Internet Explorer 8 will not open some links - have an example

A friend of mine is having problems opening -some- links in internet explorer, and I am having a hard time figuring out how to fix it. For now he is using Firefox as a work-around, but I would love to track this problem down once and for all.

System information:

OS version: Windows 7 32-bit, Ultimate

IE Version: 8.0.7600

Java version: 6 u24

AV: Microsoft Security Essentials

No other AV/malware software is installed

Symptoms: only sometimes, you cannot click to follow a link in IE. You can copy the URL destination into a browser to get to the ultimate destination that way.

I have tried the following:

Resetting all IE settings to default (Internet Options > Advanced > Reset..)

Deleting all temporary files including java, internet, and Windows temporary files

Running a full MSE scan to check for viruses - no items found

Disabling popup blocker (reenabled after this didn't work)

Disabling protected view (reenabled after this didn't work)

Re-registering IE DLLs

Uninstalling, reinstalling Java

Resetting IE settings to default again, after trying the java reinstall

There is a problem link on this page, if you would like to see: http://air-tanks.com/ - the Metric/English link does not open.

I have looked at the source of this webpage and it is a simple HTML link set to open in a new window. I can copy and paste the destination (http://asmepressurevessels.com/c.html) into IE and get to the ultimate destination with no problem (which is a popup - http://asmepressurevessels.com/conversions.html). The only problem is clicking the "Metric/English" link on the original page.

Other links on this page are no problem. For example: the FAX ORDER FORM link loads with no problem.

I must emphasize, there is the original website (1) - the link which points to a new window (2) that has a pop-up (3 - which is the ultimate destination). So there are three sites total, the 2-3 connection is the one with a pop up (resulting in yellow bar, easy to fix), and the 1-2 connection is just an HTML open in new window command from the 1st page.

I am NOT having problems with the pop-up (2-3 connection). I cannot get the 1-2 connection to work, without copying and pasting the URL into IE. It simply does nothing when I click it.

I already tried disabling the IE popup blocker (the only popup blocker on that machine) to no avail.

I'll try ProcMon trace, thanks for the idea.

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