IE freezing on first webpage. Close IE, reopen, then it's fine. He

[Guest]

I'm having a problem with IE freezing on the first webpage. The pc is a
Compaq Presario 7000 running Windows ME. The hdd recently crashed and was
replaced. The pc was restored using the Compaq CD's. I have installed all of
the latest patches and updates I can get for ME. MSN software has been
installed for dial-up internet access. When I dial up via MSN the browser
consistently freezes on the homepage which is set for www.msn.com. I have
changed it to www.google.com and it doesn't freeze there but that is a pretty
bland page. Any other normal webpage exhibits similiar results. I clt-alt-del
and close the MSN explorer. I reopen MSN explorer and everything runs fine. I
thought something could have went wrong in the restore process so I restored
again, same problem. During the second restore I tested before applying any
security patches or updates, same problem. I tested in IE 5&6, Netscape, and
MSN explorer, same problem. I have scanned for viruses and spyware. I have
disabled 3rd party browser extensions. I'm running out of ideas. Can anyone
provide some assistance with this problem?

Thanks much,
George Phillips

 

[Guest]

An update: I set the home page to about:blank. I was able to dial-up via MSN
fine, open email, open Google, search a web page, open that webpage, but when
I entered www.yahoo.com it locked up. What could these webpages be doing to
cause my system to lockup? How can I correct it?

 

[Robert Aldwinckle]

An update: I set the home page to about:blank. I was able to dial-up via MSN
fine, open email, open Google, search a web page, open that webpage, but when

I entered www.yahoo.com it locked up.

Be more specific? If you are just typing that string in the Address bar
it is not necessarily the same as requesting IE to open the equivalent URL.
E.g. that might be the symptom of a search bar hijacking by a spyware site
(even though you haven't been able to find evidence of a known one.)

You could also tell us what all happened in the IE window
(e.g. changes in the Address bar, Status bar, Title bar as well as
display area) before it "locked up". Remember, your words
have to substitute for what our eyes might notice.

For example, if you told us that there was no change in the Address bar
that could be a clue that you had a simple hijacker masquerading in
a Favorite named www.yahoo.com.url To guard against such
exploits you can use Folder Options, File Types to always show the
..URL extension of your Internet Shortcuts. Etc.

What could these webpages be doing to cause my system to lockup?

You should be able to construct a search which would find Yahoo!
as a special case of what you claim you can still do.
So, if you can access the Yahoo! site via a link, when found by Google,
then clearly by itself the page would have nothing to do with your symptom.

How can I correct it?

First you need to completely determine what "it" is. ; )


Good luck

Robert Aldwinckle
---

 

[Guest]

I have since been able to isolate the problem down to ActiveX. I have
disabled 'Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins' and 'Script ActiveX controls
marked safe for scripting'. After doing that all websites work fine. I
haven't really noticed any adverse effects of using it this way. Do you
foresee any problems with this configuration or know a way to resolve the
ActiveX issue?