When I click the address (URL) of the Web page in the text of a mail of Outlook Express, Windows Explorer starts instead of Internet Explorer.

When I click the address (URL) of the Web page in the text of a mail of Outlook Express, Windows Explorer starts instead of Internet Explorer.

Refer to the following.

This symptom occurs when Internet Explorer is not set as the "default browser" or when the information of the file types of the files related to the Internet browser ("HTML documents", etc.) is incorrect.

Check if either of the following methods solves the problem.

Method 1
When not only Internet Explorer but also other Web browsers are installed to your VAIO concurrently

(Procedure)

1. Right-click the "Internet Explorer" icon on the desktop and the shortcut menu appears. Click "Properties" on the menu.
2. Select "Programs" tab, turn on the checkbox of "Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser." in the bottom of the window and click the "OK" button.
3. Start a Web browser except Internet Explorer.
When the message "Would you like to make it your default browser?" appears, select "Yes".
4. Finish the Web Browser except Internet Explorer.
5. Double-click the "Internet Explorer" icon on the desktop to start Internet Explorer.
6. When the following message appears at the startup, click the "Yes" button.

* In the case of Internet Explorer 5
"Internet Explorer 5 is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?"

The settings made in the above procedure will let the computer check the "default browser" when Internet Explorer starts next time.
When Internet Explorer is not assigned to the default browser, the aforementioned massage appears.

Method 2
To change the file type
When you change the file type information of the files related to the Internet browsers in the state that Windows Explorer is not running, the message, "Would you like to make it your default browser?", appears at the next startup of Internet Explorer irrespective of the installation of Web browsers other than Internet Explorer. Clicking the "Yes" button on the message window could solve the problem sometimes.
Follow the procedure as below.

(Procedure)

1. Right-click the "Internet Explorer" icon on the desktop and the shortcut menu appears. Click "Properties" on the menu.
2. Select "Programs" tab, turn on the checkbox of "Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser." in the bottom of the window and click the "OK" button.
3. Restart Windows and make sure that no program runs on the computer.
4. To save the information before the change of file types, start Notepad.
Press the "Start" button and then click "Programs" - "Accessories" - "Notepad".
5. Display the window of setting the file types.
Double-click "My Computer" on the desktop, click "Folder Options" and then click the "File Types" tab.
6. Click URL:Hyper Text Transfer Protocol in the "Registered file type" box and then click the "Edit" button.
7. Click "open" in the "Action" box on the "Edit file type" window and then click the "Edit" button.
8. Copy the contents in the "Topic" box in the bottom of the "Use DDE" section to Notepad opened in the procedure 4.
9. Change the contents of the "Topic" box.
Lastly, delete "L" of "URL" to change the contents to "WWW_OpenUR".
10. Close the dialog box of "Folder Options".
11. Double-click the "Internet Explorer" icon on the desktop to start Internet Explorer.
12. When the following message appears at the startup of Internet Explorer, click the "Yes" button.

"Internet Explorer 5 is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?"

In case that the above message does not appear, proceed to the next procedure.

13. Repeat the above procedures from 5 to 10.
Skip the procedure 8 and, in the procedure 9, delete "R" this time in addition to "L" to change the contents to "WWW_OpenU".
14. Double-click the "Internet Explorer" icon to start Internet Explorer.
15. When the message, "Would you like to make it your default browser?", appears at the startup of Internet Explorer, click the "Yes" button. When the message does not appear, repeat the procedures from 5 to 10 once again and restore the file type information copied to Notepad in the procedure 8 to the original.