I ran into a weird issue with a client the other day. Internet Explorer was displaying blank pages for many sites, including Windows Update. Also, the print dialog window would not come up in any application (File –> Print).
It took awhile to figure out what the issue was, but thanks to Google and some brainstorming for the right keywords to search for, I was able to resolve the issue.
I first tried to reinstall Service Pack 2 for XP, but that didn’t fix the problem to my surprise.
I then looked more into the problem, trying to figure out why some web sites would display fine, while others were showing up as blank pages. I finally discovered a pattern that sites who heavily relied on JavaScript and ActiveX were the ones that weren’t working, while sites that used plain old HTML/CSS were working alright.
So I think started to think of keywords that describe the issue I was having. Using a combination of blank pages, ie, and windows update, I was able to track down a few sites and USENET postings that talked about similar problems. However, none of those solutions worked for me.
Finally, I tracked down a post on a forum about someone who reinstalled Windows Script 5.6 and that fixed this exact issue. I quickly downloaded Windows Script 5.6 and installed it. After a reboot, both issues were resolved. I could now visit sites like Windows Update with no issues and the print dialog window was now appearing.