Whenever I attempt to open Internet Explorer, the following message appears: ‘Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Library. Runtime Error! Program: C:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe. This application has requested the runtime to terminate in an unusual way. Please contact the application’s support team for more information’. So, I am unable to use Internet Explorer. I am getting by using Mozilla Firefox, but not having Internet Explorer makes WindowsUpdate problematic. In an attempt to fix the problem, I updated to Windows XP SP2 and Internet Explorer 7 but the problem remains.

This problem is quite tricky and I have also experienced a similar message in other programs. It seems the most common cause of the issue is a third-party program or add-on conflicting with Internet Explorer. Many users have reported the Google Toolbar can cause this error and this can be fixed by uninstalling the toolbar. Should you have the Google Toolbar installed, go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Control Panel’ and open the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ control panel (you may need to click ‘Switch to Classic View’ if the Control Panel is displaying in ‘Category’ view). In the window that appears, find the entry for ‘Google Toolbar’ and remove/uninstall the software. Once this has been completed, restart the computer and hopefully the problem should be resolved. If the problem continues, check whether you have any other third-party toolbars installed in Internet Explorer. If so, remove these other toolbars. You should also scan for adware and spyware using Lavasoft Ad-Aware SE Personal (www.lavasoft.de), Spybot Search & Destroy (www.safer-networking.org) and Windows Defender (www.microsoft.com/downloads), in case any malicious Internet Explorer add-ons have been installed without your knowledge.

Should the problem continue after uninstalling any third-party Internet Explorer toolbars, we need to check whether any other Internet Explorer add-ons or plug-ins are causing the problem. There is a feature in Internet Explorer which allows you to globally disable all Internet Explorer add-ons. Go to the ‘Start’ menu > ‘Control Panel’ and open the ‘Internet Options’ control panel. In the window that appears, click the ‘Advanced’ tab. Untick the option ‘Enable third-party browser extensions’ and click OK. Restart the computer. Once the computer has started check whether you can open Internet Explorer. Should Internet Explorer open correctly, it seems a particular Internet Explorer add-on is causing the error. In this case, we need to selectively enable the add-ons so we can determine which particular one is causing the problem. Fortunately, Windows XP SP2 includes a nice feature allowing add-ons to be selectively enabled and disabled. Open Internet Explorer and go to the ‘Tools’ menu > ‘Manage Add-ons’ > ‘Enable or Disable Add-ons’. In the window that appears, you should see a list of add-ons in Internet Explorer. Disable each add-on, by highlighting the add-on and selecting ‘Disable’. Once this is done, click OK. We have now disabled each individual Internet Explorer add-on. We should now be able to disable the option which globally disables all Internet Explorer add-ons and Internet Explorer should still open, since we have disabled each add-on at the individual level. Go to the ‘Tools’ menu > ‘Internet Options’ and click the ‘Advanced’ tab. Tick the option ‘Enable third-party browser extensions (requires restart)’ then click OK and restart the computer. Once the computer has restarted, open Internet Explorer. Now, go back into the ‘Tools’ menu > ‘Manage Add-ons’. Start re-enabling each add-on one at a time, each time clicking OK and then checking whether you can open Internet Explorer. Once the problem starts again, you have found the problem add-on. In this situation, you may wish to remove the add-on from your computer, which can generally be accomplished by uninstalling that particular program through the Add/Remove Programs control panel. Alternatively, you could leave this add-on disabled in Internet Explorer. Be aware, as the problematic add-on is now enabled you may not be able to open Internet Explorer (as the error message appears instead). So, you cannot disable the add-on using the Manage Add-ons feature. In this situation, you will need to once again disable all third-party browser extensions (so all add-ons are disabled, which should allow you to open Internet Explorer) and then restart the computer, go into Internet Explorer and disable that particular add-on, re-enable third-party browser extensions, restart the computer again and you should be good to go!

The issue has also been reported to be caused by security software running on the computer, as such software does interface with Internet Explorer and could cause a conflict. If you are running any such security software (e.g. Symantec, McAfee) try removing the software to see whether the problem stops. However, before removing any such software make sure your computer is physically disconnected from any networks and the internet, since your computer will be vulnerable to attack without this software being installed. Should Internet Explorer work correctly with the software removed, reinstall the software and test whether the problem happens again. If the problem does re-occur, you should visit the security software manufacturer’s website to check whether any updates are available for the software which may resolve the issue. Should you have no luck, please contact me again with the name and version of the security software.