In IE 8, some wikipedia links do not open

Hi akxss825,

Thank you for using the Microsoft Answers Forum.  Because IE 8 has only recently been released some websites have not been updated to display correctly in the new browser.  For this reason IE 8 includes Compatibility View which allows you to view pages that do not display correctly in IE 8.  Click the Page button on the menu bar and select Compatibility View and the page should display correctly.  If this does not display the page let us know and you might consider posting the URL of the effected page to assist us in troubleshooting.  I hope this information is helpful.

Thanks,

Jack

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Jack
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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Jack, thanks and I will try that and let you know what I find

Jack, the compatibility aspect doesn't work because the web page is never displayed at all.  Here is the sequence of events to assist you.

Enter something in a google search box, say "John Wayne"

Google brings up it's many hits and the first one is from wikipedia.  When I click on that link, I get a message box File Download-Security Warning.  File type is unknown. 

The url is    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne

If I take that same url and type it in the address box, the internet page comes right up.

I only experienced this after putting in IE 8

The other thing that makes it difficult is that it is not consistent.  I typed in calvin coolidge into a google search and the first item up was a wikipedia link in the same format as the above link for John Wayne with the name being the only difference and clicking on that link brought the page up right away.  So I'm not sure what is going on.

Hello, akxss825

The page appears to work correctly for me using Internet Explorer 8, it is possible that an add-on or setting is causing this problem.

To test if it is an add-on problem, you can try running Internet Explorer in No Add-ons mode and checking if you get the same error. To start Internet Explorer in No Add-ons mode, go to Start, click on All Programs, click on Accessories, then System Tools, and finally open Internet Explorer (No Add-ons).

If the above does not work you can try resetting the Internet Explorer settings and checking if the page works correctly. For information and instructions how to reset your Internet Explorer settings refer to the following link: Reset Internet Explorer 8 Settings.

Let us know if this helps or if you need further assistance.

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David
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
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David, I did a no add ons attempt with no luck and did a complete reset with no luck.  This is a problem others are having as the following pasted item from another person is exactly my problem:
"Links to results on Wikipedia from Google results pages don't work: I get a
dialog box telling me a file is being downloaded, then immediately a File
Download - Security Warning box asking if I want to save the file or find a
program to open it.  If I try to find a program, the Application Search Box
tells me that the file is MIME Type: application/x-gzip-compressed and that
Windows does not recognise this file type".

David, I cannot access any wikipedia link brought up from a google search.  I am using Vista as the OS. I can take the wikipedia url and enter it directly into the address bar and have it work.  On my laptop computer, I run XP and am also using IE8, I have no problems accessing the same wikipedia sites.

I have also learned something from the microsoft developer network, msdn, that something called user-agent strings might be affecting this.  Any help would be appreciated.
One final question:  If I can't get this resolved I'm going to go back to IE7 and my question is what is the best way to get IE7 back again---download ie7 over ie8 or uninstall ie8 first?

Locutys, you found the magic bullet.  I had google desktop running in the background and I didn't realize it.  By shutting it down, the problem links sprung right up without problem.  I was then curious whether I could duplicate the problem on my laptop which also is running IE8 but with XP instead of Vista.  On the laptop I made sure google desktop was running but I had no problem in accessing the same links that were problems on the desktop with Vista, IE8 and google desktop running.
I'm not sure why that would be but thanks for your help.

I am having the exact same problem - IE8 does not properly open gzipped sites, and gives a file download prompt instead.

But I do not have Google Desktop installed, and so Locutys's answer does not help me.   Any advice?

marcworld,
Is this happening only to compressed HTTP using gzip format?
Is this particular to one website / page, have you tested it on more content?

The message you receive regarding this type of content may be related to the coding style. Depending on how the browser is handling the requests, such a message can be generated instead.

My recommendation to you would be to compare this particular site when accessed in IE8 with how it renders when accessed with IE7. Are you still prompted to download a file?
Try running compatibility view if this is not produced in IE7:
 
Internet Explorer Compatibility view:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/956197/

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Rami
Microsoft Answers Support Engineer
Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

I had the same issue - thanks to the suggestion that Google Desktop might be the problem.
I just downloaded and installed a newer version of Google Desktop, everything works fine now.