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» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » My Internet Explorer 7 browser is acting up...

   
Author Topic: My Internet Explorer 7 browser is acting up...
777
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...or, simply not acting at all. It just sits there, blank, with the stupid "connecting" indicator at the top. Then it freezes, allows nothing except for typing in addresses, and every address results in a warning noting that that specified address is unavailable.

Please help me. By help, I don't mean suggest an alternative to IE. IE is fine with me. What I need is help understanding what is going on with the browser software. I thought I'd throw this question out into the Hatrack database, since it would appear that many people on this site actually know how to both use and fix a computer.

BTW, I downloaded it through a Windows update off of Microsoft.com. I'm not sure if that helps any.

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Alcon
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quote:
Please help me. By help, I don't mean suggest an alternative to IE.
Sorry but the only answer to your question I have is that IE is crap. IE has always been crap. Go get Firefox, you will be much happier for it. It works, works well with no questions asked, is well supported, is small and efficient. Did I mention that it actually works?
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Altįriėl of Dorthonion
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I've never had any problems with either firefox or IE. However, I prefer IE7. Firefox is simply not stylish enough.
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Alcon
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quote:
Firefox is simply not stylish enough.
[Roll Eyes] Haven't you ever heard of KISS? That's how firefox keeps itself really small, plus if you don't like the default style, you can download skins and themes for it.

https://addons.mozilla.org/themes.php?app=firefox

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Altįriėl of Dorthonion
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quote:
Originally posted by Alcon:
quote:
Firefox is simply not stylish enough.
[Roll Eyes] Haven't you ever heard of KISS? That's how firefox keeps itself really small, plus if you don't like the default style, you can download skins and themes for it.

https://addons.mozilla.org/themes.php?app=firefox

I know. I used to have it on my other computer. But IE has never really given me any problems and I've always liked it mostly because it displays web design better.
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Boris
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quote:
Originally posted by 777:
...or, simply not acting at all. It just sits there, blank, with the stupid "connecting" indicator at the top. Then it freezes, allows nothing except for typing in addresses, and every address results in a warning noting that that specified address is unavailable.

Please help me. By help, I don't mean suggest an alternative to IE. IE is fine with me. What I need is help understanding what is going on with the browser software. I thought I'd throw this question out into the Hatrack database, since it would appear that many people on this site actually know how to both use and fix a computer.

BTW, I downloaded it through a Windows update off of Microsoft.com. I'm not sure if that helps any.

Fixing this is a matter of some fairly complex troublshooting (By complex I mean numerous steps that branch out depending on results). Bear in mind, of course, the IE 7 is new and microsoft, and I think we all know about new microsoft products.

First step to determine the problem, go to start->run-> type cmd and hit enter

That brings on a command line window. In there type "ping www.yahoo.com." if it says connection refused or "ping request could not find host www.yahoo.com" then you are having connectivity issues, which is a fun road to go down (Numerous problems from hardware failure to driver failure, to winsock errors can cause this. It can even be your ISP's fault.)

If it brings back replies, then the problem is caused by settings in IE. Possibly incorrect proxy settings or something similar. Alternately, things could have gotten messed up when IE 7 installed itself. Of course, there is always the potential for virus/malware problems. Go get AVG Free and run a scan on your computer.

And with that thought, I should ask if you have McAfee or Norton security suites on your computer. Both of these have firewalls that are incredibly finicky with new software. I've seen numerous computers that were almost unusable until Norton and McAfee were removed. If you have either of them, I would recommend uninstalling them and using something that doesn't grab so much control of your computer. AVG is excellent, I've heard Kaspersky is pretty good as well, though I don't know if they offer a free version. The loss of the 10+ memory hogging services either security suites require will help with performance as well.

Like I said, there are a lot of things that can cause this problem. If you can work through what I've mentioned and respond with progress, I can move a little further.

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erosomniac
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quote:
because it displays web design better.
O_O

Just because it recognizes colorful scroll-bar code does not make this true. At all.

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Altįriėl of Dorthonion
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I'm not referring just to the scroll bar. It also displays transparencies and javascript better.
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Alcon
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quote:
because it displays web design better.
No it doesn't... web developers hate IE with a passion, cause it has all kinds of quirks and displays all kinds of code wrong. It doesn't follow the accepted open standards that pretty much all other web browsers do.

For more information, look at the wikipedia article about it: Critisms of Internet Explorer Regarding Open Standards

Some highlights:

quote:
Unlike other browsers, Internet Explorer does not obey MIME types specified in the MIME Content-Type header. For example, a document sent as text/plain containing HTML-like tags will be interpreted as a HTML document, while it was intended to be displayed as a plain text document.
quote:
Internet Explorer offers virtually no support for new features of CSS Level 2 (inline-block and vertical-align: middle being the notable exceptions).
quote:
One of Internet Explorer's most famous CSS bugs is the Internet Explorer box model bug, where the width as defined by Internet Explorer is different from the one specified by the W3C. As a result, webmasters had to design webpages separately for Internet Explorer and other browsers, or otherwise implement workarounds to ensure the appearance of their webpages in Internet Explorer is not affected detrimentally.

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erosomniac
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quote:
I'm not referring just to the scroll bar.
I know, I was joking.

quote:
It also displays transparencies and javascript better.
?? Example?
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TheHumanTarget
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I like IE7...and haven't had a single issue with it since installing it.
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King of Men
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I downloaded Firefox the other day, but haven't got around to installing it yet. [Embarrassed]

<-- Feels geek-shame

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777
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Boris: Maybe it's my Trend Micro-PCcillin antivirus software. It could be that it's just not allowing my IE to connect to the internet.

But I'll try your suggestions anyway. Or I'll have my dad look into it, as he's more involved with the computer's technical aspects than I am.

Alcon: Thanks for the input. I understand that IE is--for the most part--crap, but I'm fine with what I have at the moment. I don't really feel like downloading Firefox at the moment (I know, that's heresy), as I have other things to worry about. I'm typing this through Juno, which is a fine substitute until I get IE working again.

It would seem a little bit overkill (to me) to have a third browser installed on one computer.

Ah, well. Maybe I'll eventually get Firefox, but it won't be today. It certainly won't be tomorrow, either. I'm fine with what I've got--even if it's a piece of crap.

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beautifulgirl57
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I've used IE for a looong time, and I recently downloaded Firefox. I like Firefox better because it has little fav. buttons at the top ^_^ which is a stupid reason but they're just so useful.
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Boris
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quote:
Originally posted by beautifulgirl57:
I've used IE for a looong time, and I recently downloaded Firefox. I like Firefox better because it has little fav. buttons at the top ^_^ which is a stupid reason but they're just so useful.

IE lost me when it lost the favorites button and turned in into a secondary window. I've used Netscape/Firefox ever since.
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B34N
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It's IE ... enough said. [Razz]
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Stan the man
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I use a tabbed web browser called FlashPeak SlimBrowser. It's based off of IE, but is not a microsoft product. I like it because of all the tabs in the window, vice all huddling on my taskbar. that and it has a great password program to go along with it called RoboForm. They just made it available for use on FireFox not too long ago. Yes, I can change skins on it too. And it's free. except for the RoboForm. To save more than 20 passwords you have to pay like 20 bucks or something to get the pro version, and the license is good for 2 computers. It also fills out forms for you if you want.
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Goody Scrivener
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We're starting to get those automatic update popups here at the office. Two of the attorneys told the computer to install IE7 without making sure it was okay with IT (me). And both of those attorneys started to experience major graphics lag. Stuff was happening as they were clicking all over hell, they just weren't seeing the reactions on their screens.

I don't know if what we're seeing is related to what 777 reported in the original post. One computer did have the "connecting" thing going on like 777, and when I tried to get out, I discovered that the rest of the graphics were also hung up on him.

So now I've told everyone else in the office not to accept the update because of those two machines (and to be honest I'd forgotten about this thread till I came in to ask for ideas and found this thread on a search). Maybe in six months or so, once they've started patching the holes, I might consider letting them update.

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