A funny thing happend on the way to the upgrade...

Yesterday I got some message about needing an update through Windows Update so I did. Then I noticed it kindly re-installed IE7 for me. I had already installed it, but maybe I grabbed it too soon so was running a beta or something. Whatever. Go ahead.

Today I cannot click on links in any application other than my browsers (IE7/FF). Nice.

Links that previously worked (previously as in yesterday) in Outlook or Omea Reader now create a crazy dialog to appear. For example I get an email and hover over the link in Outlook. The link looks fine, but when I click on it I get a dialog telling me it doesn't know how to open XXXXX.aspx... where XXXXX.aspx is the name of the link but without the protocol or server prefix. In other words, all links are now showing up as the filename, but nothing else. So of course it has no idea how to open an aspx page.

What's even more baffling is that I can right click on the link and copy it to the clipboard and everything is there. Pastes fine into a browser. I just can't click on them anymore.

This is a royal PITA as I have to shuffle off to DevConnections next week with a few presentations and don't have time to re-pave. Luckily all my demos are in VMs so I won't need my desktop, but bumer anyways. And I just repaved this machine about a month ago. I'll probably try uninstalling IE7 and going back to IE6 or something (I never really liked IE7 anyways) but who knows what else that will break. How's that for an upgrade?

Sigh.

Update: Someone else has the same problem so at least I know I'm not alone in the universe. I did uninstall IE7 and went back to IE6 but I'm still having the problem so there must be some setting somewhere in the glob of binary goo called the registry that I can change. Sucks to be me.