Internet Hot Key Stopped Working

All of a sudden when I press the internet hotkey on my W3V I get an error dialog with an exclamation point icon:

Error - Can't get environment variable

1"


I haven't purposefully modified any environment variables, or done anything weird. I am using FireFox instead of IE, but it was working earlier this week. I just noticed it quit this morning.

How do these hotkeys work? Is there some setup or registry keys that I can tweak?

Thanks.

 

Dude, the same thing happened to me. I restored to my last point (which was 13 May) and everything works fine now. It had to be an automatic update, although I don't know if it was ASUS or Windows or what. [ !]

Time to turn off those automatic updates. Don't ask me why I left them on to begin with........

 

Heh I thought I was the only one. I have the same problem, but I'm not going to bother to go backwards to fix it. Justin, is there an ASUS contact that you can ask about this?

 

Actually, the hot key seems set to launch whatever you set as your default browser. I've been using mine to launch Firefox ever since I got it, and it worked up until that mysterious update over the weekend, when I started getting the same error message as loyal. I restored yesterday, and now Firefox launches again, no problems.

Maybe all you need to do is re-establish a default browser in Windows. I didn't even think of that until just now as I was typing this message....

 

I don't know, sounds like a driver issue to me. Have you tried to just reinstall the drivers? I just want to know if that works, even though that's the obvious thing to do. You can call up Asus' 800 number for notebooks and ask them this question all day long......

Those keys won't work for anything but IE..... Even if you don't delete IE, I've heard that using firefox has screwed more than just that hot key up... so I can't really suggest anything.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Nothing was used to change what that hotkey launches. That hotkey simply launches the default browser. When FireFox is installed, you can designate it as the default browser instead of IE. At that point the key launches FireFox. I also tried this with Opera, and it launched Opera just fine, too.

The problem is that even if I set IE back as my default browser, the hotkey no longer works to launch any browser.

I agree with barong that something happened with a Windows update that hosed this hotkey somehow. The update must have changed a reg key, or permissions on something, or otherwise messed with the part of the environment where default browser info is stored.

-Loyal

 

What update did you do?

What program did you use to change what those keys launch? I don't think the standard program that runs them is customizable any longer (something about microsoft and if the IE logo is used the people making the system have to only allow it to lauch IE)...... so they sort of hide the code... that's my understanding.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Okay, I got the hotkey working again...

Process
1. Close any browsers that are open/running.
2. Start IE and go to the Tools | Internet Options menu.
3. Select the Programs tab.
4. Check the checkbox to have IE do its thing to be the default browser.
5. Close IE and restart.
6. Hopefully it will now prompt you at the start to be default. If it doesn't repeat this process again. (I had to do it twice.)
7. Hit your hotkey to see if another instance of IE starts (it should).
8. If you just use IE, you're done! [ ]

For FireFox, continue on:
9. Close any browsers that are open/running.
10. Start FireFox (it might prompt you now to be default browser, choose yes if it does and you're done).
11. Go to the Tools | Options menu.
12. Pick the General settings and check the box for default browser.
13. Do the Check Now and make FireFox default.
14. Hit your hotkey to see if another instance of FireFox will now start.
15. You should be done. If not, repeat a few times.

[ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by loyal

 

See, I told you it was easy to fix....
[ ]

 

Thanks loyal. It was bugging me but not enough yet to actually get around to doing something about it. Firefox launches again now.

 

I also found a couple of utilities that will attempt to alter all of the many settings that determine the default browser:

http://www.pc-tools.net/win32/setbrowser/

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/defaultbrowser.htm

I'm actually making use of the second one as my wife also logs into my computer and she prefers a different browser than what I like to use. [ ]

 

very nice! i didn't realize there was an internet hotkey [:I]

 

Got mine working!!

I can't tell you how many times I tried following Asus' instructions to uninstall and reinstall the hcontrol.exe file.

Finally, I uninstalled, rebooted, then went into the registry.

I removed every thing I could find that had anything to do with ATK0100.

Rebooted, then reinstalled the utility.

Rebooted again - and everything is working!



How Can A Person as great as I be so humble?

 

More than just a coincidence?

Normally it seems that the hotkey is screwed up every single time I boot up. Just for fun the other day, I left IE as my default (even though I continue to use Firefox) -- and the hotkey is still working just fine after 4 or 5 days.

Could this hotkey weirdness actually be a MS problem?...........[} ]

I'll give it another couple days with IE to make it a week, then shift back to Firefox and see how long that lasts.

 

Yeah, my internet hotkey ONLY works perfectly if IE is set as the default browser.
So I just leave it as the default browser but use Firefox all the time... (i.e I don't use the internet hotkey)

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 715 (Dothan 1.5), 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

Yep. The hotkey worked fine for a week with IE as default. Today I set Firefox as default again, and wouldn't you know it, the very next time I booted up, the hotkey was fritzed again.

Is there any way to work around this within Windows (since it seems that Windows is in fact the problem)?

 

It is in windows, but I haven't found a way to get that to stick either.... The obvious reasons why they wouldn't want a key that has an icon for "IE" to open firefox or anything else is obviously a legal one. So Asus has to hide the program and make it hard to do.... We understand that...... but yet no one has found a good solution.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

No wonder Bill is the world's richest man -- M$ is obvisouly SO customer oriented..... [ !]

 

... no... really? If I was in his position, I'd do the same thing if I was aloud... anyone who complains and says the opposite would just be lying! [ ]

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Yes, but why IS he allowed? It's not a Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 launch key, it's an internet browser key. It's hardware, and it hasnothing to do with Bill and his money, so why can't I do what I want with it (he whined, like a little French third-grader Star Wars fan...... [ ])?

 

Actually... you're right and wrong at the same time.... A couple years ago it was just a "hot key" ... now Microsoft has licensed their logos to go next to those keys... that's why it's hardcoded in. It's an IE logo and Bill doesn't want his IE logo'd button opening up firefox or netscape or something..... I believe to license those logos for those buttons, they HAVE to do it that way.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]