Hyperlinks from any program other than firefox will not open
I am having an issue where no hyperlinks will open in firefox. Thunderbird will show the error below, but no other programs such as discord or open office will show any error or response when clicking on a hyperlink. I was looking through the default programs and settings and the advanced areas in those menus and found the pair of protocol below, which I changed and then changed back with no result.
I have just downloaded chrome and tried to open the links into it, with the same results as firefox.
Chosen solution
OK, yeah, I've got a thunderstorm coming this way.
If it were me, I would uninstall the latest Windows update and see what happens. If things work out OK I would get the update from the Update Catalog.
Read this answer in context 1Additional System Details
Application
- Firefox 67.0
- User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:67.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/67.0
- Support URL: https://support.mozilla.org/1/firefox/67.0/WINNT/en-US/
Extensions
- FVD Speed Dial 69.5.1 (pavel.sherbakov@gmail.com)
- Pushbullet 344 (jid1-BYcQOfYfmBMd9A@jetpack)
- Reddit Enhancement Suite 5.16.9 (jid1-xUfzOsOFlzSOXg@jetpack)
- RevEye Reverse Image Search 1.4.5 ({1526fba1-ac33-4dfc-99d8-163e6129f7b9})
- uBlock Origin 1.19.6 (uBlock0@raymondhill.net)
Javascript
- incrementalGCEnabled: True
Graphics
- adapterDescription: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
- adapterDescription2:
- adapterDeviceID: 0x1b80
- adapterDeviceID2:
- adapterDrivers: C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumdx.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumdx.dll C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumd.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumd.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumd.dll,C:\WINDOWS\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_37ec54c19854e219\nvldumd.dll
- adapterDrivers2:
- adapterRAM: 8192
- adapterRAM2:
- adapterSubsysID: 66863842
- adapterSubsysID2:
- adapterVendorID: 0x10de
- adapterVendorID2:
- clearTypeParameters: \\.\DISPLAY1 [ Gamma: 1.8 Pixel Structure: RGB ClearType Level: 100 Enhanced Contrast: 50 ] \\.\DISPLAY2 [ Gamma: 1.8 Pixel Structure: RGB ClearType Level: 100 Enhanced Contrast: 50 ] \\.\DISPLAY3 [ Gamma: 1.8 Pixel Structure: RGB ClearType Level: 100 Enhanced Contrast: 50 ]
- contentUsesTiling: False
- crashGuards: []
- direct2DEnabled: True
- directWriteEnabled: True
- directWriteVersion: 10.0.17134.376
- driverDate: 4-9-2019
- driverDate2:
- driverVersion: 25.21.14.2531
- driverVersion2:
- featureLog: {u'fallbacks': [], u'features': [{u'status': u'available', u'description': u'Compositing', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'HW_COMPOSITING'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'Direct3D11 Compositing', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'D3D11_COMPOSITING'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'Direct2D', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'DIRECT2D'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'Direct3D11 hardware ANGLE', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'D3D11_HW_ANGLE'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'GPU Process', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'GPU_PROCESS'}, {u'status': u'opt-in', u'description': u'WebRender', u'log': [{u'status': u'opt-in', u'message': u'WebRender is an opt-in feature', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'WEBRENDER'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'WebRender qualified', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'WEBRENDER_QUALIFIED'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'Off Main Thread Painting', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'OMTP'}, {u'status': u'available', u'description': u'Advanced Layers', u'log': [{u'status': u'available', u'type': u'default'}], u'name': u'ADVANCED_LAYERS'}]}
- info: {u'AzureContentBackend (UI Process)': u'skia', u'AzureCanvasBackend (UI Process)': u'skia', u'ApzWheelInput': 1, u'ApzDragInput': 1, u'ApzKeyboardInput': 1, u'AzureFallbackCanvasBackend (UI Process)': u'cairo', u'ApzAutoscrollInput': 1, u'AzureCanvasBackend': u'direct2d 1.1', u'AzureContentBackend': u'direct2d 1.1'}
- isGPU2Active: False
- lowEndMachine: False
- numAcceleratedWindows: 2
- numTotalWindows: 2
- offMainThreadPaintEnabled: True
- offMainThreadPaintWorkerCount: 4
- targetFrameRate: 60
- usesTiling: False
- webgl1DriverExtensions: GL_ANGLE_client_arrays GL_ANGLE_depth_texture GL_ANGLE_explicit_context GL_ANGLE_explicit_context_gles1 GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_blit GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_multisample GL_ANGLE_instanced_arrays GL_ANGLE_lossy_etc_decode GL_ANGLE_pack_reverse_row_order GL_ANGLE_program_cache_control GL_ANGLE_request_extension GL_ANGLE_robust_client_memory GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3 GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5 GL_ANGLE_texture_usage GL_ANGLE_translated_shader_source GL_CHROMIUM_bind_generates_resource GL_CHROMIUM_bind_uniform_location GL_CHROMIUM_color_buffer_float_rgb GL_CHROMIUM_color_buffer_float_rgba GL_CHROMIUM_copy_compressed_texture GL_CHROMIUM_copy_texture GL_CHROMIUM_sync_query GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_color_buffer_half_float GL_EXT_debug_marker GL_EXT_discard_framebuffer GL_EXT_disjoint_timer_query GL_EXT_draw_buffers GL_EXT_frag_depth GL_EXT_map_buffer_range GL_EXT_occlusion_query_boolean GL_EXT_read_format_bgra GL_EXT_robustness GL_EXT_sRGB GL_EXT_shader_texture_lod GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1 GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc_srgb GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_format_BGRA8888 GL_EXT_texture_rg GL_EXT_texture_storage GL_EXT_unpack_subimage GL_KHR_debug GL_KHR_parallel_shader_compile GL_KHR_robust_buffer_access_behavior GL_NV_EGL_stream_consumer_external GL_NV_fence GL_NV_pack_subimage GL_NV_pixel_buffer_object GL_OES_EGL_image GL_OES_EGL_image_external GL_OES_compressed_ETC1_RGB8_texture GL_OES_depth32 GL_OES_element_index_uint GL_OES_get_program_binary GL_OES_mapbuffer GL_OES_packed_depth_stencil GL_OES_rgb8_rgba8 GL_OES_standard_derivatives GL_OES_surfaceless_context GL_OES_texture_float GL_OES_texture_float_linear GL_OES_texture_half_float GL_OES_texture_half_float_linear GL_OES_texture_npot GL_OES_vertex_array_object OES_compressed_EAC_R11_signed_texture OES_compressed_EAC_R11_unsigned_texture OES_compressed_EAC_RG11_signed_texture OES_compressed_EAC_RG11_unsigned_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_RGB8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_RGBA8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_punchthroughA_RGBA8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_punchthroughA_sRGB8_alpha_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_sRGB8_alpha8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_sRGB8_texture
- webgl1Extensions: ANGLE_instanced_arrays EXT_blend_minmax EXT_color_buffer_half_float EXT_disjoint_timer_query EXT_float_blend EXT_frag_depth EXT_shader_texture_lod EXT_sRGB EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic OES_element_index_uint OES_standard_derivatives OES_texture_float OES_texture_float_linear OES_texture_half_float OES_texture_half_float_linear OES_vertex_array_object WEBGL_color_buffer_float WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc_srgb WEBGL_debug_renderer_info WEBGL_debug_shaders WEBGL_depth_texture WEBGL_draw_buffers WEBGL_lose_context
- webgl1Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0)
- webgl1Version: OpenGL ES 2.0 (ANGLE 2.1.0.eff6bfdb1db9)
- webgl1WSIInfo: EGL_VENDOR: Google Inc. (adapter LUID: 00000000000098dc) EGL_VERSION: 1.4 (ANGLE 2.1.0.eff6bfdb1db9) EGL_EXTENSIONS: EGL_EXT_create_context_robustness EGL_ANGLE_d3d_share_handle_client_buffer EGL_ANGLE_d3d_texture_client_buffer EGL_ANGLE_surface_d3d_texture_2d_share_handle EGL_ANGLE_query_surface_pointer EGL_ANGLE_window_fixed_size EGL_ANGLE_keyed_mutex EGL_ANGLE_surface_orientation EGL_ANGLE_direct_composition EGL_NV_post_sub_buffer EGL_KHR_create_context EGL_EXT_device_query EGL_KHR_image EGL_KHR_image_base EGL_KHR_gl_texture_2D_image EGL_KHR_gl_texture_cubemap_image EGL_KHR_gl_renderbuffer_image EGL_KHR_get_all_proc_addresses EGL_KHR_stream EGL_KHR_stream_consumer_gltexture EGL_NV_stream_consumer_gltexture_yuv EGL_ANGLE_flexible_surface_compatibility EGL_ANGLE_stream_producer_d3d_texture EGL_ANGLE_create_context_webgl_compatibility EGL_CHROMIUM_create_context_bind_generates_resource EGL_CHROMIUM_sync_control EGL_EXT_pixel_format_float EGL_KHR_surfaceless_context EGL_ANGLE_display_texture_share_group EGL_ANGLE_create_context_client_arrays EGL_ANGLE_program_cache_control EGL_ANGLE_robust_resource_initialization EGL_ANGLE_create_context_extensions_enabled EGL_MOZ_create_context_provoking_vertex_dont_care EGL_EXTENSIONS(nullptr): EGL_EXT_client_extensions EGL_EXT_platform_base EGL_EXT_platform_device EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle_d3d EGL_ANGLE_device_creation EGL_ANGLE_device_creation_d3d11 EGL_ANGLE_experimental_present_path EGL_KHR_client_get_all_proc_addresses EGL_KHR_debug EGL_ANGLE_explicit_context
- webgl2DriverExtensions: GL_ANGLE_client_arrays GL_ANGLE_depth_texture GL_ANGLE_explicit_context GL_ANGLE_explicit_context_gles1 GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_blit GL_ANGLE_framebuffer_multisample GL_ANGLE_instanced_arrays GL_ANGLE_lossy_etc_decode GL_ANGLE_multiview GL_ANGLE_pack_reverse_row_order GL_ANGLE_program_cache_control GL_ANGLE_request_extension GL_ANGLE_robust_client_memory GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3 GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5 GL_ANGLE_texture_usage GL_ANGLE_translated_shader_source GL_CHROMIUM_bind_generates_resource GL_CHROMIUM_bind_uniform_location GL_CHROMIUM_color_buffer_float_rgb GL_CHROMIUM_color_buffer_float_rgba GL_CHROMIUM_copy_compressed_texture GL_CHROMIUM_copy_texture GL_CHROMIUM_sync_query GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_color_buffer_float GL_EXT_color_buffer_half_float GL_EXT_debug_marker GL_EXT_discard_framebuffer GL_EXT_disjoint_timer_query GL_EXT_draw_buffers GL_EXT_frag_depth GL_EXT_map_buffer_range GL_EXT_occlusion_query_boolean GL_EXT_read_format_bgra GL_EXT_robustness GL_EXT_sRGB GL_EXT_shader_texture_lod GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1 GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc_srgb GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_format_BGRA8888 GL_EXT_texture_norm16 GL_EXT_texture_rg GL_EXT_texture_storage GL_EXT_unpack_subimage GL_KHR_debug GL_KHR_parallel_shader_compile GL_KHR_robust_buffer_access_behavior GL_NV_EGL_stream_consumer_external GL_NV_fence GL_NV_pack_subimage GL_NV_pixel_buffer_object GL_OES_EGL_image GL_OES_EGL_image_external GL_OES_EGL_image_external_essl3 GL_OES_compressed_ETC1_RGB8_texture GL_OES_depth32 GL_OES_element_index_uint GL_OES_get_program_binary GL_OES_mapbuffer GL_OES_packed_depth_stencil GL_OES_rgb8_rgba8 GL_OES_standard_derivatives GL_OES_surfaceless_context GL_OES_texture_float GL_OES_texture_float_linear GL_OES_texture_half_float GL_OES_texture_half_float_linear GL_OES_texture_npot GL_OES_vertex_array_object OES_compressed_EAC_R11_signed_texture OES_compressed_EAC_R11_unsigned_texture OES_compressed_EAC_RG11_signed_texture OES_compressed_EAC_RG11_unsigned_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_RGB8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_RGBA8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_punchthroughA_RGBA8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_punchthroughA_sRGB8_alpha_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_sRGB8_alpha8_texture OES_compressed_ETC2_sRGB8_texture
- webgl2Extensions: EXT_color_buffer_float EXT_disjoint_timer_query EXT_float_blend EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic OES_texture_float_linear WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc WEBGL_compressed_texture_s3tc_srgb WEBGL_debug_renderer_info WEBGL_debug_shaders WEBGL_lose_context
- webgl2Renderer: Google Inc. -- ANGLE (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Direct3D11 vs_5_0 ps_5_0)
- webgl2Version: OpenGL ES 3.0 (ANGLE 2.1.0.eff6bfdb1db9)
- webgl2WSIInfo: EGL_VENDOR: Google Inc. (adapter LUID: 00000000000098dc) EGL_VERSION: 1.4 (ANGLE 2.1.0.eff6bfdb1db9) EGL_EXTENSIONS: EGL_EXT_create_context_robustness EGL_ANGLE_d3d_share_handle_client_buffer EGL_ANGLE_d3d_texture_client_buffer EGL_ANGLE_surface_d3d_texture_2d_share_handle EGL_ANGLE_query_surface_pointer EGL_ANGLE_window_fixed_size EGL_ANGLE_keyed_mutex EGL_ANGLE_surface_orientation EGL_ANGLE_direct_composition EGL_NV_post_sub_buffer EGL_KHR_create_context EGL_EXT_device_query EGL_KHR_image EGL_KHR_image_base EGL_KHR_gl_texture_2D_image EGL_KHR_gl_texture_cubemap_image EGL_KHR_gl_renderbuffer_image EGL_KHR_get_all_proc_addresses EGL_KHR_stream EGL_KHR_stream_consumer_gltexture EGL_NV_stream_consumer_gltexture_yuv EGL_ANGLE_flexible_surface_compatibility EGL_ANGLE_stream_producer_d3d_texture EGL_ANGLE_create_context_webgl_compatibility EGL_CHROMIUM_create_context_bind_generates_resource EGL_CHROMIUM_sync_control EGL_EXT_pixel_format_float EGL_KHR_surfaceless_context EGL_ANGLE_display_texture_share_group EGL_ANGLE_create_context_client_arrays EGL_ANGLE_program_cache_control EGL_ANGLE_robust_resource_initialization EGL_ANGLE_create_context_extensions_enabled EGL_MOZ_create_context_provoking_vertex_dont_care EGL_EXTENSIONS(nullptr): EGL_EXT_client_extensions EGL_EXT_platform_base EGL_EXT_platform_device EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle EGL_ANGLE_platform_angle_d3d EGL_ANGLE_device_creation EGL_ANGLE_device_creation_d3d11 EGL_ANGLE_experimental_present_path EGL_KHR_client_get_all_proc_addresses EGL_KHR_debug EGL_ANGLE_explicit_context
- windowLayerManagerRemote: True
- windowLayerManagerType: Direct3D 11
- windowUsingAdvancedLayers: True
Modified Preferences
Misc
- User JS: No
- Accessibility: No
Hi BenNR,
In Windows Settings: Try Resetting to the Microsoft recommended defaults. Then set your defaults back again.
Question owner
That was one of the first things I did. I did it again though, but there were still no results.
Hi BenNR, were links opening in Firefox normally in Firefox 66, this problem just started with Firefox 67 last week?
Firefox 67 changed what happens when you launch an external link. Previously Firefox would send the link to the running profile. Now, Firefox launches the link in your default profile. Something obviously is going wrong after this change.
Do you run a regular release of Firefox or the PortableApps release (Firefox Portable)? For that version, see: https://portableapps.com/node/60315
Profile Manager Page
For regular Firefox, let's see whether we can straighten out the default profile setting.
Inside Firefox, type or paste about:profiles in the address bar and press Enter/Return to load it.
This page should list at least one profile and could list many. Each will show links to a pair of folders; please ignore those for now.
The profile that Firefox is currently using will have this:
This is the profile in use and it cannot be deleted.
Anyway, please do not delete anything here -- don't use any Remove buttons.
Do you have another profile named default or default-longnumber listed on this page? If so, you can check whether it is the one you prefer by clicking its Launch profile in new browser button.
If it isn't what you want, simply close that new window.
If it IS what you want, back on the about:profiles page, click the Set as default profile button for that profile so Firefox uses it automatically at the next startup and it is recorded as the profile for external links.
Any progress so far?
Hi BenNR,
It seems that something isn't "latching up" properly in file type & protocol associations.
In Windows Settings -> Apps -> Default Apps -> Set Defaults by App you should have htm, html, http and https set for Firefox (see screenshot).
Did you try setting Chrome as your default browser and see if it works there?
You might have to restart after making these changes, also.
Question owner
@My_Cheese_Is_Slippin
It seems like I don't have the htm and html protocols. The onle ones I see are the ones for http and https. I have included a screenshot of what I see below
I downloaded chrome and tried to use it, but with no success either.
@jscher2000
I was using the previous version of firefox, and have since updated to try to fix the issue. I suspect that it's not actually an issue with firefox itself, but with my OS, since I have tried to use Chrome and Edge to open these links, but to no sucess.
Question owner
@jscher200
Sorry, I forgot to include that the issue began last night.
Question owner
@My_Cheese_Is_Slippin
I apologize, I realize I was in the wrong settings for that. Here is the correct one.
Hi BenNR, it's puzzling that none of your browsers can handle an HTTP or HTTPS URL. These settings are stored in the Windows Registry, but they are complicated to change by hand. Hopefully you can find a method that works to update them.
Hi BenNR,
Looks good to me. Like I said something isn't "latching up".
Try setting your default browser to Edge or IE. Then restart your computer. After it boots up check where links are opening. If they work you can change your protocols (http,https) back to Firefox and see if they work there.
Question owner
I changed my default browser to Edge, restarted, and the links don't work.
Hi BenNR,
I found this in quite a few places regarding the same issue.
Press the win + r keys together In the run dialogue box copy/paste: regsvr32 urlmon.dll (press enter) You should receive a success message. Restart computer (must be restart not shutdown) Try links now.
If this doesn't work, the suggestions elsewhere require digging around in the registry
Question owner
Unfortunately didn't work. Where in the registry should I look?
Hi, I'm looking at a post here: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/663211/hyperlinks-not-working/
About half-way down the page they're talking about using command prompt to query the registry before making any changes.
BenNR said
Where in the registry should I look?
In RegEdit, if you drill down to
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\https\UserChoice
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\https\UserChoice
You would normally see this value:
ProgId = FirefoxURL-308046B0AF4A39CB
(That number might vary, but I think it is the identifier for the regular Firefox release, currently version 67 -- in the old days, it just said FirefoxURL)
Then if you drill down to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\FirefoxURL-308046B0AF4A39CB\shell\open\command
you should find a command line value similar to
(default) = "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -osint -url "%1"
Yours may vary, e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\...
How does yours look so far?
Modified
Question owner
@My_Cheese_Is_Slippin
Thank you, I will work on that and see if it helps.
@jscher2000
Mine looks just like you said. Screenshots included below.
BenNR, When I ran that first registry query it returned 'unable to find key or value'. But I'm working fine, so you might disregard that query?
I also found this: https://www.tenforums.com/browsers-email/88652-hyperlinks-not-working.html
Modified
Question owner
@My_Cheese_Is_Slippin
I got returns from both of them.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command
(Default) REG_SZ "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" %1 DelegateExecute REG_SZ {17FE9752-0B5A-4665-84CD-569794602F5C}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html
(Default) REG_SZ htmlfile Content Type REG_SZ text/html PerceivedType REG_SZ text
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html\OpenWithProgids HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html\PersistentHandler
BenNR, Like I said, no return on first query. Second looks like this: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html
(Default) REG_SZ FirefoxHTML-EE7D006F8EA4B164 Content Type REG_SZ text/html PerceivedType REG_SZ text
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html\OpenWithProgids HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.html\PersistentHandler
BenNR, Afterthought - I have IE11 turned off in Windows Features. That probably explains why I got no return on the first query.
BenNR, Your HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\htmlfile\shell\open\command shows IE as the default. Try setting your default browser to IE and try a link.