.URL Shortcuts Stopped Working

[hurricane51]

XY 21.30, Win 10 Pro
I have quite a few internet shortcut files on my hard drive. These were created by copying the URL of the page from the browser, then using New | New shortcut and pasting the URL into the address field. These go back years and years.

These have all stopped working. Now, when I click FILENAME.URL I get an error like this:

[{000214A0-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]
Prop3=19,11
[InternetShortcut]
IDList=
URL=https://website.com/berrys/

The only thing that has changed in the same time period as this problem is the latest Windows update (from patch Tuesday). Anybody have any ideas?

[Horst]

There is nothing changed related to URL handling with the latest Windows patches
nor in the current XY version.
Can you still open your stored url files with Windows Explorer ?

I find your way to store URLs strange.
All you need is to drag and drop the URL from the browser address line into the open file manager window or task bar entry.
It stores it as webseitename.url

[hurricane51]

No help from Windows Explorer. Dragging an address doesn't work either. I do it my way since I can manage them the same as any file. It's really annoying.

[phred]

Have you rebooted your PC since this started happening?

[hurricane51]

You're kidding right? Yes, and my computer is plugged in.

I can't say that I've found the problem, but I CAN say that the problem is fixed. Rolled back one Windows Update but that didn't really do anything because Windows went ahead as part of that rollback and reinstalled it (or part of the same KB pack).

I had a few restore points from July which I also restored. That resulted in none of the browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Edge & Brave) working (not progress). There's a lot of stuff in between (none of it significant, more of a hope and a prayer). I re-ran Windows update and it reinstalled the 21H2 update. The result was that Firefox and Edge would now launch. Hmmmm. Edge is Chromium based, but Chrome and Brave won't launch? If I was a conspiracy buff...

Changing the default browser to Firefox now permitted the .URL files to launch properly, as did making Chrome the default browser. (I had done this before I posted the original message, but at that time all browsers worked fine, so it wasn't an issue.)

I ended up reinstalling the latest versions of Chrome and Brave over the existing installations and that fixed things. Apparently (fingers crossed!). As far as the original cause, I can't see how anything I did to fix things is related to the original problem. But I'll just blame Windows, since that's what everybody else does, and get on with my life.

Thanks for the help.

[Filehero]

You're kidding right?

I'm not him, but I guess he is serious.

Though Windows has become much more reliable and "cohesive" over the last decade, there're still cases where a reboot "fixes" some obscure/weird abnormalities. Imho, I think it's still worth a try, especially before doing an OS roll-back.

[phred]

You're kidding right? Yes, and my computer is plugged in.

Why would I be kidding? I offer a suggestion and you come back with a snarky reply that your "computer is plugged in".

I've worked in IT more years that you've probably been alive and the first thing to do when running Windows and having an issue is to reboot. Sound not working? Reboot. Mouse not working? Reboot. URLs not working? Reboot. It won't always fix the issue, but it's always the first thing to try.

I'd like to suggest that the next time someone tries to help you, either answer the question, or ignore it. Don't be a wiseguy. We're all here trying to help each other.

And yes to everything Filehero said.

[hurricane51]

You're kidding right? Yes, and my computer is plugged in.

Why would I be kidding? I offer a suggestion and you come back with a snarky reply that your "computer is plugged in".

I've worked in IT more years that you've probably been alive and the first thing to do when running Windows and having an issue is to reboot. Sound not working? Reboot. Mouse not working? Reboot. URLs not working? Reboot. It won't always fix the issue, but it's always the first thing to try.

I'd like to suggest that the next time someone tries to help you, either answer the question, or ignore it. Don't be a wiseguy. We're all here trying to help each other.

And yes to everything Filehero said.

Wow, everyone's so serious here. IT...WAS...A...JOKE!

I figured that anyone who had decided that they needed something better than whatever file management tool Microsoft packaged wasn't good enough AND replaced it with XYplorer AND had the inclination to join this forum AND post a message, would have the experience necessary to restart the system as one of the first steps to troubleshooting. Perhaps your expectations were lower. If you read my full answer and synopsis of the problem and the steps I took to troubleshoot it, you would probably gather that I'm not a neophyte.

(I'm 71 and probably have been working in IT just as long or longer as you. My first system was a Data General mini, and I my first PC was an IBM AT running MS-DOS 3. I still have most of my marbles, and I still have a sense of humor.)

[phred]

Wow, everyone's so serious here. IT...WAS...A...JOKE!

That's why emojis were created. No one who read this could tell it was a joke.

If you read my full answer and synopsis of the problem and the steps I took to troubleshoot it, you would probably gather that I'm not a neophyte.

I did. And rebooting a PC is probably the most overlooked first step in attempting to resolve an issue. So again, the question needed to be asked.

(I'm 71 and probably have been working in IT just as long or longer as you. My first system was a Data General mini, and I my first PC was an IBM AT running MS-DOS 3. I still have most of my marbles, and I still have a sense of humor.)

So we're of the same generation and have worked with some of the same early beasts. While you still have a sense of humor, it doesn't translate to the written word. There's a bunch of emojis to the right of the reply window for the next time you're joking.

[hurricane51]

Wow, everyone's so serious here. IT...WAS...A...JOKE!

That's why emojis were created. No one who read this could tell it was a joke.

If you read my full answer and synopsis of the problem and the steps I took to troubleshoot it, you would probably gather that I'm not a neophyte.

I did. And rebooting a PC is probably the most overlooked first step in attempting to resolve an issue. So again, the question needed to be asked.

(I'm 71 and probably have been working in IT just as long or longer as you. My first system was a Data General mini, and I my first PC was an IBM AT running MS-DOS 3. I still have most of my marbles, and I still have a sense of humor.)

So we're of the same generation and have worked with some of the same early beasts. While you still have a sense of humor, it doesn't translate to the written word. There's a bunch of emojis to the right of the reply window for the next time you're joking.

What's an emoji?

[admin]

That at least worked without one.

[phred]

That at least worked without one.

Yes, for me too.

Bottom line here is to get your issue resolved and unfortunately I can't come up with any other suggestions as it's working as expected for me. Although most often I use Horst's method of simply dragging the browser's URL bar to my desktop which creates the shortcut. At times I will drag the desktop shortcut to XY, which when double-clicked works as expected.

[hurricane51]

That at least worked without one.

Yes, for me too.

Bottom line here is to get your issue resolved and unfortunately I can't come up with any other suggestions as it's working as expected for me. Although most often I use Horst's method of simply dragging the browser's URL bar to my desktop which creates the shortcut. At times I will drag the desktop shortcut to XY, which when double-clicked works as expected.

As I explained in my previous message (the one with the "joke"), I already resolved the issue.