Internet Explorer Starts in Offline Mode and Remains Offline

ID: Q180946

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01 Service Pack 1 for Windows NT 4.0
Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 4.0, 4.01, 4.01 Service Pack 1 for Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 98

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SYMPTOMS

Every time you start Internet Explorer, it may be started in Work Offline mode or you may receive the message "Navigation Canceled," and you may remain offline when you click Work Offline on the File menu to deselect it.

CAUSE

This issue can occur if the GlobalUserOffline DWORD value is not changed from 1 to 0 when you click the Work Offline command to remove the check mark.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

To work around this issue, set the GlobalUserOffline DWORD value to the value 0 in the following registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\ 
      Internet Settings

NOTE: You must do this every time you are unable to disable Offline mode in Internet Explorer.

STATUS

Microsoft is researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Additional query words: navigation cancelled

Keywords          : kbenv msiew95 msient win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:4.0
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: March 18, 1999