Can’t Use Browsers After Attempting to install legacyupdate for Windows Vista

[Vistaar]

Here is some of what I found in terms of links

OK, I just did an awful lot of reading about Windows Live Mail for someone who never even wanted to use it. First observation: None of those people were running Vista. If WLM still works on newer versions of Windows, it’s tempting to speculate that their secret weapon might be Internet Explorer 11 (which never supported Vista and is no longer supported by Microsoft, but is more modern than IE9). On the other hand, I found an old post from 2013 that began: “I updated to IE 11 from 9 now my Windows Live Mail 2012 won’t start.” That does at least confirm that IE and WLM are interconnected, and that IE9 was a suitable version a decade ago - at least for WLM 2012.

Second observation: None of those people specifically mention the WLM 2009 version that you have. However, one of your links contained a link to a 2017 post that appears to have “web archive” download links for a Windows Essentials 2012 offline installer. As I mentioned before, the web installer at the Catalog reportedly doesn’t work, but an offline installer should, and Microsoft still supported Vista in 2012. If all else fails, you might try replacing your 2009 version with the 2012 version. (Even more nuclear would be a clean install of Windows 7 with the 2012 version to see if IE 11 is the real solution.) But if you uninstall your WLE 2009, you might never be able to get it back.

Sorry you can’t find anyone who actually used WLM on Vista. I don’t know of any at MSFN either.

 

[Vistaar]

Even if you manage to get WLM working for the time being, it is difficult to overstate how bleak the future is for Internet Explorer, and therefore for any software that depended on it. We have discussed TLS 1.2 because it is widely required by today’s websites, and because IE9 lacked any support for it at the time of Vista’s EOL six years ago. However, a newer iteration called TLS 1.3 has already been around for years. If websites (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) begin to require TLS 1.3 (or something newer) for connection, that would be Doomsday for Internet Explorer, along with any software that relied on it. Even IE 11 on Windows 10 had no support for TLS 1.3, and Microsoft has abandoned support for IE in favor of Edge.

 

[mollytown]

OK, I just did an awful lot of reading about Windows Live Mail for someone who never even wanted to use it. First observation: None of those people were running Vista. If WLM still works on newer versions of Windows, it’s tempting to speculate that their secret weapon might be Internet Explorer 11 (which never supported Vista and is no longer supported by Microsoft, but is more modern than IE9). On the other hand, I found an old post from 2013 that began: “I updated to IE 11 from 9 now my Windows Live Mail 2012 won’t start.” That does at least confirm that IE and WLM are interconnected, and that IE9 was a suitable version a decade ago - at least for WLM 2012.

Second observation: None of those people specifically mention the WLM 2009 version that you have. However, one of your links contained a link to a 2017 post that appears to have “web archive” download links for a Windows Essentials 2012 offline installer. As I mentioned before, the web installer at the Catalog reportedly doesn’t work, but an offline installer should, and Microsoft still supported Vista in 2012. If all else fails, you might try replacing your 2009 version with the 2012 version. (Even more nuclear would be a clean install of Windows 7 with the 2012 version to see if IE 11 is the real solution.) But if you uninstall your WLE 2009, you might never be able to get it back.

Sorry you can’t find anyone who actually used WLM on Vista. I don’t know of any at MSFN either.

I tried installing Windows Live Mail 2012 and was told that it requires windows 7 or higher. So I installed the 2011 version and I now can’t login with any of my passwords. The 2011 doesn’t seem to have any of the server options in the screenshots either. It does have the reg files but editing those doesn’t help any more than it did with the 2009 version. I don’t think I could upgrade to 7 as this computer does have very limited hard drive space (250gb) and I don’t know if it could handle Windows 7.

 

[Vistaar]

So I installed the 2011 version and I now can’t login with any of my passwords.

That’s sad. The Wikipedia article on Windows Live Mail actually suggests that the 2011 version had fewer problems than the 2012 version. I thought about mentioning that last night, but I doubted that a 2011 offline installer could even be found. If you are able to open IE9 (you might need to select a homepage that it is actually capable of displaying), I suggest taking it to:
https://clienttest.ssllabs.com:8443/ssltest/viewMyClient.html
in order to determine if its Protocol Support actually includes TLS 1.2. You might also want to test the browsers that you actually use, although IE is the only one that relates to WLM.

 

[mollytown]

That’s sad. The Wikipedia article on Windows Live Mail actually suggests that the 2011 version had fewer problems than the 2012 version. I thought about mentioning that last night, but I doubted that a 2011 offline installer could even be found. If you are able to open IE9 (you might need to select a homepage that it is actually capable of displaying), I suggest taking it to:
https://clienttest.ssllabs.com:8443/ssltest/viewMyClient.html
in order to determine if its Protocol Support actually includes TLS 1.2. You might also want to test the browsers that you actually use, although IE is the only one that relates to WLM.

I attempted the test on my Internet Explorer and found that it can’t connect to the Internet. I think I found that with the previous version and with the updated one the homepage won’t load but I stupidly didn’t think anything of it. Though this might be the route cause of the problems with WLM, I attempted a test to diagnose the issue but it couldn’t find any problems.

 

[wither 3]

Yesterday, I had looked at my internet options for IE 9 and it only included up to TSL 1.1. When I went to the link provided by Vistaar, 1.0 and 1.1 were highlighted in red. I assume that red means those are the the supported ones.

I was PMing with iMacri on this and he thought it was only 1.0. Well, I went and looked today, it was 1.0.

 

[Vistaar]

@wither 3 Since you are actually running Vista in 2023, perhaps you could suggest a homepage that IE9 can display without support for TLS 1.2? (You shouldn’t have TLS 1.1 for your IE9 either: only 1.0. But FWIW “red” means “insecure.”) It seems like Google had a primitive page version that IE9 could display, but I have no way of testing. (My Vista PC is a broken-down piece of junk sitting in a closet gathering dust.)

Norton, in Vista, has had problems connecting to the update website and that I was going to pursue that with them.

Someone with XP, Vista, and Windows 7 has posted a question at Norton’s forum. He does not report your issue, but I wonder why he says, “I believe that XP is no longer supported”? I believe @Imacri still has an account at Norton Community despite not having used Norton since 2019.

Windows supported versions

 

[wither 3]

In IE, my default page is "About Blank."

Norton says my protection updates are "current."

 

[Vistaar]

I attempted the test on my Internet Explorer and found that it can’t connect to the Internet.

The error message image you posted does not say “can’t connect to the internet”: It says “cannot display this webpage.” One common reason for that was “no support for TLS 1.2,” but there could be other reasons, e.g. “no support for elliptic curve cryptography” (for which there is no solution except “use a newer browser”). This is the browser that WLM depends on, so I hope you can find a way to test its protocol support. I suspect you don’t have TLS 1.2 after all, but by all means prove me wrong.

 

[Vistaar]

When I went to the link provided by Vistaar, 1.0...

Any chance you could visit the link in post #44 again using IE9 and post a screenshot of the top portion including Protocol Support?

 

[wither 3]

When using IE 9, it takes about 40 seconds to get to the page. It then says some tests failed, possibly because of firewall (Norton?). However, after it takes a minute or so to analyze, it says Yes for TSL 1.0 which is in yellow and it says Yes for SSL 3 in Red. The rest say No. Note that I accessed that link via 360Chrome earlier.

Edit: I just tried to open Tools, Internet Options in 360Chrome, it actually pulls up the IE settings.

 

[Vistaar]

When using IE 9, it takes about 40 seconds to get to the page. It then says some tests failed....However, after it takes a minute or so to analyze, it says Yes for TSL 1.0 which is in yellow and it says Yes for SSL 3 in Red. The rest say No...

I asked for a screenshot, but perhaps you have forgotten how to use Snipping Tool. I did not expect you to have support for TLS 1.2, and was not curious about any browser other than IE9, but thanks anyway!

 

[wither 3]

My apologies. I didn't notice that you wanted a screenshot. I was doing other things around the house and kinda just jumped in here and there. Here it is-

 

[wither 3]

I don't know what happened to another post I made. However, I decided to do the check from Opera. It's quite different. It says that TTL 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 are supported. The first two are in red and the last is in black. The same thing is shown when I try it in Firefox. I notice when I tried Opera, Chrome is included in the User Agent. That's not the case when running it in IE and Firefox. Kinda strange since I thought Opera was a Chrome browser.

 

[mollytown]

The error message image you posted does not say “can’t connect to the internet”: It says “cannot display this webpage.” One common reason for that was “no support for TLS 1.2,” but there could be other reasons, e.g. “no support for elliptic curve cryptography” (for which there is no solution except “use a newer browser”). This is the browser that WLM depends on, so I hope you can find a way to test its protocol support. I suspect you don’t have TLS 1.2 after all, but by all means prove me wrong.

My mistake, it turns out that I had enabled TSL 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 in the Internet Options but not Explorer. I have now turned them on and managed to get a full report. Live Mail still doesn’t work though but it might be worth mentioning that since upgrading to 2011 version it doesn’t give me error messages when trying to sign in and instead tells me I’ve entered the wrong password. This is despite trying both my old password that I would have used on Live Mail and my new Microsoft account email. I am sure that I am typing the passwords in correctly so I don’t know what the problem could be.

 

[Vistaar]

I have now turned them on and managed to get a full report. Live Mail still doesn’t work though but it might be worth mentioning that since upgrading to 2011 version it doesn’t give me error messages when trying to sign in and instead tells me I’ve entered the wrong password...

I wish your image included the user agent just above Protocol Support; but if you’re confident that your IE supports TLS 1.2, then there’s nothing more to say about it. I wouldn’t know about password issues, since I never used the software. I’m afraid I have no more suggestions for you.

Edit: I see an Avast icon on your system tray: Good choice! Hope you were able to remove Norton 2007 free trial.

 

[Vistaar]

...I thought Norton Security v22.15.x...was a good choice for Win XP and Vista computers...

Hi Imacri:

Some poor soul has posted at Norton Community with one XP, one Vista, and multiple Windows 7 systems who is facing the expensive prospect of renewal (Windows supported versions). He says, “I believe that XP is no longer supported.” Thus far there has been only one reply which states in part, “as for xp I would be surprised if that is still supported.” I believe you have an account there, so perhaps you might want to explain “Maintenance Mode” (if it still exists).

 

[lmacri]

... Some poor soul has posted at Norton Community with one XP, one Vista, and multiple Windows 7 systems who is facing the expensive prospect of renewal (Windows supported versions). He says, “I believe that XP is no longer supported.” ....I believe you have an account there, so perhaps you might want to explain “Maintenance Mode” (if it still exists).

Hi Vistaar:

Done. Please see my 26-May-2023 post in csanjay's Windows supported versions in the Norton forum.

 

[wither 3]

I still haven't bitched at Norton for the price they charged me for renewal. I can buy the same thing on Amazon for $32. That's what I did last year but screwed up this year because they said they extended my subscription for 60 days and I was waiting for that to elapse.

 

[mollytown]

After doing some research I found that removing the two step verification from your Microsoft account could fix the issue with Windows Live

Windows Live Mail Login Password Problems: 5 Fixes to Use

If you are dealing with Windows Live Mail login password problems, check some of your Internet Options or use the password reset option.

windowsreport.com

However, I already found that mine is disabled yet I still tried to go to the advanced security option as described in the article. I couldn’t get access though because I have changed the reset email account that is connected to my Microsoft account, as it requires a security code. I will be able to look at this when my backup email is changed which will be on the 9th of June. Could this also stop me from signing into Windows Live Mail? Do I really have to wait two weeks to use Live Mail?