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Internet Explorer 8 Compatibility Issues


Dave-H

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I'm now seeing sites completely blocked using IE8, including all the Microsoft support pages which now just say that I must upgrade my browser, with no way offered to still access the pages.
Also the Windows Help and Support Center does not now show a very large number of pages, just saying "this page cannot be displayed".
Presumably this is because it is simply a skin of IE8.
I assume this is because of outdated security protocols in IE8.
Obviously I can use other browsers on the pages that no longer work, but I just wondered if there was any fix or workaround for this, or is it something that now has to be just accepted?
:)
 

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Thanks Den, now I remember going through exactly this when I was having the same problem with IE6 on Windows 98 earlier in the year!
:lol:
The reg update has got rid of the update nag as you say, but all the Microsoft Support pages are now just being displayed as plain white blank pages with no content. Is that what you would expect?
The Windows Help and Support Center is still saying it can't dispaly a lot of pages too.
:(
I don't think IE9 is still supported either, so can IE8 be made to look like the current version, IE11, or is that not possible?
 

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You can try. Look, with a text editor (notepad will do) for the line that says "Version"="MSIE 9.0" and change the 9 by 10 or 11. Save and merge. Reboot or, at least log out then log in the profile. It should work as far as spoofing goes, but IIRR, pretending to be more than 9 results in garbled displays on IE8. YMMV, however. If you decide to try it, let me know how it went. I do spoof IE10 as IE11 on 7 ultimate sp1 x64 successfully, too. But that requires a longer reg file.

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18 hours ago, dencorso said:

You can try. Look, with a text editor (notepad will do) for the line that says "Version"="MSIE 9.0" and change the 9 by 10 or 11. Save and merge. Reboot or, at least log out then log in the profile. It should work as far as spoofing goes, but IIRR, pretending to be more than 9 results in garbled displays on IE8. YMMV, however. If you decide to try it, let me know how it went. I do spoof IE10 as IE11 on 7 ultimate sp1 x64 successfully, too. But that requires a longer reg file.

Well I tried spoofing as IE10 and IE11, and it made no difference at all, things were exactly the same as when it's spoofed as IE9.
All the Microsoft support pages are still just plain white pages with apparently no content, although if you look at their source, everything appears to be there, it's just not being displayed!
:no:
I compared the registry entries on Windows 8.1/IE11, and most of the ones that are on XP, although they are all present, seem to be blank on 8.1.
I guess that's all that can be done.
:(
 

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> All the Microsoft support pages are still just plain white pages with apparently no content, although if you look at their source, everything appears to be there, it's just not being displayed!

The content is likely styled as hidden by default and needs an external stylesheet or scripting to make it visible.
Try menu option View->Style->No Style. (It often works for non-IE browsers.)
Enable scripting and check the error log (F12 ?).
Check the Hosts file for blocked servers.

HTTPS is obviously a problem. The CSS file might be linked via https on a secure server using encryption not supported on your system. If we can upgrade your security support so that pages like WMP load via https, then CSS support files might also load properly.

If a scripting update is needed, we might be able to use xompie to get the IE9 or 10 Jscript.dll file to work in XP.

My only XP/IE8 system is not Internet connected, so I can't test any of this myself. :-(

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Switching off styling brings back a garbled display, so I'm sure you're right, the CSS isn't working.
Well this doesn't look too promising!
:no:
IE8Error.jpg
 

Edited by Dave-H
Typo
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Can either of you try installing Google Chrome Frame, and let me know if that fixes the issue for you? I have had great luck using old versions of IE with Frame installed.

I am currently on a Windows 7 Enterprise system at school and cannot check at the moment.

http://dl.google.com/chrome/install/GoogleChromeframeStandaloneEnterprise.msi (if that link fails for some reason try http://sdfox7.com/xp/sp3/GoogleChromeframeStandaloneEnterprise.msi )

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Thanks Stephen, I must say I had never heard of Google Chrome Frame!
I'm giving it a try, and it seems to have installed OK, but doesn't seem to work.
To work automatically it seems to need a header code put into the website, and I bet you won't find many that now have it as the system has been abandoned for two years. Microsoft would certainly have never included it on any of their pages!
You're supposed to be able to force its use if the code is not there by putting "cf:" (without the quotes) in front of the URL, but I can't get that to work either.
It either immediately says it can't display the page ("Most likely cause: Some content or files on this webpage require a program that you don't have installed"), or it sits forever with "connecting" on the tab with a progress circle rotating.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Google Chrome Frame seems to install a complete (rather old) installation of Google Chrome.
I already have the last XP version of Google Chrome (49) installed, in a different folder obviously.
Could they be clashing?
Thanks, Dave.
:)
 

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15 hours ago, Dave-H said:

Thanks Stephen, I must say I had never heard of Google Chrome Frame!
I'm giving it a try, and it seems to have installed OK, but doesn't seem to work.
To work automatically it seems to need a header code put into the website, and I bet you won't find many that now have it as the system has been abandoned for two years. Microsoft would certainly have never included it on any of their pages!
You're supposed to be able to force its use if the code is not there by putting "cf:" (without the quotes) in front of the URL, but I can't get that to work either.
It either immediately says it can't display the page ("Most likely cause: Some content or files on this webpage require a program that you don't have installed"), or it sits forever with "connecting" on the tab with a progress circle rotating.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Google Chrome Frame seems to install a complete (rather old) installation of Google Chrome.
I already have the last XP version of Google Chrome (49) installed, in a different folder obviously.
Could they be clashing?
Thanks, Dave.
:)
 

Dave

Have you tried restoring IE to its default settings? I do know for a fact that Frame worked well with IE 6 on many websites just a couple of years ago. I find it hard to believe that web developers would have removed the code this quickly.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie8-windows_other/no-error-code-the-webpage-cannot-be-displayed-most/64bde1cb-3dad-447e-9d39-022070f88cd3

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3 hours ago, sdfox7 said:

Dave

Have you tried restoring IE to its default settings? I do know for a fact that Frame worked well with IE 6 on many websites just a couple of years ago. I find it hard to believe that web developers would have removed the code this quickly.

Hard to belive? Never underestimate the MS geniuses! @Dave-H: Never mind. It'll be useless. I get the same result here, look:

BlankIE8.png

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Hmm, yes I think I'm onto a loser here I'm afraid! :(
Thanks for the suggestion Stephen but I've decided to uninstall Google Chrome Frame.
I think the chances of it restoring full functionality to IE8 are pretty poor now, and having two installations of Chrome on my machine has caused other complications, like their determination to share the same profile!
It's not the end of the world if some sites don't work in IE8 any more as there are still plenty of alternatives of course.
I would like to fix the Windows Help and Support Center window malfunctioning more, but as I guess it's also IE8 in a different skin that's not going to now be easy or maybe even possible either. It is strange that pages that actually still work in IE8 will not now open in the Help and Support Center.
I will have to do some more investigation on that!
Thanks again, these things are always worth trying, if only for fun!
Cheers, Dave.
:)
 

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At this point, but with the IE8 hardly a website still works, this should be installed in Windows XP so that the cumulative updates for this can be installed! The reason is that the more and more components for the internet communication of Windows XP, are included above the update for IE8. This month for KB3191492, the file "inetcomm.dll" for the first time. The file was last updated on 11/08/2011 by single update KB2544893-v2.

In my opinion is, especially as regards the security aspects, a browser one should no longer use the Internet and should rather avoid alternatives. Meanwhile the website of the Microsoft Update Catalog also works with other Internet browsers.

:)

Edited by heinoganda
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