PNG images are not displayed in Internet Explorer

Symptom

In Internet Explorer, PNG images on a Web page may not display. Instead, a placeholder (red X), may appear in place of the PNG images, but all other image types are displayed.

Solution

If PNGs display when logged in as an Administrator, then try restoring the default security templates for the affected user:

1. Log in as the affected user
2. Open a Command Prompt, then with that command prompt open another Command prompt as Administrator.

    runas /user:Administrator cmd

3. In the elevated Command Prompt, issue the following command:

    secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

4. Log out, then log back in as the affected user.

If PNGs don’t display for Administrators, then try fixing the file association and MIME settings for .PNG file types:

1. Download PNG-Association-Fix-XP.zip.
2. Unzip/extract pngasso_xp.reg.
3. Right-click pngasso_xp.reg and choose Merge.
4. Click Yes to confirm the merge operation.

Reference

• How do I restore security settings to a known working state?
• PNG images are not displayed on Web sites in Internet Explorer
• IE7 png files not displaying; White box Red X