I'm a bit of a spaz when it comes to doing technical stuff on the laptop. My best friend has text me what to do but I'm damned if I can find or do any of what he's said

The laptop updated itself, and on restarting, has decided that I want IE back - which I don't! I am a firefox convert and can't do anything with IE anymore.

Can anyone tell me a fcukwits guide of how to get rid of IE and back to Firefox? I've reinstalled it but it just won't have it. I tried doing a system restore but that didn't work either as it wasn't turned on

I can be a right stupid bint sometimes.

Sorry if you have allread tried it, but have a look here http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/How%20to%20make%20Firefox%20the%20default%20browser
or here http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb...%20default%20browser%20does%20not%20work

I can't get the Firefox page to come up to be able to do it I can't begin to explain just how much I hate IE

try clicking on tools, internet options, advanced, and reset ie, then try again, if it dont help, i will shut up and let the techs come on and have there say.

I give up. Thanks though Willo I think I'll just have to try and get used to IE again

chrome?

No. All my favourites are on Firefox so I've lost them at the moment. I tried Chrome and didn't like it. I like Firefox.

Do you still have firefox installed? Go to program files > mozilla > firefox.exe and see if firefox loads. If it does it'll prompt you to set it as the default browser.

Then you can just uninstall IE in program files. Would suggest turning off windows updates as well, you'll never get anything useful from there so it serves only to annoy you to death with shitty updates.

Poor advice on this bit mate. Running any unpatched OS online *especially* windows is like painting a sitting duck target on your machine for exploits.

Wench, just use Internet Exploder to browse to http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Download and install it, then it should update and find all your bookmarks. When it asks to be default browser, say yes.

I've done that 3 times now and it still comes up with the following message:

Unable to connect
Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at www.google.co.uk.
The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection.
If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.

It's annoying me now big time

All the more reason NOT to give up !!!!

Sounds to me like the message is correct ie Firewall blocking the installation somehow

S.

This holds true for many OS's, but not windows. Have you actually looked at the critical patch list for windows? 99% of the patches are for vulns within programs that people don't use. WMP, Office, IE, a dozen other programs from the year 2000. There's no reason to patch XP unless you enjoy constant slowdown on the machine. You're no more at risk from stupidly obscure 'sploits than the next person. Not to mention that half the windows patches introduce more vulns than they fix.

Any patches that you really need to apply you'll be prompted to apply when you run the app that needs the patch. Like Adobe Reader (fook knows why anyone uses this anymore when foxitreader is better and has less overhead, but I digress) or Flash.

Download the firefox installer from mozilla, uninstall firefox from the control panel and reinstall it.

If it's really saying "Firefox can't connect to..." then it sounds like you still have Firefox there? - Surely IE wouldn't say that, would it? or is Windows just still associating URLs with Firefox? ? Odd, that....!

I've done that ex0 and it still gives me the same message.

CVx3 - I do still have Firefox as I've uninstalled it and reinstalled it 3 times. As for the rest of what you said - I have no idea, you may as well have just said something in Uzbekistanian

I shall put up with it until mate is off nights and can fix it or I find someone else who can come and do it

Can you get any web pages AT ALL using Firefox? If not, can you get them OK if you fire up IE instead?

Copy and paste this URL into IE, try the suggestions here:
http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb...0websites%20but%20other%20programs%20can

None whatsoever with Firefox, just keep getting the above page. IE is fine, I just hate it I even removed IE to see if it would work that way but same result, so had to reinstall it.

I know it's going to be something even more simple than I

On the above link, forgot to stress, don't just click on it... select it and copy and paste it into IE's address box...

Yeah, you don't need to copy paste into the bar anymore dude. Not 1999.

Wench, when you go into firefox hit file at the top, is work offline checked? If so uncheck it, that should fix the problem.

If it doesn't, click tools and then options, choose advanced at the top and then network. Click 'settings' on the top option (choose how firefox connects to the internet). Do you have proxies enabled? Is it set to use system settings?

Yes she does need to copy and paste it, because if she just clicks on it, that will invoke Firefox (and Firefox isn't working...) 2011 or not...
Oh and and don't call me "dude".

She said that firefox isn't her default browser, she had to install IE which would override firefox. Dude.

I've clicked it and copy/pasted it and followed the instructions to no avail.

I give up. I've tried everything. Either I'm more of a total spaz than I thought or it's fooked and I'll have to stay with IE. Either way, I'm fed up of it now. Fooking hate computers!!

Did you follow the things I suggested in ##571409?

What does your proxy settings show?

No because it didn't give me a "network" option when I clicked on advanced.

The only proxy thing says "no proxies"

And work offline is unchecked?

Yup

If that were really so, then how come, before, when she clicked on a link that someone posted, she got FIREFOX ??????? WELL???

That is why I said what I said - that, plus Wench indicated she admits not being very computer-savvy.

Why the heck don't you stay on topic and confine yourself to trying to assist the OP instead of having a go at anyone else who tries to help?

And I have told you once, and I will not tell you again: DO NOT CALL ME "DUDE". That you did so after being told not to, I take is clearly a personal insult.

CV "dude" is not a personal insult.

Chill out.

It is if he doesn't like being called it, and he's called it again after he's made that fact known, insolence, or contemptuous rudeness and provocative.

Gentlemen

You have your differences of opinion. Please use PM to sort yourselves out and leave the thread to trying to solve our friend's problem.

Clearly what is needed is for someone to go in person and sort it.
I wish I could help with that but I am an ace duffer with IT things

Snod

Methinks you'll find that a majority of Windows users sadly do still use these programs, as they aren't aware that better open source apps are available.

You're right, I agree I wasn't very specific in that post.

I was talking more WMP9 / Office XP / IE6. Most of the KBxxxxxx updates are for legacy software that no one should be using.

All sorted now thanks to my best mate. Thank you all for trying to help!! You're ace!!

So, do tell!! - what was it?

No idea - I just left him to it for 5 minutes and it was handed back to me in its prior perfect state No hanging pages, no slow responses, no annoying extra windows. I'm a happy girl now - so easily pleased!

It's a good thing next time this happens we'll know how to solve it quickly now we know what was wrong with it ~