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Outlook Error: General failure. The system cannot find file specified.

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› Problems › Outlook Error: General failure. The system cannot find file specified.

Last reviewed on May 12, 2014     14 Comments

October 10, 2011 by Diane Poremsky 14 Comments

When you click on a link in an Outlook email, you may receive the following error message:

General failure. The URL was: "//www.some-web-address.com" The system cannot find the file specified.

This really isn’t an Outlook error, it’s a browser error, but most users will discover it when they click on a link in an Outlook email message.  It may be related to using Firefox as the default browser.

Method 1

For most users, resetting IE as the default browser will fix the problem. This can be done one of two ways:

  1. Reset everything in IE's Tools, Internet options menu (or Control Panel, Internet options). Look on the Advanced tab for the Reset button.
  2. Resetting just the default browser in the Control Panel, Default programs applet, Set Program Access and Defaults. Change the default browser to IE. (You can also reach this dialog through IE's Tools, Internet options menu, or Control Panel, Internet options. Look on the Programs tab for the Set Programs button.)

Quick Tip: If you use Windows 7 or Vista, begin typing ‘default’ in the Start menu’s search field to quickly find the applet. Double click on Default Programs when it comes up.

Set the default web browser to Internet ExplorerControl Panel > Default Programs > Set Program Access and Defaults > Custom > Choose a Default Web Browser. Set IE as the default.

If you prefer a different browser, set IE as default and verify the error goes away, then set your preferred browser as the default using the steps above.

Also note that some users report this fix only ‘kicks in’ after they restart Outlook or reboot.

 

Method 2

If the steps above don’t work, you need to edit the registry. This is more likely if you use Firefox.

  1. Close Outlook and your browser.
  2. Press Windows key + R to open the run command and type regedit in the command field then press Enter.
  3. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\FirefoxURL\shell\open\ddeexec
  4. Double-click the Default entry to open it.
  5. Delete the value (it should be "%1",,0,0,,,,).
  6. Click Ok to Save and then close the Registry Editor.

Locate the FireFoxURL key

The edited value will be empty:

Registry value should be empty

Reopen Outlook and your browser.

Note: the default value of "%1",,0,0,,,, is ok for most users; you do not need to remove it unless you are unable to open hyperlinks.

Do It For Me

If you don't want to edit the registry yourself, you can download and run this registry file:

FireFoxURL-General-Failure.reg

More Information

The following articles explain other errors and issues opening hyperlinks in Outlook.
Restrictions in Effect error
Use Firefox to open hyperlinks
Links are prefixed with Blocked::

Outlook Error: General failure. The system cannot find file specified. was last modified: May 12th, 2014 by Diane Poremsky

Related Posts:

  • Use FireFox as the Default Browser to Open Links
  • Outlook Links Won't Open In Windows 10
  • This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions
  • Outlook won't open: This functionality requires Internet Explorer 4.0 or above

About Diane Poremsky

A Microsoft Outlook Most Valuable Professional (MVP) since 1999, Diane is the author of several books, including Outlook 2013 Absolute Beginners Book. She also created video training CDs and online training classes for Microsoft Outlook. You can find her helping people online in Outlook Forums as well as in the Microsoft Answers and TechNet forums.

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George
George

Alas no near restore points. I hesitate to to use ones that are 2 years old. Can you point me to these discussions you mentioned?
I tried to search for the mmc snapin issue, but the articles I found didn't help me...
Thanks.

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
May 16, 2013 11:52 pm
Diane Poremsky

Gosh no, I would not use points more than a couple of weeks or so old. I'm actually shocked you have points going back that far.
at microsoft answers

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
May 17, 2013 5:30 am
George
George

One new thing I just noticed... Opening the services window, I get a blank list under the extended tab (opens by default).
When I click on the standard tab I get a "Web Browser" window with the text: "Cannot find '--mmc:pagebreak.1'. Make sure the path or Internet address is correct."
Pressing OK on this window populates the standard tab with the services.
Since I use frequently the services window, I must speculate with a 99% certainty that this issue started at the same time with the Outlook problem.

Once more, thanks for your help.

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
May 1, 2013 7:12 am
Diane Poremsky

There are like a grand total of 2 discussions in google and bing referencing this message. Do you have a system restore point from when it still worked? If so, try a restore. I'm guessing an update is behind the problems but i don't know which one. It looks to be an ie issue (the mmc snapin uses browser controls to display information).

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
May 1, 2013 7:13 pm
George
George

Tried it... same issues. Tried every permutation with every browser set as default!

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
May 1, 2013 12:43 am
Diane Poremsky

Dang. I'm now officially out of solutions. :(

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
May 1, 2013 4:33 am
George
George

Any ideas?

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
April 30, 2013 9:13 am
Diane Poremsky

No, not right now anyway. Is IE your default browser? Try using this registry fix https://www.slipstick.com/doit/restrictions_fix.reg then restart the computer.

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
April 30, 2013 1:00 pm
George
George

No other specific error messages!

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
April 29, 2013 1:34 pm
George
George

For web links: (General failure. The URL was: “https://www.some-web-address.com” The system cannot find the file specified.)
For email links: (The system cannot find the file specified.)
... and blank boxes for photos with no text!
Nothing else so far.

Thanks for your prompt reply!

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
April 29, 2013 11:23 am
George
George

Hi,
I just stumbled upon this issue yesterday. I have no images appearing in incoming emails (no download images bar appears), and of course no web or email links work.
I tried all your solutions to no avail...
Also my registry value was empty by default.
If you have any other suggestions please offer them.
Thanks.

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
April 29, 2013 8:45 am
Diane Poremsky

Do you get any error messages besides the general failure error?

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
April 29, 2013 9:23 am
gedi
gedi

Worked for me, thank you!

Vote Up00Vote Down Reply
October 5, 2012 11:14 am

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