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I have been using Windows XP Home Edition for years and until several
months ago, was using Internet Explorer from Microsoft as my browser
until I read that there was a security issue in IE that there was no
solution for. So I uninstalled IE from Microsoft and installed Mozilla
Firefox. However, not long afterward, I was unable to access or read my
Yahoo email, and no one at Mozilla was able to tell me what the problem
was, so I uninstalled Firefox.
You were apparently misled. There are regular security updates for Internet
Explorer. I would suggest that you stop whatever you are doing to fix
things, and first answer some questions, so we can get a better picture of
what all has been messed up with your system, before things get so messed up
that only a format and re-install will fix it.
1. OK, You're using Windows XP Home, but what Service Pack? SP3?
A.
2. What IE version were you using before you "uninstalled" it above? IE7?
A.
3. Exactly how did you attempt to uninstall it? IE is integrated into the
Windows Operating System, and the OS will not work properly without some
version of IE in good working order, whether you use IE or some other
browser to access the internet.
A.
4. If you currently have Service Pack 3, and if your computer came with IE6,
and you upgraded at some point to IE7, was SP3 installed before or after the
IE7 upgrade? (There are right and wrong ways to install SP3.)
A.
IEBlog: IE and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx
Steps to take before you install Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950717/en-us
At that point, I somehow learned about an update to IE from Microsoft
and downloaded and installed that. However, this version of IE, which
says at the top of my screen that it's provided by Yahoo!, seems to,
for lack of a better word, "hate" Windows XP.
You appear to be talking about IE8. You say you "downloaded and installed"
it, but later mention you let Automatic Updates install it. It is better to
download the installer from Microsoft, (not some yahoo site,) and then
disable all add ons, uninstall all 3rd part toolbars, and while NOT
connected to the internet, disable your anti-virus, and leave only Windows
Firewall enabled, and then install IE8, and reboot TWICE. Then connect to
the Windows Update site only, and install whatever security updates are
offered. All this assuming you have done a full virus and malware scan,
(with updated definitions,) of your computer first. To uninstall IE8,
likewise, you need to disable all add ons, uninstall 3rd part toolbars, and
use the Add/Remove programs feature in Control Panel. If you installed SP3
after IE8, SP3 needs to be uninstalled first. Likewise, if you installed SP3
after IE7, it needs to be uninstalled before uninstalling IE7. Again,
whatever version you end up with, you need to first get all security updates
installed, and any other high priority Windows XP updates first. Never
connect to the internet without either Windows Firewall enabled, or a 3rd
party firewall that is part of your antivirus program. You should never
connect to general sites on the internet without antivirus and antispyware
programs active. In Internet options, Security tab, make sure your Internet
Zone security is set to Medium or higher. (Higher, if you connect to music
or game sites.)
Change Automatic Updates to NOTIFY:
Hold WindowsLogo key and press Pause/Break key for System Properties.
Click Automatic Updates tab.
Click "Notify me but don't automatically download or install them."
Click OK.
Note: After you properly uninstall IE8, you can UN-check the IE8 Windows
Update download, and check Don't show me this update again to hide it.
I have had best results accessing Windows Update at:
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us
When a lot of people are accessing that site, (on or shortly after the
second tuesday of each month,) some of the page updates can be very slow,
and sometimes the animated logo near the upper right of the browser even
stops for awhile, but be patient, at least until the cows come home.
(They could at least put an animated GIF picture up while the server is
"thinking", but that makes too much sense.
Since I have had this version of IE, when I am
online, even if I am viewing one website (like MSN) and not running any
other programs, suddenly all systems freeze up so that I have to reboot
constantly (do an Alt-Ctrl-Delete). When I see the percentage of usage
by my CPU, it will be over 50 percent, which it shouldn't be for one
website/page. Other
I wouldn't worry about CPU spikes. Some pages try to do too much. Avoid
bloated pages and websites if you can, and/or disable some of the finicky
addons like flash player. Since for you, it is not just IE freezing, but
"all systems", you have multiple problems, so you need to keep a notepad
handy and write down observations and complete error messages, including
numbers, with date/time, and briefly describe what you and your computer
were doing before, during and after. If you get startup error messages,
press your Pause/Break key so you have time to write down the complete text,
and then Ctrl+Pause/Break to resume.
Use EVENT VIEWER to help pin down problems:
Click Start> Run, type or paste next line and press Enter:
eventvwr.msc
or Start> [settings]Control Panel> Administrative Tools> Event Viewer
Check the Application and System categories for red Error messages. Double
click items to display the information, and then, below the 2 arrow buttons
is a Copy To Clipboard button. You can open Notepad and paste copies one at
a time, and FileSave it, so you can later copy and paste the information
into a reply message here. The yellow Warning messages are less important,
but if anything sticks out like a sore thumb, include a copy also. Usually,
only complete error messages can help us to help you.
Other
than switching back to IE, I have no new programs installed. I have
anti-virus and anti-spyware programs that run continuously, I clean out my
cache, temp files/folders and cookies (except those I have to have) after
every use, etc. Could it be that the new version of IE I installed is not
compatible with my Windows XP Home Edition? Should I uninstall it and find
the older version of IE and re-install that? Or could this be something
else?
It could be a lot of things. It is probably a bad uninstall of IE7, and/or
bad install of IE8. Answer all questions in this and other helper's
messages, and be patient. Try to make the best informed decisions possible.
I'm still using IE6 on this XP-pro computer, and have had no problems. We
have another computer running XP-home and using IE7. I like to wait several
months after new versions come out to see what problems people have and what
fixes and patches may be needed to use the new version. There are a number
of 3rd party addons that worked with IE7, but not with IE8. People using IE8
need to get upgrades of some of their other software, and some websites need
to update their less than strict html code to work properly with IE8. Some
of the slowness issues with IE8 went away for some people after the June
2009 IE cumulative update. Some people that were having no problems with
IE8, started have minor glitches after that same update. I have never had
any problems related to any updates. (So far! I'm getting ready to install
IE security update KB972260, when I stop being long winded.
I have no viruses or spyware that I know of. I do have a lot of useless
Word documents, but it will be a while before I can trash them or copy
them to CD.
Don't confuse slowness issues with hard drive space. Most people should not
need to delete temporary files and defrag the hard drive more often than
once a week. It has been more than 2 months since I have used Disk
Defragmenter to defrag the drive. I used the Analyze function yesterday, and
still have less than 2% fragmentation, and I'm experiencing no problems that
could be due to fragmentation. (Fragmented files that are NOT being accessed
don't matter - They just sit there like Couch Potatoes.
Can anyone advise me of what I can do to solve my problem? Having to
reboot so much and/or waiting for a site to open, etc., is taking up so
much time it's making me crazy. Whereas before I could, for example, go
to 10 websites and make purchases or send a message within an hour or
so, now I'm lucky if I can get to 3 websites and reply to one message
in an 8-hour period because of the slowness, crashing, freezing,
rebooting and waiting. I would really appreciate any help anyone can
give me. I'm desperate! Thank you in advance.
My advice is to answer all questions in this and other messages, and gather
enough information to make a better informed decision first. Ultimately, YOU
have to decide how you are going to do things, and of course, we all have to
live with our own choices, and sometimes, other people's choices.
5. Have you tried running Internet Explorer in no addons mode?
How: click Start, click Run, type or paste next line and press Enter:
iexplore.exe -extoff
or the (likely) full path including quotes:
"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe" -extoff
A.
6. Have you tried individually disabling ALL addons in IE, and re-enabling
them one at a time to see which if any are causing problems?
How: In Internet Explorer, click Tools, click Manage Add-ons. In the "Show"
dropdown, choose Add-ons Currently Loaded. It is pretty obvious how to
proceed from there, but you can still search your Internet Explorer HELP
topics for further information about Add-ons.
A.
(7. Are you wearing your hand-drawn "I [heart] Microsoft" T-Shirt?
A. Just kidding. Let us know how things work out.
You're welcome.--Richard
- - -
IE BONUS SECTION:
What’s New in Internet Explorer 8
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.ie8.aspx
Release Notes for IE8 Final
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/dd441788.aspx
How to Solve Internet Explorer 8 Installation Problems
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949220
IE8 Tips, Caveats and Helpful Links
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=38848
IE8 System Requirements
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/support/system-requirements.aspx
IE8 FAQ [Frequently Asked Questions]
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/support/faq.aspx
About IE7 (and higher) Installation and Anti-Malware Applications
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malware-Applications.aspx
About IE7 & IE8 and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx
Download links for IE8 Final
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/worldwide-sites.aspx
No-charge support for Internet Explorer 8 installation, set-up and usage
(only) is available by phone, based on your locale through 31 December
2009. Customers must be running Windows XP or Windows Vista in a
non-domain environment.
=> USA & Canada Residents: 1-866-234-6020
=> Other locales:
https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?&prid=13043
- - -
Recommendations (May 2009) from "PA Bear [MS MVP]":
=> Install IE8 manually, not via Windows Update/Automatic Updates!!
=> Uninstall all third-party toolbars (e.g., Google; Yahoo; Windows Live)
and third-party Windows Themes before installing IE8.
=> Close all open applications (i.e., anything with a taskbar icon) before
installing or uninstalling IE8.
=> I would strongly recommend disabling your anti-virus application and any
anti-spyware application's "system protections" (other than Defender's)
before installing (or uninstalling) an IE upgrade. If you're running a
third-party firewall, I would recommend disabling it and then enabling the
Windows Firewall before installing (or uninstalling) an IE upgrade.
=> Create a Restore Point manually before installing IE8. [Do NOT use
System Restore to remove/uninstall IE8; instead, see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700. Then use the Restore Point prior to
reinstalling IE8 per these recommendations. Norton users will need to see
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/symantecdoc1.html.]
=> Reboot TWICE after installing or uninstalling IE8.
=> For best chance of success with IE8, make certain that your anti-virus
application, any anti-spyware applications (other than Defender), and your
third-party firewall (if any) are supported in IE8 Final before you decide
to install it.
- - -
