Cannot open links from emails in outlook Express.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 177054

Internet shortcuts in Outlook Express do not start Web browser

SYMPTOMS
When you double-click an Internet shortcut in a Microsoft Outlook Express e-mail message, your Web browser may not start or may not connect to the Web page.
CAUSE
This issue may occur if any of the following conditions is true:
Microsoft Internet Explorer is not currently your default Internet browser, and the browser that was the default browser is no longer installed.
A short file name (standard 8.3 naming) is used for the program name that is associated with Internet shortcuts.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods depending on the cause.
Set Internet Explorer as the default browser
To set Internet Explorer to be the default Internet Browser, follow these steps:
Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click the Internet or Internet Options icon, and then click Programs.
Make sure that the Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default check box is selected, click Apply, and then click OK.
Open Internet Explorer, and then click Yes when you receive the following prompt:

Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Do you wish to make it the default?
Links in e-mail messages should then open Internet Explorer.
Outlook Express 5 only
Note: This section does not apply to Microsoft Windows 2000. This issue is also resolved for Outlook Express 5 by using the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 Repair utility. To run the Internet Explorer 5 Repair utility, follow these steps:
Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
In the list of installed programs, double-click Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools.
Click Repair Internet Explorer.
When the repair is completed, restart the computer.
Correct your file association
To resolve the second issue, you must correct your file association. To do this, change the name of the program that is associated with Internet shortcuts to the long file name of your Web browser. Follow the steps for your operating system.
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, and Windows NT
Click Start, point to Programs, and then click either Windows Explorer or Windows NT Explorer.
Click View, click Folder Options, and then click File Types.
In the Registered File Types box, click URL:File Transfer Protocol, and then click Edit.
In the Actions box, click Open, and then click Edit.
The Application Used To Perform Action box may display the path to your Web browser as a short file name. Type the path to your Web browser by using the full file name. For example, the following path may appear in the Application Used To Perform Action box.
c:\progra~1\intern~1\iexplore.exe

Change the path to the following path:
"c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe" (including the quotation marks).

Click OK, and then click Close.
Repeat steps 3-6 for the following registered file types:
URL:Gopher Protocol
URL:Hypertext Transfer Protocol
URL:Hypertext Transfer protocol with Privacy
Click Close.
Note If you follow these steps, you may receive the following prompt when Internet Explorer starts:

Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?
Make sure that the Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser check box is not selected under Internet Options, or the issue may occur again.

If you click Yes, the issue may occur again.
Windows 2000
Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
Click Tools, click Folder Options, and then click File Types.
In the Registered File Types box, click URL:File Transfer Protocol, and then click Advanced.
In the Actions box, click Open, and then click Advanced.
The Application Used To Perform Action box may display the path to your Web browser as a short file name or as an incorrect path. Type the path to your Web browser with the full file name. For example, the following path may appear in the Application Used To Perform Action box.
c:\progra~1\intern~1\iexplore.exe

Change the path to the following path:
"c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe" (including the quotation marks).

Click OK, and then click Close.
Repeat steps 3-6 for the following registered file types:
URL:Gopher Protocol
URL:Hypertext Transfer Protocol
URL:Hypertext Transfer protocol with Privacy
URL:Internet Shortcut
Click Close.
Note If you follow these steps, you may receive the following prompt when Internet Explorer starts:

Internet Explorer is not currently your default browser. Would you like to make it your default browser?
Make sure that the Internet Explorer should check to see if it is the default browser check box is not selected under Internet Options, or the issue may occur again.

If you click Yes, the issue may occur again.

cdcatais, Please respond to the comments from the Experts.
See:  https://www.experts-exchange.com/help.jsp#hi51 Thank you, turn123 (s)

As this post is not the answer to your question, PLEASE DON'T ACCEPT IT AS AN ANSWER.

Hi
I had exactly the same problem. Further more, when i went to save a web page, i got an old W95 type of 'Save As' dialog box, and the web page saved as a .dll type file which i couldnt open. Tried system restore etc.
Then tried to figure what programs i had installed since i had the problem.
Since i recently got a web cam and installed both ICQ & Yahoo Messenger, i finally figured out that it was the latest version of ICQ i had installed was messing up IE. I am using WXP SP2, so when i uninstalled ICQ (and its toolbar), everything was back to normal.
IE still works with Yahoo Messenger, so if you recently installed ICQ, this may be your problem.
Beats messing about with the registry, as Microsoft recomends.
By the way, IE is not listed in my Programs (add & remove programs), so i had no option to repair IE.
Hope this helps,
Jon