ooh rah!

moochass grassy asks

In response to Jewelz question about finding the Registry key. Click Start button, got to run, in box type regedit and click ok. You will then be in the Registry Editor window. I hope it works for you.

Now, for my problem, I did all that was mentioned. Deleted the local AppData and entered the new expendable string value. The only other setting in the Registry Editor was Default with no data value set. After all this I still get the error message. Anyone have another solution?

XP Pro SP3 – I’m not sure how to add the new expandable string. Can you give steps? And where you say to add “%userprofile”, do you type userprofile or your user name? Sorry I don’t understand much about editing the registry. Karen

This solution worked like a charm! However, make sure the user account is (temporarily) set as an admin, not a limited user. (Can switch back after changes are made.)

It shows an error message saying that there is one file named “AppData”
therefore I cannot create another one.

For those of you having trouble finding how to edit the registery, simply click on start menu, then click run. Type regedit then hit (enter). This will bring up the registry edit. From this point follow the above steps.

This fix worked like a charm, but corrupted my Firefox, and Thunderbird setups !!!
I had too rebuild my setup, not fun.
I don’t use IE enough so will live with this error message until it can be fixed without affecting other programs.

Thanks a million! This fixed the search warning and allowed me to set Google as the default provider and ALSO fixed the problem I had been having with passwords not being saved.

worked for me! thanks!

Thanks, it worked for me.

Excellent fix!! Worked nicely, cheers.

Was also able to set an alternative search as default and delete Live Search, and all seems to work tickerty-boo.

Very nice.

(Don’t suppose anyone’s a genius at restoring Volume Control in XP…? Dreadfull trouble with what appears to be conflicting Creative and nVidia drivers – now lost Volume Control too, just for good measure!)

I have Windows Vista 64 IE 8. Cannot copy AppData in value name because already exists. Tried modifying it to the value data given and nothing. In response to robinb 6 apr 09 comment that reads as follows: “in response to steve preston. I had the existing string. and the solution didn’t work first time. I just typed in the string below the existing one again as in kirbs solution. works fine. I am using XP.” What do you mean by ” just typed in the string below the existing one again “? I cant type below anything. I can only add a new string at the bottom of all other strings. Nothing works so far and I’ve tried it a bunch of times.

Updated solution worked for me. Thanks!

XP Home

Johnny listen to me,Kirbs solution may work for some but not all.I have the same problem as you,i have been working at this for 2 months to no avail and i believe the problem comes from having multiple browsers that you may have installed or tried and got rid of in xp,or it is a bug in ie4,5,6,7 that may have parts that remain in your pc after you installed ie8.Its a typical microsoft bug.Ive installed ie8 in all five of my pcs running xp and only one has this problem but it is the pc that i have tried multiple browsers in.If your running a legitimate xp i would suggest unistalling ie8 the pc will revert back to ie7 then go to start/all programs/microsoft updates then when it connects clic the custom button and then let microsoft scan and install ie8 again while installing a different window will tell you that something is trying to corrupt your default search browser at that point it will prompt you to completely stop that function from ever happening again it does this before ie8 is even installed.I believe that microsoft has dealt with this problem and has fixed it but it can only be done through microsoft updates at the moment.If you dont want to do this or cant deal with the popups then i strongly suggest you installing the newest Avant Web Browser,It uses ie8 as its backbone and is in my opinion faster and has no bugs..;)~

Another fix to this error for VISTA

Run GPEDIT.MSC
Computer Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components>
Internet Explorer , Restrict changing the default search provider turn it to Disable apply OK. should work on XP too

Your welcome Johnny,but I would have left ie8 in for the speed and other inprovements but I would make Avant the default web browser and just would never use ie8 unless I had to.Avant Is Ie8,it allows you to use clipboard and get windows updates unlike Opera or Firefox which cant and yes Opera or Firefox cannot connect to Microsoft for updates so all those people that have those browsers installed thats ok but remember Internet Explorer is silently the one bringing those updates into your pc and you cant uninstall Internet Explorer altogether without having another version of it in your system,Avant is just another GUI for ie8 so its just as fast and just as user friendly as ie8 it is not a standalone browser it is dependent on Internet Explorer,but without the problems you or I share in ie8.Unfortunetly Microsoft is not much different then Apple in trying to make its software propietary and unique for its operating system even though you bought it and own it..Ooops I should say rent really.Eventually there will be a permanent fix for this..Good Luck!..;)~

100% Perfect…High Five!! Woot… You The Man!

I have tried the fix and like others it worked, somewhat. After changing the registry, Firefox and Safari would not open. Changed the registry back and all worked well. The pop up message comes up only through my login. The error does not occur in the other 3 user profiles. The others each have a different search provider selected as default and there are no problems associated with them. I am the only user on the machine that this happens to and I am the administrator. So, for now, I’m just dealing with it. I don’t want to remove IE8 since I’m the only user having problems. I did try IE8 when it was in Beta and this problem happened then. I thought they would have fixed it with the final release. I am learning to like Firefox. Thanks for the help.

Wow, you are the best and made my day.

Kay im sorry it didnt work for you.But please leave ie8 installed and download Avant Web Browser at http://www.avantbrowser.com/ its very nice and fast and is completely ie8 backboned unlike firefox,opera,chrome or safari.Make it your default web browser upon install and you wont have anymore problems.Avant is a gui for ie8 and uses all the features your use to in internet explorer but without the bug found in ie8 and Avant updates quite regularly and it will not finger throughout your operating system and will uninstall instantly if you dont like it. And i dont work for Avant and yes i have tried all those other browsers and then some and i have found this to be the best..;)~

This solution worked like a Charm!

Thank You!

This seems to have worked for me. I started having this problem a few days ago upon an XP or IE update. I applied your fix and didn’t get the same message.

Thanks!

I’ve tried your solution, but I cannot get it to work at all. I’m at my wits end.

Well i seemed to have the same problem with someone you guys. I open the registry and it already had AppData Key. I tried to put it as AppData2 and it worked but when i open it i have to refresh the page to get to the homepage. to me i dislike having those problems but ima stick with the msg anyway and ill try download Rod’s Avant browser it seems cool enough. so for now, im just gonna stick with the msg since it doesnt really harm my PC much and i kno that i have nothing on my PC that can corrupt this. So thanks anyway, appreciate for your help.

Not worked!!! Tryed n times!!!

Thanks the fix worked fine by editing the registry. I did have to set the default search provider one, but this time it stuck!

Perfect solution! Windows 2003 Standard SP2.

Worked great! Had a current AppData folder but the value ended with Roaming. Just deleted that and tada! Vista Ultimate 64

Thanks again!

That registry change worked for me. Strange though, I have 2 identical User Shell Folder keys, but when I edited one, the other also changed

Excellent solution, fixed my problem with IE8!! Thanks a million times.

Julu

The fix didn’t work for me (I’m using Vista 64 Ultimate). However (I’m still trying to verify this), that big FireFox 3.5 load time problem seems to have vanished. Google will show that users all over the web are having incredibly long load times with the new version. Mine went from 50 seconds to about three. I have no idea how applying that registry setting would affect FireFox 3.5 but something happened. I already had the LocalSettings key under Shell Folder. I simply replaced it’s existing value with “%USERPROFILE%Application Data”, tried IE (fail), then opened Firefox 3.5 — BINGO. Something’s definitely awry here but thx at least for fixing my fox.

I tried it once without success… Then I noticed that the other expandable string had a value of %userprofile% rather than %USERPROFILE% so I changed mine to match… Low and behold, apparently text case mattered, because now it works like a dream!

Thanks!

Oh, I’m XP sp3

The fix did NOT work for me, however when I went into the folder “%USERPROFILE%Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftInternet ExplorerServices” as mentioned in Wayne Farmer’s post, and deleted ALL of the files in there it allowed me to change the default to Google, and get rid of all others. And no more error messages! Woo hoo! I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have got so annoyed I have uninstalled IE8, I can now live in the NOW!!!

@SillyMe You’re very welcome. Glad to have been of service.

@Wayne Farmer
No problem, I’m just glad it’s fixed now! You have no idea how close I was to throwing my computer out the damn window everytime I opened IE8!!! LOL

Thanks for the fix. My IE8 is working great now too.

Thanks for the fix. Seems to have resolved the problem. Much appreciated.

This ALSO fixed a problem I had been having with Outlook 2003 on XP Pro where it would not save the password even though the user checked the save password box.

The following Microsoft article didn’t fix that problem for me, but might be useful for others having that problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;290684&Product=ol2002

Worked for me, thanks!

I fixed this error in Vista BP with IE8 by simply assigning my user account a Password…windows hates blank passwords!

This problem is driving my husband and me crazy so guess I will have to admit my lack of knowledge (sounds better than stupid) about how to “navigate to the registry key. What is it and where is it? Also adding something inside of it is also a mystery to me.
I have Windows XP and have tried re-installing IE 8 but to no avail. Would appreciate comments. Bev

Thank you so much for your help! I am the household computer fixer and I really am NOT as experienced as some of the other people here. I didn’t even know what a registry key was. LOL! You made this easy to fix and I am very appreciative. Thanks again.

@Wes Johnson
As an added benefit, after running one of those registry cleanup programs, my Outlook had some issues with forgetting the password. The IE8 fix resolved that issue too. My Outlook actually remembers my passwords now.

Thanks again.

The solutions suggested didn’t work for me. I’m running Vista.

Having fiddled about with the registry, including removing the SearchScopes folders from both HCKU and HKCM (actually just renaming to hide them), and then looking at the results, I’m finding that there must be some other key that is causing the corrupt default problem. I don’t think that the details within the SearchScopes folders are the problem, because it doesn’t seem to matter what they are.

Any clues?

@KAus

Does this Microsoft Knowledge Base article help you out at all?

Oh, and Kirb…I tried your “Microsoft Knowledge Base” article as I found it previously. The registry keys are not the same…the error message is exactly as follows “Error 1606. Could not access network location %USERPROFILE%Application Data”. Also, when I navigate to the registry keys listed in this article none of the string values listed are in my registry.

Problem solved. Thanks for the fix

Worked for me and thanks to Bill Soares for help in finding the RegEdit.You guy’s are awesome.

@Josh
where do i find RegEdit? amature

Quote: Make sure IE 8 is closed then navigate to registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders
Add a new “Expandable String value” inside the above mentioned key with a value name of “AppData” and a value data of “%USERPROFILE%Application Data”.
Reopen IE 8 and see if you still get the error message.

Worked for me!!!

Worked perfectly for me, thanks!!!!!

Unfortunately, the solution has not worked

Thanks Brad.
Your fix did the trick.

This worked on a Win XP Home that started the behavior after infercted by malware “Personal Antivirus”.
This fix to reg worked in my case.
Thanks.

Im a fairly experiened computer user so i dont think i made any mistakes. Unfortunately some program is still corrupting my ie8 running on xp any other suggestions would be gratefully received

no spaces and use your capps

Worked for me too

Thank you for providing the fix as it addressed concurrent issues with IE8 error message and Outlook 2003 inability to retain profile passwords.

Worked!!! THANK YOU!

This worked for me too THANK YOU – I was getting very sick of the message – now I want to know – WHO the heck or what program changed this registry entry or caused this error??? I had suspected Google Chrome?

Thanks for the post. This worked like a charm!

Twlvvman

This sort of worked for me. The error message is gone but now I get the search provider window that pops up each time IE opens up and I go to add a provider but it doesn’t save the provider. I’m not sure what to do next. Please help!

For all you people that still have this problem with ie8 after you tried kirbs registry solution go here http://www.avantbrowser.com/ and download it and make it your default browser when prompted.It is completely ie8 backboned.Unlike firefox,opera,chrome.Avant browser is lightning fast,safe,user friendly,very attractive,not bloated,easy to update,and easy to uninstall,uses little memory and as i said before it is NOT a bloated independent browser it is a GUI for ie8 and you will NOT have the popup search provider window when started.I dont work for Avant Browser and if you dont like it just uninstall it and every trace of it will be removed from your pc and it will work in ALL windows operating systems.If you do like it come back in here and post to get others on it because Its my opinion that it is the best free ie8 based browser available..;)~

RE an IE8 window: “A Program on your computer has corrupted your default search provider setting for Internet Explorer”

your mar 20, 09 solution for XP sys worked like a charm. i don’t have any exp. w comptr architecture and have never heard of “registry editing”. your simple concise directions got me to happy in less time than it took to write this note.

brad askd “lemmie kno if it works” IT DID. ya’ll are rock stars. IOU

@Kenneth
yea me too! is there a way to get rid of the popup even though you already have that expandable string value?

Figured out regedit…. IT WOKED!!!! I suddenly feel like a computer guy!!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

The registry change WORKED FOR ME….THANKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

Registry change worked – it allowed me to change Bing to the default, and to delete Windows Live. Once I did that, no more message.

Thanks!

I’m running windows live, and I already had the reg entry “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell FoldersAppData”
Adding the value “%USERPROFILE%Application Data” didn’t get rid of the problem.

THE FIX
Delete reg entry “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell FoldersAppData”
If you are running windows live open the control panel, then windows update, then view update history. Uninstall IE8 follow prompts.
After restart open iexplorer and change default search provider to google, bling, or whatever you want. Close IE7. Then run windows update and install the IE8 update, after that’s done your default search provider well be whatever you put in, and you will be able to delete yahoo! and select anyone you want.

Hello Brad, would you please guid me to: 1. Close IE8 and 2. Navigate registry key?
Regards, Karl

Worked!

Its work,
Thanks a lot for your shared.

This worked for me! I hope I only have to do that one time?!

Thanks a bunch, worked like a charm.

@steve
Steve or whoever may be able to help:

I have the same problem after updating IE 7 to IE 8.
I have Windows XP Home SP 3.
I followed your directions in REGEDIT.
However, the folders you specified: “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders” does not apply to mine i.e., mine looks like this:
“HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorerSystem”
I cannot locate the folders “User Shell Folders” or is non-existent.
Pleas help, as Microsoft help center” does not have any answer.
Thank you in advance.

It worked but then it corrupted my iTunes so I had to remove it.

Geeeeeeesh… finally! This fix let me reset Google as my Default Search Provider. This is exactly why I started to hate Micro$oft like hell. Is this a coincidence? I don’t think so. Anyways, thanks very much for the fix. Now I’m a happy Googler again! I can’t wait for Google to finish their Google Chrome OS so that we can all throw Windows in the bin. Cheerio!

@AndrewB.

Looks like I posted a little too soon. Looks like this is working now. It was not instant for me for some reason. Took about 15 minutes before it started working. Weird… Thanks so much for your help Brad!

ajb

1. Start, Run, “GPEDIT.MSC”
2. Expand Computer Configuration
3. Expand Administrative Templates
4. Expand Windows Components
5. Expand Internet Explorer
6. Find Restrict changing the default search provider in the Right Pane. (Right Click-Properties) turn it to Disable.

Thanks! This fix worked for me too!

thanks it worked!

Oh peter copy the instructionsto to a text document or something because you have to close internet explorer.

@Ted
Got the same problem now. My Adobe reader 8.1 is corrupted. Any solutions?

This worked! Thanks. That was a really annoying problem.

My other computer which also runs XP doesn’t have the problem, but after I installed the fix on this one I discovered that it already has that entry.

But why does it have to be this way? Imagine what life would be like if all our electronic products required this degree of fiddling and bug fixes. Why, we would turn on a lamp, only to get an incomprehensible error message. We’d copy it down, Google it, and come to a site like this and find some incomprehensible gobbledy-gook to try as a solution. Some of us couldn’t make heads or tails of it, while others would manage to install it. Voila! the light goes on. But then the refrigerator issues some kind of warning and goes off. And the toaster hasn’t worked for a week. And the car stopped in the middle of the road yesterday, and some motorist said the thingami package needed to be reinstalled and the registers cleaned out of electronic gunk. “You need to update your anti-roadblock software,” the motorist said as the car finally started again. “Or this’ll keep on happening. Don’t get Norton, though.”

Thank you so much!!! This worked for me, but I had to figure out what the heck a registry key was and how to find it! For other computer challenged people I’ll tell you how I did it: Click Start and then run…in the white box type “regedit” and click OK. I was able to follow from here!

After searching on Google for this error, the first result contained a list of complicated solutions that didn’t work for me: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en/InternetExplorer/thread/ba3d3a7a-4670-42e4-8888-0712158f15c2 .

The second result (this site) worked beautifully, and quick too!

Thanks!

Thanks for the fix. Worked great for me!

Found what appears to be working for me so far at this site:

http://foundsolutionz.blogspot.com/i…search-results

PROBLEM #5
An error after opening internet explorer 8: “A program on your computer has corrupted IE8 default search provider settings. IE8 will reset the search provider setting to default setting of xxx search. IE8 will open the search provider dialog where you can change your search provider”.

For the above error follow the below steps:
1. Click Start. 2. Click Run. 3. Type in regedit and press enter. 4. In the registry editor, expand and navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders. 5. Right click User Shell Folders. 6. Select New and then Expandable String value. 7. A new value is added in right pane. 8. Type in AppData and press enter. 9. Double click AppData. 10. Under value data type in:

%USERPROFILE%Application Data

11. Note: If there is already AppData in the right pane, double click and correct it to %USERPROFILE%Application Data

If the above steps do not work,
1. Click Start. 2. Click Control Panel. 3. Click User Accounts. 4. Click Create a new user account. 5. Choose appropirate name for the new user account. 5. Choose Administrator or Limited or Standard user. It’s upto you. 6. Click Create. 7. Click Start, Log out from the current user account and log back in with the new one. 8. If the new user account is working for you, obviously, the old user account has got corrupted and you will have to use the new user account. Also, FYI: you can transfer old user settings and files to the new user account.

I’m running Windows 7 Professional / IE 8. Here’s what I did to fix this problem. But then again, I believe in brute force so use this suggestion at your own risk.

I deleted everything in this folder:
DriveLetter:Users<>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet ExplorerUserData

To do that you have to show all files/folders in windows explorer so first do this if you haven’t already:
Open Windows Explorer (NOT Internet Explorer. Windows Explorer)
Click “Tools” on the menu bar.
Select “Folder Options” from the “Tools” menu.
Click the “View” Tab.
Find “Hidden Files and Folders” (about 5th or 6th from the top of the list).
Click the radio button beside “Show hidden files, folders and drives”.
Click Apply.
Click OK to clear the box.

Now you can navigate to: (remember I’m on Windows 7. I’m not sure about other op sys’s)

DriveLetter:Users<>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet ExplorerUserData

For a user named “jdoe” with their operating system on the c: drive the path would be:

c:UsersjdoeAppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet ExplorerUserData

Select everything in the UserData folder located there and delete it. Leave the “UserData” folder, just delete everything INSIDE it.

That fixed it for me. No registry hacking was necessary.

The simple solution that worked for me was to close IE, go to Control Panel/Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, and reset EVERYTHING, including personal settings. Then open IE and walk through the IE8 setup again. Might not work for everyone.

Thanks for pointing me to this, Isaac Grover! Too bad Microsoft doesn’t suggest this fix.

To Microsoft: Frankly, this is ridiculous and just underscores the MS rep as user-unfriendly. What regular user knows how — or dares — to edit their registry key? Not me! And shall I phone my 90-year-old dad with this solution? Or should I shell out a bundle for Geeks On Call or the equivalent to make a 15-minute tech support visit?

Thank you, thank you! I have been dealing with this default search provider corruption issue for weeks. Your regedit remedy fixed it. Thank you again!!!

Awesome fix dude!! Thanks a bunch.

Worked Great! Thanks for posting this fix!

I have no idea what I just did, but it worked! Thank you!

The default search engine fix worked for us. Thanks

easiest fix is create a new user and then delete the old user after you have transfered all of your files to the new user name. I’ve tried this and it really works, there is no unistalling IE8 or messing with the reg!!!!

Unless you are a computer professional, you should not go to the registry. Weigh the inconvenience of closing the pop-up window against the possibility of ruining your computer.

Dude. You are the bomb! Worked great! That thing was not critical, but annoying as all get out. Thanks for the reliable info.

@david mccullough

I had been fighting this problem for some time and following the directions about entering the value in AppData done the trick. Just one thing – you have to reboot after doing this, but most people probably know that.

greg :
this worked great, didnt know this but yea, simply restart your computer.

Great, mate. Worked like magic! And I did not even have to reboot.

Wow! It worked! And I’ve been putting up with that stupid message for a month while trying to find a solution. I too, didn’t know what I was doing while I was following the instructions – - but it worked! Many, many thanks!!

It worked for me. Thank you!

Worked for me too – many thanks!

Thanks a billion. I have been searching and trying a tons of solutions. This one worked for me.

I have been at war with this issue in 1 of my computers since IE8 came out,my other 5 computers are fine.Changing the registry string did nothing to change the problem for me.I know for a fact why some people have this issue.Im willing to bet when you had IE7 and you tried or had installed other browsers that were NOT Internet Explorer based such as (firefox,opera,safari,chrome)<those are not Internet Explorer based and one of those browsers changed the default search engine in IE7 but at that time Microsoft didnt care if other browsers did that.Now when you install IE8 it uses alot of IE7 settings and search providers and registry strings which leads back to another browsers settings so IE8 resets itself back to its default search provider or the one Microsoft wants you to use.Its all rather complex for the everyday user.But know this,everytime you clic on IE8 another browser whether its installed or not its trying to change your search provider so IE8 is gonna change it back.Unfortunately you cant uninstall IE7 if you could it would fix the problem in IE8.For what its worth I would NOT go back to IE7 but what I did was to install Maxthon 2 or AvantBrowser<those are the only 2 browsers that were developed by the same team that developed IE8 so they work flawlessly in any windows enviroment they are the only ones that are allowed to use clipboard.You are using IE8s internal workings and backbone but with an enhanced GUI and better security and the internet speeds are outstanding.So you can have the best of both worlds without the nagging pop up windows of IE8 on startup.No i dont work for these people,I just know that this is the proper solution until microsoft can figure out a way to fix this. And once fixed Ill still use Maxthon 2.If IE8 was a standalone program that wasnt dependent on past Internet Explorers it would run right.Maybe IE9 will fix these issues it wont be too long before that comes out..;)~

Francis Tan :Thank you and this works for me. For those who are not too familiar with computer registry, I have written up a step-by-step instruction:Make sure IE 8 is closedGo to Start/RunType in RegEditThen navigate to registry key:HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders
Right click inside the right side of the User Shell Folders and click on New.
Select a new Expandable String value inside the above mentioned key. Type in a value name of AppData and a value data of %USERPROFILE%Application Data

I’m in the same boat as Pete…..Thank you for the fix!

@Rod

Shit, I did have Firefox installed a while back. I just can’t understand why I’m having this problem now, when It’s worked fine with IE8 for so long.

I tried this, and it did not fix it for me.

Experienced same problem.

I tried the above method – did not work. Then did the following: (Run regedit and go to)KEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareGoogle – and deleted the Google Registry entry and problem disappeared. It appears that the Google entry in the Registry was causing the problem.

Forgot to mention that the problem occurred after I used the Norton 360 Registry Cleanup Utility. Should have avoided running the Norton Registry Cleanup.

This did not work for me

Perfect, many thanks.

This has been plaguing me for a while but have been to lazy to fix until I saw this. I followed the instructions and was able to change my default search provider and the pop-up went away. Thank you very much. I’m glad the world has gurus out there like you guys. Thanks again.

This thing works. Thanks.

Worked for me, thanks!

YES!!!! it worked!!!! THANK YOU!

Martha Rothenberg :
The simple solution that worked for me was to close IE, go to Control Panel/Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, and reset EVERYTHING, including personal settings. Then open IE and walk through the IE8 setup again. Might not work for everyone.
Thanks for pointing me to this, Isaac Grover! Too bad Microsoft doesn’t suggest this fix.

None of the suggested fixes, including Kirb’s original post nor registry edits nor clearing out files manually worked for me, but the steps described above appears to have done the trick. I’m running IE8 under Windows 7 Professional x64.

I didnt use internet explorer, it is not enough safety!

The Google registry fix worked. Just deleted the whole thing. The first fix didn’t work for me.

you rock! it wasn’t google at all especially if you are going from xp to 7

Hi, can someone explain the instructions in layman’s terms?

1. Make sure IE 8 is closed then navigate to registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders

I have vista, how do I navigate here?

2. Add a new “Expandable String value” inside the above mentioned key with a value name of “AppData” and a value data of “%USERPROFILE%Application Data”.

I have absolutely no clue what add a new expandable string value means. Can someone just write the key the way it should be so I can just copy and paste?

Thank you in advance!

To answer user Aronson’s query how to change/add the values follow this procedure:
After typing in regedit in the RUN search box, you will come to the Registry Editor screen. Click on the HKEY_CURRENT_USER folder and open the following folders in order: SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerUser Shell Folders. When you get to there click on EDIT at the top of the screen, click on NEW, click on EXPANDABLE STRING VALUE. In the window to the right you will see a small box that you must tye in without the quotes, “AppData”. Then go back to the EDIT link and click on MODIFY. A new window will pop up and here you will type in without the quotes, “%userprofile%Application Data” just as I typed it with lower case and upper case letters where you see them. Hit the OK button. Look at the resulting screen again and you will see the new entry into the registry. Go to the FILE link and EXIT the registry. Bring up a new webpage in your browser and the “default search provider” problem should go away. The Google deletion of its registry folder did not work for me..FYI!!!!! Good Luck.

This, and it seems almost all other answers to this problem, talk about making registery changes. Can anyone please tell me how I go about doing this? I’m not a novice but I’m no expert either. I just want to get rid of this most annoying problem. Any help would be gratefully received. Thank you

I had the same issue using XP and IE 8. To fix it, I had to add the following registry entries on the desktop (user key):

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key path: SoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopes
Value name: DefaultScope
Value type: REG_SZ
Value data: {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}

Hive: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key path: SoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopes
Value name: DefaultScope
Value type: REG_SZ
Value data: {0633EE93-D776-472f-A0FF-E1416B8B2E3A}

This was easily done on my 2008 DC using GPO preferences (under User Configurations).

If you have a 2003 domain, you can set the keys via a logon script.

Carlos.

Hive HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Key path SoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerSearchScopes
Value name DownloadRetries
Value type REG_DWORD
Value data 0×0 (0)

I used the first method described; that is, add a new “expandable string value” to HKEY_CURRENT_USER…User Shell Folders. It worked. Thank you very much.

Larry

I tried also everything and a single thing didn’t work. Then I tried the above mentioned method from Steve(Run regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareGoogle – and delete the Google Registry entry and problem disappeared), but I didn’t find Google instead I found Yahoo toolbar and deleted it and problem was solved. So try to find some of known files like that and it maybe solves problem for you.

Your registry fix worked great. We have 2 computers. The fix was on mine. My wife also installed IE8 and now opening it causes the upper toolbar to turn black. She has to go back to the Display and reset her colors every day. Anybody got a fix for this???

Worked fine for me. I hate when the microsoft guys try to fix things. If I see “let’s try this” one more time, I think I’ll scream! : )

i had this promblem for 2 days. tried most of these fixes and none worked. today i turned my computer off for about 1 min. OFF not in sleep mode. turned back on and no more message. maybe i was just lucky but worth trying before messing with registry.

worked for me. This has been a problem with my computer for a number of days. Thanks for the solution.

Work great ! Thanks !

For Windows Vista & Windows 7 the value mentioned above in step B. isn’t correct:

B. Add a new “Expandable String value” inside the above mentioned key with a value name of “AppData” and a value data of “%USERPROFILE%Application Data”.

The correct value data should be:
“%USERPROFILE%AppDataRoaming”

Fix worked for me. I’ll keep the computer under observation for the time being and see what happens.

This has been driving me completely loopy!! Took me a while to figure out exactly how to get to the correct folder, however as soon as I did, it worked like a appeal!

the registry change worked fine.. Thanks

Installed Firefox instead.
Now I don’t use IE8 and don’t get the irritating error message.
Sorted!

The registry fix did not work on my Win7 machine. Goodbye IE, hello firefox

MANY THANKS !
IT WORKS !

I do not know if it will be useful for what I say now. But! I think if you change the browser and if you stop you relying on IE, you have never had any problem. I use mozilla for many years because it works very well. I have no errors and even I have no plans to go back to IE.

You’re a GOD! I’ve been living with this annoying problem for almost a year now. Tried all kinds of tricks and then gave up. Just found your instructions today and it worked like a charm!

WOW… My bad, No need to wish… It worked! Had the message pop up again, but with what you told me to do and going into tools, hit internet options, hit search setting then set or add from there and it worked. Thanks.

We’ve just upgraded 6000 users to IE8 and have seen this error popping up a lot. Registry fix has resolved this issue so thanks.

Steve

Thank you so much! It worked for me as well. What a relief not having to watch that message pop up every time!

Try the comment from microsoft site ..It worked for me…
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie8-windows_7/a-program-on-your-computer-has-corrupted-your/8609b0cc-3a9e-4bbc-ae45-48bfd1b9fae6

“Warning, do the following at your own risk and I am not responsible for any mishappenings”

I tired all the microsoft and suggestions from the above site (kirb.us) plus users suggestions. I keep getting the same message box. Finally I backed up my favorites (just in case) then went into the following location “C:Documents and Settingsyour_user _nameLocal SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftInternet Explorer” and copied the “UserData” folder to my desktop as a backup. Then deleted the UserData folder from the above said location. Opened IE8 and finally after 3 months of suffering the error, it works perfectly. I even restarted my PC and opened IE serveral times and still working fine. Hope this helps and I dont see any other performance issues by deleting that folder.