Fixing IE11 in WIndows 8.1

[Hugh_Mungus]

I seem to have mangled IE11 simply by turning off some add-ons. How do I fix it?

I've been having some problems with the way IE11 is displaying a website I am building. I finally determined that one of my add-ons was modifying the HTML. I don't have many add-ons and some were already disabled so I disabled all of the remaining ones except for the four Avast add-ons. (I was then going to turn them back on one at a time until one of them caused the HTML problem to reappear: then I'd know which add-on was the culprit.) After restarting the browser, it is almost unrecognizable: the toolbars are gone; almost everything in the Tools menu is greyed out, including Manage Add-ons and Internet Options; and the browser itself ignores any URL I type in the address bar.

I don't understand how disabling a few add-ons crippled the whole browser and disabled virtually every feature. I need to get the browser back to the way it was before I disabled those add-ons. Then I can disable add-ons one at a time until I find the one that was messing up my HTML.

I know that IE11 itself can be turned off in Windows Features but I don't see how that helps me unless turning it back on again results in a fresh reinstall with all the old features. But if it simply comes back the way it is now, it isn't worth the effort. I can't find anything that actually tells you what happens if you turn off IE11 and then turn it back on (presumably with a reboot after turning off and then again after turning it back on.)

As far as I can tell from Googling, it isn't possible to uninstall/reinstall IE11. Is that right? If not, how do I do a full uninstall/reinstall of IE11?

Or is there some way to fix IE11 in place and get my browser working again?

 

[apcs13]

Navigate by searching to "Turn Windows features on or off", and there should be an option for Internet Explorer 11. If you uncheck that box, reboot, check it again, reboot, you have effectively uninstalled and reinstalled IE11. Try that and see if it works.

 

[davcon]

Tools>internet options tab>reset

 

[Hugh_Mungus]

Navigate by searching to "Turn Windows features on or off", and there should be an option for Internet Explorer 11. If you uncheck that box, reboot, check it again, reboot, you have effectively uninstalled and reinstalled IE11. Try that and see if it works.

I tried it but it made no difference at all. IE11 is just as messed up as before.

I was happy to see that turning the feature on and off worked as seamlessly as I'd hoped but I don't think it removed or reinstalled anything; I think it just hid the program and then made it visible again.

 

[Hugh_Mungus]

Tools>internet options tab>reset

I guess you missed the part where I said Internet Options was greyed out. ;-)

And it's STILL greyed out after removing/re-adding IE as a Windows feature.

 

[eNikko]

Tools>internet options tab>reset

I guess you missed the part where I said Internet Options was greyed out. ;-)

And it's STILL greyed out after removing/re-adding IE as a Windows feature.

Ah, so I'm not the only one dealing with this problem. I can't even access manage add-ons, and have done the Add/Remove as suggested. I'll keep searching for an answer.

Nik

 

[dodger46]

Tools>internet options tab>reset

I guess you missed the part where I said Internet Options was greyed out. ;-)

And it's STILL greyed out after removing/re-adding IE as a Windows feature.

Ah, so I'm not the only one dealing with this problem. I can't even access manage add-ons, and have done the Add/Remove as suggested. I'll keep searching for an answer.

Nik

As Ie11 is integrated with Windows, perhaps some file checking might help...
First try System File Checker
Winkey plus 'X'
Choose Command Prompt (Admin)
Type sfc /scannow then Enter

It finds and fixes errors in Windows, but doesn't always report them. Run it and see if the fault disappears after re-booting your system
If corrupt files are found that can’t be fixed, try

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Re-run SFC

To view CBS Log

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log >sfcdetails.txt

Search C drive for sfcdetails.txt or navigate to C:\Windows\System32 and scroll down.

 

[amrit862]

Navigate by searching to "Turn Windows features on or off", and there should be an option for Internet Explorer 11. If you uncheck that box, reboot, check it again, reboot, you have effectively uninstalled and reinstalled IE11. Try that and see if it works.

Still not working 🙁

 

[dodger46]

As you probably will have noticed, there are two means of launching Internet Explorer with two different interfaces, from Start Screen or Desktop. Try launching from Start Screen and then Rt click anywhere on the screen and from Page Tools 'View on Desktop'. See if it makes a difference.
Also try Rt click the Internet explorer Tile on the Start screen and select Uninstall. Presumably you should be able to re-install from the Browser Choice page which comes with Windows Update...