IE hangs when I try to select a "favorite"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jonathan Sachs
  • Start date Start date
J

Jonathan Sachs

This started about a week ago. The items in the list of favorites appear to
be intact, but I can't use any of them. How to repair it?
 
Hi Jonathan :-)

Try the following and see if it helps:

Clearing the TIF Cache -

Safely Delete the Temporary Internet Files
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm

The temporary I.E. files folder is a cache for web pages that you have
visited. I don't know why Microsoft sets the default so high, but I have
seen 2gb set for storage. This and other settings can be changed to decrease
the size of the storage area, and supposedly delete the I.E. temp file when
you close the browser.

or...............

Corrupt Favorites Folder

Get rid of the malware, and then create a new Favorites folder as per
the instructions at the URL below:
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers3.htm#favorites

or......

Favorites not working

Tools - Internet Options - Programs - Reset Web Settings

or.........

Courtesy of Ramesh - MS MVP

This is most likely due to corrupt InternetShortcut or http file
association. "Reset Web Settings" fixes this symptom. Another option is to
run the command "regsvr32 /i shdocvw.dll" from Start/Run dialog.


If these steps do not resolve your problem, please post back to this thread
with the details and any error messages.

Hope this helps

Jan :)
Smiles are meant to be shared,
that's why they're so contagious.

Please reply to the newsgroup so others may benefit.

How to make a good newsgroup post:
http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Thanks for your assistance. I have been able to try some of your suggested
steps, so far without positive results.
Clearing the TIF Cache -
Click to expand...

I tried this, and it did not help.
This is most likely due to corrupt InternetShortcut or http file
association. "Reset Web Settings" fixes this symptom.
Click to expand...

Also did not help.
Corrupt Favorites Folder
Click to expand...

First: I'm not sure what type of malware you're referring to. I have
antivirus software (NAV) which I keep current and run frequently. I have not
tried loading anything like Adaware because I do not like to load up my
system with stuff that does not fill a clear need, and up to now I saw no
need. My inclination is to fix the immediate problem and take more drastic
steps only if it recurs. Please let me know if you think I need to be more
aggressive, and if so, how.

Second: the instructions at
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/answers3.htm#favorites did not work. I had no
trouble deleting the directory (it was in a subdirectory of
C:\Windows\System32), but when I rebooted, Windows XP displayed a message
warning me that an "essential" directory was missing, and assuring me that
it was able to restore the missing directory from a backup it kept. When I
tried using Favorites again, of course, all of my favorites were still
there, and the problem was still there. Oddly, though, the Favorites
directory I had deleted did not reappear.

By the way, I discovered that I can use favorites that are stored in the
Favorites folder without trouble. Only those that are stored in sub-folders
cause IE to hang.

I have noticed that when IE hangs, the task manager shows that something
called Sysfader also hangs. If I kill either one, the other one goes away
too.
 
TaxMan said:
I think you may have the winshow trojan.
Click to expand...
http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/default5.asp?Vname=TROJ_WINSHOW
..A

Apparently not. WINSHOW.* is not found on any of my disks, and my Registry
does not contain any of the first several entries the instructions tell me
to remove.

Also, I did not see any mention of "Sysfader" on that page. I wonder if you
pointed me to the wrong page. But I searched the Trend Micro database for
"Sysfader," and got no matches.
 
http://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/virusencyclo/default5.asp?Vname=TROJ_WINSHOW
.A

Apparently not. WINSHOW.* is not found on any of my disks, and my Registry
does not contain any of the first several entries the instructions tell me
to remove.

Also, I did not see any mention of "Sysfader" on that page. I wonder if you
pointed me to the wrong page. But I searched the Trend Micro database for
"Sysfader," and got no matches.
Click to expand...

Do you have a Creative labs adapter installed?
 
Do you have a Creative labs adapter installed?
Click to expand...

No. I'm using on-board audio, which the Control Panel identifies as
"SoundMAX Digital Audio." SoundMAX appears to be a distinct manufacturer.
 
If these steps do not resolve your problem, please post back to this thread
with the details and any error messages.
Click to expand...


I seem to have run into a dead end with this problem. My responses to
suggestions and questions lower in the thread have not been answered.

To recap, your first and third suggestions did not resolve the problem, and
your second one is problematical. First, the preliminary "get rid of the
malware, and then..." assumes without proof that a virus or something
similar is at fault. Second, accepting that assumption (I think it is
probably correct) got me nowhere.

The latest update for the latest version of Norton Antivirus assures me that
my system is clean. Symantec will not even talk to me unless I promise to
give them money, which seems foolish when I'm not even sure that I have a
problem they can solve.

One person suggested that my system is infected with Winshow, but the
instructions for cleaning out involve deleting a long list of Registry
entries, and the first several were not present on my system.

To repeat the symptoms (with additional details I have learned): whenever I
try to select a "favorite" from a folder in Internet Explorer's Favorites
menu, IE hangs. When I open Task Manager, it shows that both IE and
something called Sysfader are "Not responding." If I terminate either one,
both disappear.

I suspect that Sysfader is a virus, but there is no Sysfader.* on my system.
One person suggested that it is a utility for a Creative sound card, but
there has never been a Creative sound card in the computer.

On the Web, several appeals for help with virus infections mention Sysfader
as a symptom, but I found nothing that identifies it or suggests how to
respond.

The computer is running Windows XP Professional with SP1. IE is version
(deep breath) 6.0.2800.1106.xpsp1.020828-1920.

My system has been doing a number of other marginally peculiar things which
may or may not be related. The latest one I have noticed is that all of the
directories on all of my drives have somehow been marked "read-only." I can
create and delete them, and store files in them, but I can't change their
attributes, and I can't change the read-only attribute. Any such change is
accepted (with no error message), but is not performed.
 
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