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IE6 and SharePoint with InfoPath Form Services = No Fun

Debugging authentication failures with InfoPath Form Services on IE6 across Windows XP, Win7, and Win2000 — the fix was enabling Integrated Windows Authentication in IE settings.

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We had a development track with InfoPath (I’m not going to comment on how long the project was, but it was long 😉).

We deployed to UAT without any IE version issues, then deployed to production. That’s when the fun started.

The Problem

With NTLM/Kerberos and IE 6.0 + InfoPath Form Services, users navigating to the site got a logon prompt. After filling in their username, password, and domain three times — nothing. A blank white page.

Environment: mixed — Windows 7, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 Professional. Joy.

What We Tried

Step 1: Switch from NTLM to Kerberos

Some success — 30% of users reported the problem was fixed. The rest still had blank pages.

Step 2: Framework versions, IT settings, IIS configuration

Other machines with the same settings worked fine. Nothing stood out.

Step 3: The actual fix

A colleague checked an IE setting: Enable Integrated Windows Authentication.

Everything was fixed immediately 😊

We had noticed this setting early on but dismissed it because other machines had it unchecked and still worked. Too hasty.

The Lesson

Occam’s Razor applies here: the simplest explanation is usually the correct one.

When debugging authentication issues with IE + SharePoint, always verify Tools → Internet Options → Advanced → Enable Integrated Windows Authentication is checked before going deep into Kerberos SPN configurations.