Any WinXp users having Internet Explorer 8 problems?

[Michael T.]

I am seeing this on more than one computer.

IE8 on a WinXP computer seemed to start having problems several months
ago -- primarily with pages loading slowly.

I was at my sister's condo yesterday and I saw the same issues. We both have
older Dell computers. Mine is only 1.73 Gz for CPU speed with 1.25 GB of
RAM.

As a retired software engineer I am seldom stumped. All I can think of is
IE8 has simply become too much of a resource hog for older computers because
of some monthly updates dating back to May or June. For example, I noticed
one IE8 associated file quadrupled in size last spring.

We both switched to FireFox, but I do miss some of IE features having used
it since the 1990s.

 

[Paul]

I am seeing this on more than one computer.

IE8 on a WinXP computer seemed to start having problems several months
ago -- primarily with pages loading slowly.

I was at my sister's condo yesterday and I saw the same issues. We both have
older Dell computers. Mine is only 1.73 Gz for CPU speed with 1.25 GB of
RAM.

As a retired software engineer I am seldom stumped. All I can think of is
IE8 has simply become too much of a resource hog for older computers because
of some monthly updates dating back to May or June. For example, I noticed
one IE8 associated file quadrupled in size last spring.

We both switched to FireFox, but I do miss some of IE features having used
it since the 1990s.

Startup in No-Addon mode ?

Install a clean copy of the OS on a spare hard drive, install IE8, and
do comparison testing ?

Paul

 

[Michael T.]

Startup in No-Addon mode ?

Install a clean copy of the OS on a spare hard drive, install IE8, and
do comparison testing ?

Paul

Great minds in parallel paths Paul.

I was trying No-Addons while you were posting your comment.

There was no change, but I am learning a few tidbits while testing.

Avoid any blogs/sites using the Disqus software for their commenting
sections. The new Disqus upgrade requires an upgrade to IE9 for the web page
to load properly.
Some sites like the one below load slowly because of poor design. The web
designers may not have noticed the slow loading because they were developing
on faster computers.
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/
My AV software (Avast), which my sister also uses, contributes to slower
loading than it used to -- depending on the web page.

I'll do some more testing and post any significant findings.

But given the age and slow CPU speed of my 5-year-old computer, I may have
to resign myself to an alternate browser like Firefox.

 

[BillW50]

My AV software (Avast), which my sister also uses, contributes to slower
loading than it used to -- depending on the web page.

Odd... I use the free Avast and I haven't noticed any slowness.

I'll do some more testing and post any significant findings.

But given the age and slow CPU speed of my 5-year-old computer, I may have
to resign myself to an alternate browser like Firefox.

Odd... 2006 is my favorite era for computers. Heck I have 14 of them
from that year alone and that is about all I want to use. And IE
versions, I usually use IE7 when I use IE.

And there are more browsers than just IE and Firefox. Maxthon 3 is one
of my favorite ones. As it uses either the IE engine (Trident) or Webkit
(what Chrome uses). Plus Maxthon 2 is safer too compared to Firefox or
IE if that matters.

Maxthon Beats Microsoft to the Punch Creating Barrier to Zero-day
Attacks - PR Newswire
http://www.prnasia.com/pr/10/01/100058511-1.html

Some of my XP machines have SP2 and some SP3. And I have noticed the
ones with SP2 actually scroll faster and smoother (third button and drag
the mouse scrolling).

 

[philo]

I am seeing this on more than one computer.

IE8 on a WinXP computer seemed to start having problems several months
ago -- primarily with pages loading slowly.

I was at my sister's condo yesterday and I saw the same issues. We both have
older Dell computers. Mine is only 1.73 Gz for CPU speed with 1.25 GB of
RAM.

As a retired software engineer I am seldom stumped. All I can think of is
IE8 has simply become too much of a resource hog for older computers because
of some monthly updates dating back to May or June. For example, I noticed
one IE8 associated file quadrupled in size last spring.

We both switched to FireFox, but I do miss some of IE features having used
it since the 1990s.

I do a lot of computer repair work and though in general IE8 works ok
with XP on a new install...I have seen quite a few machines with
problems. On such machines I generally install Firefox and tell the
user to forget about IE8. I don't know of any features IE8 has that are
missing in Firefox

 

[Michael T.]

I do a lot of computer repair work and though in general IE8 works ok with
XP on a new install...I have seen quite a few machines with problems. On
such machines I generally install Firefox and tell the user to forget
about IE8. I don't know of any features IE8 has that are missing in
Firefox

Thanks for the feedback.

It's just some minor 'stuff' that caused me to favor IE8 on a per feature
basis -- but it is no longer my browser of choice.

1. Better and more convenient spell checking -- I use ieSpell from Red Egg
Software.
2. I miss the feature at File > Send > Shortcut to desktop.
3. I miss the security settings at Tools > Internet Options > Security
4. The ability to change the zoom setting in the lower right corner of the
IE window (I'm an old codger with poor eyesight). I can zoom with Firefox -
but it's not as convenient.
5. I miss the Google Toolbar.
6. I prefer the cookies control at Tools > Internet Options > Privacy.

That last one (#6) may be due to not educating myself as much as I should
about Firefox and cookies control.

These are all personal choices, so your mileage may vary.

 

[Bob F]

I am seeing this on more than one computer.

IE8 on a WinXP computer seemed to start having problems several months
ago -- primarily with pages loading slowly.

I was at my sister's condo yesterday and I saw the same issues. We
both have older Dell computers. Mine is only 1.73 Gz for CPU speed
with 1.25 GB of RAM.

As a retired software engineer I am seldom stumped. All I can think
of is IE8 has simply become too much of a resource hog for older
computers because of some monthly updates dating back to May or June.
For example, I noticed one IE8 associated file quadrupled in size
last spring.
We both switched to FireFox, but I do miss some of IE features having
used it since the 1990s.

I've seen at least a few machines slowed down by the later versions of
anti-virus and firewall programs. Anti-spyware programs also. Install earlier
versions, and things seem to speed up. (Like AVG 8.5 instead of the latest one)

 

[BillW50]

In philo typed:

I do a lot of computer repair work and though in general IE8 works ok
with XP on a new install...I have seen quite a few machines with
problems. On such machines I generally install Firefox and tell the
user to forget about IE8. I don't know of any features IE8 has that
are missing in Firefox

That sounds like my experience with applying SP2. As I did about 6 XP
machines and when SP2 first came out I tried to upgrade them. And every
one of them got slow and sluggish. That was a huge disappoint! I was
about to give up with SP2 until I discovered that a fresh XP install
works great with SP2.

 

[BillW50]

In Michael T. typed:

Thanks for the feedback.

It's just some minor 'stuff' that caused me to favor IE8 on a per
feature basis -- but it is no longer my browser of choice.

1. Better and more convenient spell checking -- I use ieSpell from
Red Egg Software.
2. I miss the feature at File > Send > Shortcut to desktop.
3. I miss the security settings at Tools > Internet Options > Security
4. The ability to change the zoom setting in the lower right corner
of the IE window (I'm an old codger with poor eyesight). I can zoom
with Firefox - but it's not as convenient.
5. I miss the Google Toolbar.
6. I prefer the cookies control at Tools > Internet Options > Privacy.

That last one (#6) may be due to not educating myself as much as I
should about Firefox and cookies control.

These are all personal choices, so your mileage may vary.

You might want to checkout Maxthon. And you can keep your IE8 around so
Maxthon can use the IE8 engine. Same Internet Options controls in both
IE and Maxthon. So you don't lose that. And zooming control is the same
between Maxthon and IE. Maxthon calls saving URL to the desktop as
Saving Quick App.

 

[Hot-Text]

I am seeing this on more than one computer.

IE8 on a WinXP computer seemed to start having problems several months
ago -- primarily with pages loading slowly.

I was at my sister's condo yesterday and I saw the same issues. We both have
older Dell computers. Mine is only 1.73 Gz for CPU speed with 1.25 GB of
RAM.

As a retired software engineer I am seldom stumped. All I can think of is
IE8 has simply become too much of a resource hog for older computers because
of some monthly updates dating back to May or June. For example, I noticed
one IE8 associated file quadrupled in size last spring.

We both switched to FireFox, but I do miss some of IE features having used
it since the 1990s.

If you not using Microsoft Security Essentials with IE8,
Then it's will be your AV software that making IE8 Slow.......

 

[Bob F]

If you not using Microsoft Security Essentials with IE8,
Then it's will be your AV software that making IE8 Slow.......

So, you are saying the MSE does not "make it slow"?

 

[Michael T.]

If you not using Microsoft Security Essentials with IE8,
Then it's will be your AV software that making IE8 Slow.......

Contrary to my earlier comments in this thread I am beginning to think Avast
7 is not a major contributor to the slow page loading for IE8 - a slowness I
do not see with Firefox.

I also disabled Avast and still witnessed slow page loading on two separate
computers.

But I appreciate your feedback and am not ruling out that Avast might not be
a contributor -- just not a major one.

 

[philo]

Contrary to my earlier comments in this thread I am beginning to think Avast
7 is not a major contributor to the slow page loading for IE8 - a slowness I
do not see with Firefox.

I also disabled Avast and still witnessed slow page loading on two separate
computers.

But I appreciate your feedback and am not ruling out that Avast might not be
a contributor -- just not a major one.

Just thought I'd mention that on the machines where IE8 did not work
right...I simply uninstalled it and let the user stay at the IE7 level

 

[Hot-Text]

Contrary to my earlier comments in this thread I am beginning to think Avast
7 is not a major contributor to the slow page loading for IE8 - a slowness I
do not see with Firefox.

I also disabled Avast and still witnessed slow page loading on two separate
computers.

But I appreciate your feedback and am not ruling out that Avast might not be
a contributor -- just not a major one.

9 times out of 10 it's the Website that Slow,
plus the ToolBars and Extenstion plug-inns too..