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  • 3 yrs 39 wks 0 days old
  • Updated: 5 Dec 2008
  • 70 entries
  • 139 comments
Tipical Charlie
Welcome to Tipical Charlie, a repository of all kinds of tips related to computing, from web developer and technologist, Charlie Arehart.
I'll mostly share my own tips that I've found others enjoyed hearing about. I'll welcome tips from others, too.
(Wondering where I came up with the name?)

Problems with Google Desktop with IE? Try Firefox and note other points I share.

« H E Charlie Arehart :: email
posted Monday, 19 February 2007

After enjoying Google Desktop's ability to search my local machine so quickly and effectively, it started failing recently with "page cannot be displayed" errors (you know, the kind that usually happen when a web page can't be found). What's curious is that it's only in IE (6). If I view the same failing local URL in Firefox, it works fine. So it's not GD itself, but something about it and IE. Has this happened to you? Various remedies have been suggested. I wanted to share thoughts in case this may help others (or they can help me).

First, the error I get is the traditional "page cannot be displayed" error, or if one has "show friendly HTTP error messages" turned on in IE's internet options>advanced, it would say. (Other words the non-friendly version of the error shows are "cannot find server", in text at the bottom of the page and in the title bar. I offer that here in case others search the web for those terms, so they find this.)

As for solutions, some remedies out there insinuate that something else is conflicting with GD, such as anti-spam or anti-virus packages. I have neither running (I run them on demand and never have any spambots or viruses...perhaps worthy of discussion in another tip). Another suggested an interaction with a download manager. The only one I had was Adobe's, and I did install it just recently so I removed it and restarted, but still had the problem.

As for conflicts, I can confirm that GD is running at the port that the URL uses (in my case 4664). I can see nothing's conflicting with it, since using the wonderful activeports freeware (aka aports, another topic worth me writing about) I can see that it is indeed listening on that port.

Indeed, again, the very fact that the URL works if loaded into Firefox tells me that this is not so much about whether GD is running but just its interaction with IE. It makes me wonder about some of the assertions out there that I see. Again, I offer that here for others who may be desperate to get it working. (Let's not fight about why I or others use IE. Also, while I realize there are extensions in FF to open a URL in IE, does anyone know of the reverse?)

One other thing I noticed was a technote/article (http://windowsxp.mvps.org/winsock.htm) about Winsock corruption that mentioned at the very end that identified GD specifically as an "LSP" or Layered Service Provider, as discussed at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/sp2netwk.mspx. Again, I offer all this for those who want to go digging further.

For now, I'm not sure I want to run the "netsh winsock reset catalog" command or "Winsock XP Fix" program that the two articles mention. But others in this dilemma may want to go ahead. I could also just try reinstalling GD, or uninstall/reinstall my network config (the tools above do that and more). Just wanted to share all that I've found so far in case others hit this. I'll certainly share if I resolve it.

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comments (6)


1. Desktop Dogg left...
Monday, 19 February 2007 11:51 pm

I think you're digging too deep. Everything's local so the winsock/lsp issue shouldn't be relevant. In fact, I think that article at msft.com is outdated, as GD doesn't hook into the lsp like it used to (for about a year now). Have you tried this yet? http://desktop.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12229

BTW, come visit with the rest of us at http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Desktop


2. Charlie Arehart left...
Tuesday, 20 February 2007 12:41 pm

Wow, I guess you've got a google alert watching out for people mentioning GD. Good for you, and thanks for the support.

Now, as for your points, I should have clarified that I'd done all that. I tried the Lan Settings, to no avail. Even closed all instances of IE and restarted after doing so (and confirmed none were running, in task manager).

I also searched the group, as well as did many other Google searches. I don't give up easily. :-) Perhaps I should have posted this question there first, but again I wanted to get out my immediate observation to others to consider trying FF. Certainly, the fact that it works there and not in IE is useful to know for those needing it to work, and potentially diagnostic for those wanting to identify what's wrong in a case like this.

So, would you have me repeat the entirety of my note above as a GD group note?


3. Charlie Arehart left...
Wednesday, 21 February 2007 6:33 pm

Desktop dogg? Can you please respond to me?


4. Rosie left...
Tuesday, 8 May 2007 12:45 pm

These comments have been invaluable to me as is this whole site. I thank you for your comment.


5. Robert left...
Saturday, 3 November 2007 6:08 am

Hi, found this on http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Desktop_How-do-I/br owse_thread/thread/dd5849c7c4d466c5

"Basically its a bug when "index web history" is not selected.". I turned this function on and the problem was 'solved'.


6. Charlie Arehart left...
Saturday, 3 November 2007 10:38 am :: http://www.carehart.org

Robert, thanks, but I'm not sure about the diagnosis or the prescription. Let me offer some new info for you, readers, and especially any Google folks who may see this.

When I wrote the entry back in Feb 07, I was using IE full time and found that when things stopped working in IE, I could solve it by dropping the failing GD URL into FF.

Now, I've switched a couple of months ago to using FF full time--and now the SAME THING HAPPENS IN REVERSE!!! After some period of time, desktop search requests in FF stop working (blank page) but if I copy the URL to IE it then works.

This is any GD URL, whether generated from a Google Toolbar search of the desktop, or by using the quick search, or by my clicking the preferences link in the task tray GD icon.

I hadn't mentioned in the original blog entry, but if I restart the browser (whichever it's failing in), it will then work--for a time.

So this all seems to be somehow related to the duration of one's browsing session: once that point is reached, then GD stops working in that browser, but it will work fine in another browser (one where you've not been using the browser for as long).

BTW, I should add that when it fails in FF, I get no error message but just a blank screen.

As for your comment, Robert, I'dalso point out that the URL you pointed to points to another with the real meat of the discussion, so it seems better just to people to it:

http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Desktop_Something-Broken/browse_threa d/thread/aef9c185e082623c

Also, as for the solution it proposes, I do have (and have always had) the "web history" setting enabled, so that's still not the solution for me.

Something's wacked, for sure. A later note in the thread pointed to above suggests deleting the GoogleDesktopMozilla.dll from C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\components\ . I may just try that, but first I also noticed that I was running the 5.1.0707.2322 version of GD. I figured I should try to update to the latest, 5.5.0709.30344, first. I'll do that, see if the problem still happens, and then try the delete of the dll as a last ditch effort.

I plan to update the blog entry above with some of this new info (or will create a new one), and also I plan to offer this info in that thread whose URL you pointed to. Thanks.