How to Fix Windows 10 Cumulative Update Issue Breaking Down IE11

[The AchieVer]

How to Fix Windows 10 Cumulative Update Issue Breaking Down IE11 

If you installed the latest cumulative updates for Windows 10, the chances are that Internet Explorer 11 is no longer able to launch on your device.

And this is because a bug in the latest round of cumulative updates breaks down the browser altogether, and the application fails to launch.

Microsoft says it’s all happening because the default search provider is not configured or malformed, so the workaround pretty much comes down to setting this default search provider.

Before providing you with the steps to do this, here’s some extra info.

First and foremost, the issue is introduced by the May 2019 cumulative updates, and it exists on all versions of Windows 10 that received such updates last month. These include the following:
 

· Windows 10 version 1809

· Windows 10 version 1803

· Windows 10 version 1709

· Windows 10 version 1703

· Windows 10 version 1607

 NOTE: Microsoft says it is already working on a fix, and this should be released in mid-June. Most likely, the software giant is waiting for the June 2019 Patch Tuesday cycle, which takes place on June 11.Meanwhile, the workaround only comes down to a few simple steps that anyone can use.

First of all, you need to launch an elevated Command Prompt window, which is an instance of the app running with administrator privileges. To do this:

Start menu > type cmd.exe > Right-click Command Prompt > Run as administrator > Yes (in UAC prompt)

Next, in the elevated command prompt you need to type the following command to launch Internet Explorer without crashing:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" http://microsoft.com

Keep in mind that not doing this might not allow you to launch the browser, as Internet Explorer crashes on each run.

Once the browser is up and running on your device, you can change set the default search provider. To do this, follow these steps:
Settings > Manage add-ons > Search Providers > Find more search providers

At this point, Internet Explorer should load a list of search providers, letting you choose any from the list. Next, you only have to click the Addbutton for the search provider that you want to use in Internet Explorer.

Once you do this, Internet Explorer should run just fine, so the next step is the final test that should help you determine if the fix was applied correctly or not.

To do this, simply close the browser instance that you launched from Command Prompt and try to fire up Internet Explorer from the Start menu or its dedicated shortcut, if one does exist.
 

 

 

While this workaround helps restore Internet Explorer 11, it’s very important to keep in mind that Microsoft recommends against using this app for anything else that compatibility purposes within an organization. For browsing, Microsoft says you’d better make the switch to Microsoft Edge, which comes pre-installed on Windows 10. Of course, you can always jump to one of the many other third-party browsers out there.

“You see, Internet Explorer is a compatibility solution. We’re not supporting new web standards for it and, while many sites work fine, developers by and large just aren’t testing for Internet Explorer these days. They’re testing on modern browsers,” Chris Jackson, Microsoft engineer, explains.

In the meantime, Microsoft is also working on its very own Chromium-based browser. Supposed to replace the existing EdgeHTML-based Edge browser, the overhauled browser is already available in preview on Windows 10 and macOS, with the final release date likely to be announced later this year.

 

Source