Troubleshooting Automatic Browser Configuration Problems

MORE INFORMATION

Is Automatic Configuration Enabled?

1. In Internet Explorer (IE) on the user's computer, on the View menu, click Internet Options.
2. On the Connection tab, click Configure.
3. Verify that the URL uses the HTTP protocol and points to an .ins file. By default, the file name is Install.ins. In the example below, replacing <server> and <path> with the values for your system and assuming the default name of Install.ins, the correct syntax for the URL is:

   http://<server/< path>/install.ins.

   NOTE: HTTPS and UNC (universal naming convention) protocols cannot be used, and the file name extension must be .ins.

Does Authentication Work? (Test Using Anonymous Access)

Verify that authentication is working properly between Internet Explorer and the Web server by testing whether Anonymous Access, with Read permission on the .ins file, works properly. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Start the Internet Service Manager (ISM), which loads the Internet Information Server (IIS) snap-in.
2. Right-click the folder that contains the .ins file, and then click Properties.
3. On the Directory tab, under Access Permissions, verify that Read is selected.
4. On the Directory Security tab, under Anonymous Access and Authentication Control, click Edit.
5. Verify that Allow Anonymous Access is selected, and then return to the Microsoft Management Console.NOTE: Automatic configuration also works with Windows NT Challenge Response (also known as NTLM) authentication in Internet Explorer 4.01. Testing with Anonymous Access first verifies that Internet Explorer and the Web server are communicating properly.

NOTE: You cannot test the IE branding if you are logged on using an Administrator account.

Have the .Cab Files Been Copied to the Correct URL?

When the .ins file is saved by Profile Manager, one, two, or three .cab files are also created. These .cab files are automatically placed in the same folder as the .ins file, not in the location specified by the URL Path of CAB Files: text box in Profile Manager's Save As dialog box. You must manually copy or FTP the .cab files to the location on the Web server that is specified by the URL Path of CAB Files: text box.

NOTE: The URL specified in "URL Path of CAB Files:"is written to the .ins file so that users' systems knows where to locate the .cab files. Again, it does not determine where the .cab files are saved in Profile Manager.

Are .Cab Files Signed and Downloadable?

Are the automatic configuration .cab files signed, and does the Security Zone setting in the browser allow the .cab files to be downloaded? By default, the security settings do not allow unsigned .cab files to be downloaded.

It is recommended that all .cab files be signed, particularly those distributed by Internet Server Providers (ISPs).

However, corporate administrators may not want to purchase a digital certificate to sign .cab files with, particularly on a (secure and local) intranet site. In that case, all users' Internet Explorer systems need to have the security settings modified so that they can download unsigned .cab files. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. In IE on the user's computer, on the View menu, click Internet Options.
2. On the Security tab, in the Zone list, select the appropriate Zone (typically "Local Intranet Zone").
   
   NOTE: Even if the Web server that contains the .ins file is on the corporate intranet, IE may still consider it to be an external Internet site. The host name of the Web server and the proxy settings of the browser determine this. If the host name contains periods, such as http://server.domain.com/test.ins, and the domain is not in the local exceptions list, IE considers it to be an Internet site, even if it is physically on the local intranet.
3. Select the Custom (for expert users) option, and then click Settings.
4. Under Download unsigned ActiveX controls, click Enabled.
5. Click OK twice, and then close IE.
   
   NOTE: Restart the computer if Active Desktop is installed.

Verifying That .Cab Files Are Copied

To verify that the .cab files are being copied to the user's computer, delete the cache (temporary Internet files) and then check whether the .ins file and .cab files are reloaded. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. In IE on the user's computer, on the View menu, click Internet Options.
2. On the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files, click Delete Files.
3. Click Settings, and then click View Files to open a window displaying the contents of the Temporary Internet Files folder.
4. Leaving the Temporary Internet Files folder open, close Internet Options, and then close IE.
5. On the View menu, click Refresh and then verify that the folder does not contain any .ins or .cab files.
6. Restart IE.
7. On the View menu, click Refresh, and then verify that the folder contains an .ins file and at least one .cab file (Default_config.cab).

Does the User Have NTFS Permissions to the Custom Folder

When Policy changes are selected in the Profile manager the registry is changed via INF files. These are placed inside a CAB file and refered to in the INS file. When the INS file is processed the INF files are extracted to the "IE\Custom" folder. These files are processed when Automatic browser configuration occurs.

Does the [Custom Branding] Section List the Correct .Cab File URLs?

Changes made to URL Path of CAB Files when saving an .ins file in Profile Manager are NOT written to the [Custom Branding] section of the .ins file.

To work around this, open the .ins file with Notepad and modify the URLs for the .cab files in the [Custom Branding] section.

Is the IEAK Version Listed in User's Registry Less Than .Ins' Version?

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Verify that the version listed in the subkey: on the user's computer is less than the version listed at the end of the "Branding=" line in the .ins file. If it isn't, the .cab file will not be processed by the user's system.

In the .ins file, the version for the .cab file is listed in the "Branding=" line (in the [Custom Branding] section). For example, the version in the following example is "1998.08.04.03": NOTE: The version listed in the .ins file is not incremented by Profile Manager until that .ins file is closed (either by opening a new .ins file or quitting Profile Manager).

To see what version is listed in the registry, use the Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe or Regedit.exe) to locate the subkey: and then view the Version value.

Is the .Ins Extension in Lowercase?

Make sure that the .ins file name extension on the Web server uses lowercase letters. Uppercase letters (for example, install.Ins) can not be read, even though it is downloaded into the IE cache.

Does the branding log file contain any errors?

With Internet Explorer Version 5 and later, there is a branding log file (Brndlog.txt), which is created during the automatic configuration process. Check this log file for further details.