Only single letter shows in Explorer title bar

can you post a screenshot, I'm not sure I understand.

so if you come to this site (this thread) the blue bar at the top just says "O"

Hi

Did anyone find out what was causing the problem cos I've got exactly the same. Restarting the machine hasn't solved it and yes, I just get the letter O in the top blue title bar.

Any help much appreciated.

Please go to the malware forum in my signature and follow the instructions at the top....Especially the CLICK HERE .

That will give you several steps that will help you clean up 70 percent of all problems by yourself. If at the end of the process you are still having difficulty--and you may not be-- then post a hijackthis log in THAT forum.

If you are still having problems after getting a clean bill of health from the malware expert, please return to this thread.


that's my only advice on this one..i've never seen this issue..and am trying to research it...with no luck

Reload IE

Hi

Many thanks for the advice. I followed all the steps in the malware forum and installed Microsoft updates last night, (having had a new hard disc on Monday I'd already done this but they found more that were needed), with no effect.

This morning I decided to try reinstalling IE but before I could Microsoft had found yet more critical updates. I did those, IE refused to reinstall as it said I had a newer version and bingo! up popped the full titles again.

There's something about it in Microsoft support http://support.micro...com/kb/q225123/ but it's only for IE5 and I didn't have any of the causes on my machine.

Thank you once again.

I ran the spyware and malware software I had on my computer already and the problem is mostly resolved. Every once in awhile, I notice it again, but it does not occur on a regular basis.

Thank you for your help.

Has anybody determined the solution to this problem? I have exactly the same symptoms. I run Ad-Aware and Ad-Watch so I would have caught anything trying to alter my registry. I have completely cleaned up cookies, temporary files, etc. I don't think it is malware, is it? If so, why didn't Ad-Watch catch it? I have completely reloaded the entire operating system from my MSDN disks (although I did do an upgrade rather than a new installation so I wouldn't have to re-install all my software). I have also installed all the hotfixes and updates from Windows Update. Also, I have used the Group Policy editor to set the title of the browser. I also have set the HKCU key "Window Title" to also set a different title to IE. Neither of these title fixes work. In all cases I get a single character in the title bar.
Can anybody suggest what I should try next?
Thanks,
Mark

I suggest you keep trying to update XP and IE, Microsoft took 5 goes before it decided it had finished applying critical updates. I also think it was the final step of trying to reinstall IE6 that fixed the problem.

I very much appreciate the reply and the suggestion. However, in my case, that is not the cause. I am absolutely obsessed about keeping my software up-to-date. I probably go into Windows Update two to three times a week. And after every update I also repeat the process until I get the message about no updates available. I also update my Ad-Aware on a very frequent basis and also update my Norton SystemWorks on the same very frequent basis. Not only that, I am not adverse to re-installs of entire operating systems. In fact, I went through two complete installs before I posted the message. So the problem is still outstanding.
Thanks again,
Mark

I have been using Windows ME and never heard of this issue. Last night I purchased the disc Windows XP upgrade with the SP2 included. I have been using McAfee and Spyhunter, and Adorons. The ONLY problem experienced with the upgrade to XP is the single digit display in the title bar. I've switched to Norton Anti virus, uninstalled the others, ran scans, downloaded 31 more updates from Microsoft today and still have the problem. I've read the KB on this issue from MS, but it supposedly only affects IE5. I have had version 6.0.29 for a while. This makes no sense, but i will keep trying the softward downloads suggested in the malware forum. a lot of people are reading these posts, its a new topic, so maybe it is a virus type issue?

SOLVED. I finally fixed the problem by editing the registry. "hijackthis" software gave me
the confidence to even try this dangerous fix. the MKB (referenced in an earlier post ) mentioned that some software could add Run commands in both the Current User and Local Machine areas of the registry. I didnt have any of that software. Taking a chance, I edited the value of the Window Title key in Current User "R1 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main,Window Title = Microsoft Internet Explorer" and left it blank. In the Local Machine key, I changed the value to: (value not set).
It had originally had the same "Microsoft Internet Explorer " as a value. I hope this helps anyone else with the problem, it was a bear to diagnose. I had tried the spyware, adware searches, but it didnt help. I think this was a glitch in the upgrade from ME to XP, but I dont know exactly how the registry became corrupted on those 2 lines.

Problem NOT resolved. I'm glad that Hannah4 was finally successful. And her experience leads me to believe I know the cause of the problem, although the solution still escapes me. I have five machines all running XP Pro SP/2. And only one machine experiences the problem. The problem surfaced when it was upgraded from XP Home to XP Pro. Hannah4's problem also occurred from a different upgrade. So it is becoming clear that the upgrade is what causes the problem. I had already tried the registry editing that is suggested by Microsoft. They only mention the value under HKCU. Hannah4 also mentioned the value inder HKLM. So I tried registry edits under that key without success. It should be noted that none of the machines that work properly have "Window Title" in the registry anywhere. It should also be noted that the Microsoft suggested solution about adding this new string value (which is type REG_SZ under Windows NT or Windows XP) does not allow me to change the Window Title. I still get the one-character heading. Furthermore the Group Policy Editor solution that was also suggested to alter the Window Title does not work either. I hope someone can offer another approach. The problem is one I can live with. I hate to use my MSDN "Incidents" with Microsoft as I only have three free ones per year. But they do guarantee a solution, so I may use one of my incidents to finally resolve this issue.
Thanks,
Mark

Do you have the Google search bar installed?
If so, try uninstalling it.