On Windows 7, when I insert a CD with a very simple HTML page referenced in the autorun.inf file, Internet Explorer 8 opens and then immediately crashes, with the error message "Internet Explorer has stopped working" and then checks for a solution. Then it says "A problem caused the program to stop working correctly. Windows will close the program and notify you if a solution is available."
On Windows Vista, IE 8 just opens and then closes silently, with no error messages or help of any kind.
I have since discovered this is due to IE 8's "protected mode" and turning this off fixes the issue so that the HTML file on the CD launches normally.
What I'd like to know: is there any way to get around this, so that I can launch a simple HTML file in the user's default browser, using an autorun.inf file on a CD, without first having my users open IE 8 and turn off protected mode?
Perhaps the most bizarre thing is that if IE is already open when you insert the CD, the HTML page just opens--no crash. It only crashes if IE 8 happens to be closed when you insert the CD. And so a possible workaround may be to get the default browser to launch and then open the HTML file.
All suggestions welcome.
