Windows – Disable “Automatically detect settings” in IE proxy configuration

internet explorerPROXYwindows 7

When I boot up my corporate laptop, the "Automatically detect settings" option is ticked. This setting never works and I need to untick it before I can access the Internet.

I've tried looking for a registry entry so I can run a script on boot up that turns this setting off. I enabled the setting and exported a branch, then disabled the setting and exported. A diff comparison shows these two as identical between the two exports:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings]

Does anyone know what the setting is? I'm running Windows 7.

Best Answer

You might disable proxy caching, as described here:
How to disable automatic proxy caching in Internet Explorer

It's also very puzzling that the following registry key doesn't change:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Connections
As the difference is only one bit, it might have been overlooked.

See this thread for an example of differing values (skip to the very end):
Registry key for IE's "Auto Detect Settings" option
Note: If you can't see the ending comment, search this article through google and click on it. This is a particularity of experts-exchange.com.
You can use the info in this thread to build a batch script to reset the registry to your correct values.

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