WinXP & IE8 Problem

I have a PC here that seems to be running perfectly, except for the fact that when I launch IE8, the PC immediately locks up with no error message. Only powering off or hitting the reset button brings the PC back. I can surf via a different browser (Chrome is already installed and functional). IE8 is NOT listed in Add/Remove Programs, so uninstalling it is not possible (at least via normal methods). How can I remove IE8? How can I 'roll back' to IE6 or IE7? I tried System Restore, but there are no restore points older than about 40 days ago (IE8 was installed about 8 months ago I think). I have tried repair installs on other PCs using an XP SP2 IE6 disc, and sometimes this works, but other times the PC will never boot to the desktop again (I really don't feel like describing all the various problems that can occur preventing successful loading). Any ideas? Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

How about reinstalling IE? Might just be layering on top of itself, but it might be worth a shot, especially if it forces itself to overwrite any corrupted internal files.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...D5-8C3D-4347-8C03-08CDECD8852B&displaylang=en

 

Hmmmm... I'll try that, but IIRC, the install won't even start, it will say something like "The version you have installed is newer than blah blah blah" since Windows Updates have been performed since the IE8 was installed, but I'll try anyway.... a weird thing is that I just now booted to Safe Mode w/ Networking and IE8 works fine. :confused I think the problem may be tied to the very new (and equally crappy) AVG2011. I had disabled the AVG services and removed it from msconfig and the PC seemed much more stable at that point. However, I did NOT try to use IE at that time, so I'm not sure what the heck is going on.... still in progress LOL

 

Ah, yeah - thought you might have already tried safe mode. Weird that IE doesn't show up in Add/Remove.

 

Repair or reinstall IE both fixit or manual shown
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318378

 

Thanks for the info and links everyone, but it turns out that the dismal AVG2011 is responsible for IE8 lock ups. I'm using IE8 on the PC in question right now w/o problems. I had to go back to safe mode, access services.msc from the Run box, then disable everything related to AVG. Then I unchecked it from msconfig. No to uninstall it completely.... I think I'll probably use Revo Uninstaller or maybe I'll check out Simnet Uninstaller. I've used Revo dozens of times (it's awesome for complete removals), but I've never tried Siment's app, so maybe I'll check it out now.

(I may just start an AVG2011 'complaint' thread - in the short time it's been unleashed on a trusting public, I've seen it as the root of MANY problems, including blocking USB devices in one situation; yup; I worked on a client's PC and set up a total of 5 USB devices: printer/scanner/fax all-in-one unit, external media reader, a USB hard drive, and two pieces of business equipment like a bar code reader and specialized printer for the bar code reader; and it all ran perfectly for 3-4 days; then one of their on-site IT "geniuses" decided that the free Avira was "no good" (his actual words) and that the paid version of MBAM was "weak and needed help" (again, his words) so Avira was removed and replaced with AVG2011; less than 30 minutes later, I rec'd a phone call that all the USB devices were "gone" and not working; after much swearing, driver install attempts, system restore attempts (the IT "genius" turned off and purged the system restore points), I eventually noticed that Avira was gone, and that AVG2011 was now installed, and sure enough, removing AVG2011 restored full functionality to all the USB devices; I know, a looong and boring "get-to-the-freekin'-point-already-dlb" story, but it is to illustrate the power of AVG2011 to royally mess up a fully functional PC)

 

Hello,
AVG makes a remover for AVG2011 in both 32bit and 64bit.

http://www.avg.com/us-en/download-tools

 

HUGE THANKS!!!!

(I gave Simnet Uninstaller a try, and it's lame; all it does is launch the program's own built-in uninstaller, and if that errors out, that's it; with Revo, the program's uninstaller is launched also, but even if it fails, Revo continues its process, scans the reg and hard drive, and removes everything... Simnet is more-or-less the same as Add/Remove Programs but with a fancy GUI)

 

Hi dlb, I have heard real horror stories on XP and AVG2011 . I also posted in their forum, but didn't get any answer.( My questions were not important enough) I 'had' AVG 9, and was getting the CONSTANT reminder to upgrade to the new and IMPROVED AVG LOL

I finally got tired of that noise, and removed mine via REVO and installed AVAST! and I am soooo happy. I think you are experiencing what everyone else already did with XP and the new and IMPROVED AVG.uke

Everyone else is removing,and going to ALVIRA or AVAST. I like the AVAST, because it is Free, it updates itself , and is basically very user friendly.

I also think REVO will remove it all for you. It sure is a pain, and sooo many others have had the same issues as you did. I sure do hope you can get it back up and running. Good Luck.