IE issues

[HISSIN50]

Hello,

Time for the ubiquitous computer thread.

My G/F has a Dell laptop and she can log onto the internet and hit a few sites. But then after a few mins, if she tries to go to a site or do an internet search, the page wont even try to load. She gets an error page (unable to display page) and then a pop-up comes up and says that IE was unable to access the server.

She said she has also gotten a message (once) to notify the administrator.

If she logs off the internet and back on, it works again for a page or two.

She runs XP home (it had SP2 installed upon purchase - it's a fairly new machine).

I dont have a clue. The only update it shows that it needs is SP1. I dont get that - if it has SP2, why would it need SP1?

She is against wanting to use FF.

I really appreciate any and all thoughts. I dont have a stinkin clue.

 

[The Green GT]

Step one: Convince her to use Firefox
Step two: download Firefox
Step three: Never use IE again cause it sucks and FF is much better.

 

[VibrantRedGT]

IE gives me a headache. Try the Mozilla Firefox browser. Tabbed internet pages rule.

 

[1slow95]

Seriously, try firefox at least for diagnostic purposes. Whether FF has the same problem or not will tell us where to start.

It's also a good idea to go ahead and run an Ad-Aware and Spybot scan. You can get both from www.download.com if you don't have them.

 

[timeless2]

Head to Microsoft.com and reinstall IE, using their executable as a starting point. A fresh install of IE sometimes clears up issues.

 

[drakesdad]

IE gives me a headache. Try the Mozilla Firefox browser. Tabbed internet pages rule.

Agreed, I won't use anything else......Explorer bites

 

[Ozz]

reinstall
confirm it was IE's error
download FF anyway
enjoy browsing

I'm forced to use IE at work and I hate it. It seems so archaic.

 

[Blackened302]

i agree w/ mike--run some spyware (ad-aware, microsoft anti-spyware, hijackthis!, bhodemon--download.com) and download FF for diagnostic purposes (and slowly make it the default browser, hehe)

 

[SeventyMach1]

Agreed. I'd download FF for diagnostic purposes .... but I'm not going to say it's worth keeping. I had FF for a while .... I just didn't like it. I may give it a try again sometime, though.

 

[Smak94]

It's possible that the internet connection might me dropping as well. You could have her check the status lights on the dsl/cable/isdn modem when she gets the error to see if it might be loosing sync. I would definately try adware/spybot to see if it pics up anything. I've never really had any problems with IE, just keep it updated and don't be clicking/downloading anything you shouldn't be.

 

[loudpedal99]

Step one: Convince her to use Firefox
Step two: download Firefox
Step three: Never use IE again cause it sucks and FF is much better.

 

[HISSIN50]

Thank you for the replies guys.

I had mentioned she didnt want FF. I will work on seeing if she wants to use it (she has in the past) but I want to fix the existing issue if I can (I'm just stubborn like that). Certainly for diagnostics it will be used. (I have it DL's on my machine too but never used it).

Smak, nice idea but we're on dial-up.

I will see what she has for adware software and run through it or add more.

Tim, Dave, et al, thanks for the info. I will look into that probably end up doing something with the reinstall; I need to go read up on that process. Do you just reinstall IE or do you have to reinstall IE as a part of other programs? I guess I am asking if any info is lost or if other issues arise if one has to do this (I ask because I often dont understand half the info on MS's pages).

I was workin on the house today and didnt get around to it - tomorrow I hope.

Thanks again!

 

[zZsKyZz]

www.slackware.com

Get rid of all your problems...

 

[timeless2]

Tim, Dave, et al, thanks for the info. I will look into that probably end up doing something with the reinstall; I need to go read up on that process. Do you just reinstall IE or do you have to reinstall IE as a part of other programs? I guess I am asking if any info is lost or if other issues arise if one has to do this (I ask because I often dont understand half the info on MS's pages).

Glad to help. I only use IE for a select few pages that require intensive java scripts to run. The Firefox java engine is strong, but not as robust as one might hope. Many devleopers still gear pages towards an IE majority, but the trend is shifting...

Here is the page for downloading Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...CB-5E5D-48F5-B02B-20B602228DE6&displaylang=en

So to answer your question, yes, you can just re-install IE separately. No information, cookies, cache, favorites, history should be lost. In most cases, it won't be, but I cannot make any guarantees (remember, this is Microsoft we are dealing with).

Give that a shot and see if it resolves the IE issue she was having.