After a while links don't work

[Guest]

When I'm on the internet I now frequently get into this situation: Suddenly
nothing happens when I click on links, and I cannot download pics by right
clicking on the mouse. In order to eliminate the problem I have to exit the
internet, go to the Control Panel and delete old internet files. (I cannot
open the Control Panel while still on the internet.) This problem has occured
just lately (the last few days). How can I eliminate it?

 

[Malke]

When I'm on the internet I now frequently get into this situation:
Suddenly nothing happens when I click on links, and I cannot download
pics by right clicking on the mouse. In order to eliminate the problem
I have to exit the internet, go to the Control Panel and delete old
internet files. (I cannot open the Control Panel while still on the
internet.) This problem has occured just lately (the last few days).
How can I eliminate it?

Since the problem is new: The First Question Of Troubleshooting: what
changed between the time things worked and the time they didn't?

The Second Question of Windows Troubleshooting: what is the
malware/virus status of the machine? If you think it is clean, what
programs (and versions) did you use to determine this?

Be sure the computer is clean:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Removing_Malware

Malke

 

[Guest]

Answers:

1) Nothing changed which I'm aware of.

2) I use Zonelabs anti-virus & anti-spyware to scan my PC daily. I also use
Spyware snooper and Pest Patrol, and PC Power Suite for PC maintenance.
And my PC, according to these programs, is clean

 

[Malke]

Answers:

1) Nothing changed which I'm aware of.

2) I use Zonelabs anti-virus & anti-spyware to scan my PC daily. I
also use Spyware snooper and Pest Patrol, and PC Power Suite for PC
maintenance. And my PC, according to these programs, is clean

OK, those are good answers. Not helpful, but good answers. ;-) So,
something must have changed because the computer isn't behaving
correctly any more. Since the problem seems to be connected with your
Temporary Internet Files, it makes me think of a couple of things:

1. How big is your browser cache? You didn't say what browser you're
using but I just read (on MVP Sandi Hardmeier's IE site) that IE7 makes
a very large cache. Try setting your cache to 50-100MB. Actually, I
think 50MB is sufficient. If you do have IE7, then:

a. Take some time to look through Sandi's excellent site.
http://www.ie-vista.com/

b. Maybe post with full details in the IE7 newsgroup.
microsoft.public.internetexplorer.general

c. If you are using a third-party browser, also check its cache and
empty it.

2. How about general maintenance, removing system Temp Files? You sound
like a very responsible computer user so you probably maintain your
machine, but just in case here's a link to some maintenance
suggestions:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Maintenance

I'm not familiar with PC Power Suite because I don't like third-party
maintenance programs with XP. Maybe there's something in it that caused
the problem? If you can correlate using it with the change, if it has
an "undo" feature you might want to use it and see what happens.

3. If you have the Yahoo toolbar, uninstall it. I'm not saying it is the
culprit if you have it, but it has caused numerous issues and IIRC
isn't compatible w/IE7. So if you have it, you can try the uninstall.
If that doesn't help you can always reinstall it.

Aside from that, you have to figure out what changed because something
did, whether you're aware of it or not. Maybe you installed a toolbar,
did program updates, etc. If you really can't figure out what changed,
maybe trying a System Restore to when things worked would be good since
you say it has only been a few days.

Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore
"Restore my computer to an earlier time"

And that's about all I can think of for now.

Malke