How many browsers are to many??

Hello!! How many browsers are to many. I currently have FF as my default browser and IE8 for a back up. I'm glad I had IE8 because FF failed to load after doing chkdsk, which found no problems. I used IE8 to access the internet where I down loaded FF and installed it over the top. FF is now working correctly to my relief. I do not have a clue how FF got corrupted. I just know I would have been up the creek with out a paddle if I hadn't had another browser to access the internet where I could down load FF. I do not have any infections and my PC runs like a top. I have good security programs and I'm sure I have no infections. I run Avira ,Online Armor, and Malwarebytes in real time. I do not have a clue what caused all this. I'm a fairly skilled and knowledgeable of XP3. I have 7 years experience and I never had this happen before. If any one has a answer, I'm all ears.
Thank you!!:confused

 

Hi oneeye.

Having two browsers installed is certainly Not too many.
I currently have Five browsers:

1. Opera 11 (default]
2. Internet Explorer 8
3. Firefox 4.0.1
4. Pale Moon 4.0
5. K-Meleon 1.5.4

Don't know if IE can be completely removed, as that was an issue in one of the past lawsuits against Microsoft.
So at least you will always have one browser.

Also, I think it's not that unusual for a browser to Occasionally have a hiccup, although it can be
disturbing and alarming when that happens.
I just had a strange experience yesterday with Opera when suddenly some basic HotKeys did not work
and the browser just did not respond properly.
I quit the browser, did a system ReStart and started the browser again.
It presented the optional Startup dialog box saying that the browser had not been properly shut down during it's last run.
After that, everything was fine.

You may have found that doing an OS restart may have corrected the problem.

On another note, I often save the installation file for the current and previous version of the
programs that I have installed, so I don't need to go find it and download again if a reinstall is needed.

 

FF 4.0 gives me so much grief, I reloaded 3.6.17 for both Laptop and Virtualbox within XP.

I still have FF 4.0 on the Ubuntu side. Linux cannot run IE 8)

 

I've got FF/Palemoon and IE of course. As a secondary backup, I have a Linux boot disk, can't remember what flavour ATM, Knoppix I believe. It has saved me several times, slow but effective unless one has a hardware issue of course.

 

I think the bottom line here, oneeyejack, is that there is no such thing as too many browsers. Thats like asking how many games are too many, or how many media files are too many - to which I would respond : "How much room do you have on your HD?"

 

Wow!! Thanks everyone. Some great reply's. I learned a bunch. I may just install a couple more browsers. FF hasn't given me any problems until this. I do a chkdsk every couple months, just to make sure every thing is OK. FF would not let me on the internet after chkdsk. The message was FF crashed, please send a report. I sent several:-D. I didn't try a reboot. I usually try that first, but figured my PC had rebooted after chkdsk. but now I can see that may have helped and will do that next time. Good Idea to save the installation file, so I wouldn't have to have access to the net to install the browser. I have plenty of room on my Drive, so I'm now thinking I might install Opera. I'm glad to know you can't have to many browsers. I really want to thank everyone for your reply's. I'm much smarter now and better informed.
Thanks!!
PS I never knew there were so many browsers. I had never heard of some of these. No one mentioned Chrome. Is is any good??

 

Chrome is one of the best out there.

 

Thanks augiedoggie!! This is a little off topic, but this is the reason I did a chkdsk. I got this message after a reboot. What exactly does it mean and do I need to worry about it??:confused

 

There has been no lawsuit about not being able to remove it. The issue was about MS only offering IE. Now they offer you a choice of additional browsers, any of which can be made your default browser. However IE remains the only browser which can use Windows Update, so your stuck with it whatever.

Agree with augie about Chrome, but for those who have Vista or 7 there is also IE9, and if fast is what rings your bell then that's the one to have at present.

 

I don't know but chkdsk running bothers me. Is your HDD starting to make squeeky noises too? Might be time for a new one.:confused

 

Googling your error it does seem mostly to be hardware related - either a suspect RAM stick or a hard disk error. When you ran chkdsk did you take the full test and check the disk for bad sectors? It can take an hour or two but I think it would be worth doing. If that comes out clean there is also a memory test we could suggest for you.

 

Thanks!! Hard Drive is just a month old. No not making any noises. I just lost a Drive because of power hits during a storm. I think my Drive is OK, but will keep an eye open.

Thanks! Yes I ran the full test. Every thing was good. I'm familiar with the memory test. I might test it again if I can find my CD:-D. I will attach my chkdsk log. Would a sfc /scannow be advised. I haven't done that lately.
Thank you

Event Type: Information
Event Source: Winlogon
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1001
Date: 6/12/2011
Time: 6:57:52 PM
User: N/A
Computer: DONETTA-C46FD94
Description:
Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is .

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.
Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.
Cleaning up 85 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 85 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 85 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
Windows replaced bad clusters in file 46069
of name \WINDOWS\$hf_mig$\KB976325-IE8\SP3QFE\ieframe.dll.
Windows replaced bad clusters in file 66697
of name \WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386\danim.dll.
Windows replaced bad clusters in file 80091
of name \WINDOWS\SOFTWA~1\Download\5457b20e4d74937d47b86f91637bd134\update\updspapi.dll.
File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
Free space verification is complete.
CHKDSK discovered free space marked as allocated in the volume bitmap.
Windows has made corrections to the file system.

39062015 KB total disk space.
9773180 KB in 45985 files.
19444 KB in 6696 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
243939 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
29025452 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
9765503 total allocation units on disk.
7256363 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
d0 b6 01 00 d4 cd 00 00 6d d6 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........m.......
54 13 00 00 02 00 00 00 10 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 T...............
68 e3 6b 02 00 00 00 00 c4 5a 00 1d 00 00 00 00 h.k......Z......
de 90 c0 16 00 00 00 00 e2 63 6b 66 01 00 00 00 .........ckf....
8c 3d f5 21 01 00 00 00 20 f9 a7 c3 02 00 00 00 .=.!.... .......
99 9e 36 00 00 00 00 00 10 3a 07 00 a1 b3 00 00 ..6......:......
00 00 00 00 00 f0 81 54 02 00 00 00 28 1a 00 00 .......T....(...

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.


For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

 

Well there are quite a few disk errors there, any of which may have caused this message to start appearing. Good idea to run chkdsk every few days I think.

 

Thanks! I didn't know you needed to run chkdsk that often. I will run it more often. Could you refresh me on how to use Memtest 86V 3.5 CD?? It's been awhile sense I did that.
If I see that message again, I will do the memory test.
I want to thank everyone for all your reply's and suggestions. I really appreciate it.

 

Hi

The amount of browsers you have installed is limited to your hard drive space. The ability to use a certain number simultaneously is limited to your RAM and other hardware components' capability.

Personally, I have IE9 (I hardly use, though I need it for some work sites that don't play well with other browsers), FF4, SR Iron (a secure alternative to Chrome, which I refuse to use due to its insecure coding and privacy leaks to Google), Opera, and Safari. I run them all at the same time (except IE9), with multiple tabs open in each (I currently have only 8 tabs open in FF4). I'm running with an SSD and 12GB of DDR3 RAM, though... so it doesn't tax my system much.

I'll reiterate SR Iron is a GREAT alternative to Chrome. :-D

 

I have come to the conclusion that two browsers is about all I can handle with the rig I have. XP3 Home Addition. 100GB Drive with two partitions 40-60. 1 GB Ram. 7 year old Dell 3000, single core processor. I'm just a simple old man with a simple rig. I'll leave all this fancy stuff up to you young people. I sure know more about browsers than I did. I learned a lot and I want to thank everyone for your posts. I hope this has helped others as much as it helped me.
Thanks
Gary!!

 

Well normally you don't, but as you are getting this error message and as CHKDSK has found a few disk errors, it might be a good idea until you are sure your disk is performing A1

You just boot from the CD, which on most systems is the default anyway. If it doesn't boot then you need to check that BIOS boots first from CD, and if it still doesn't boot you may need to burn a new Memtest CD.

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

 

OK I remember now. My PC BIOS boots first from CD.
Thank you friend!!

 

I didn't mean that the lawsuit was About not being able to remove Internet Explorer, only that this was An Issue that arose as a consequence of the judges ruling.

United_States vs Microsoft

It could be said, although not by me, that the vice president's reply to the judge illustrates Microsoft's typical arrogance.

 

A while back, when I suspected that there may be a problem with one or both of my hard drives,
someone here recommended that I check the drive manufacturer's web site for a disk diagnostic tool.

The tool that I got from Hitachi is an ISO file that can be burned to a CD and run at boot time.

Don't understand how this works, but the test uses microcode to track and report any error that has occurred
during the drive's usage history. The test gives a report of the drive's current operating condition.

That was a great suggestion and it eased my mind a lot seeing that the test was good.

 

In terms of back-ups I don't think there is much that beats having a back-up laptop. That speed lines the process of solving my problems when I have a laptop that is problem free to research the issue with the problem laptop. Just saying I cheap $200 backup could be serious time saver.

 

Hello!! Why not buy a external USB and keep a current back up image of your OS. When you have problems, you just restore your back up image and your good to go. I can restore my PC in about 30 minutes just like it was the day I created the image. I can restore that image to a brand new Hard Drive.

 

Hi every one. I wish I had better information, but I seriously don't know what corrected the problem. I have to assume it had some thing to do with chkdsk. I just know I'm not getting this balloon any more and that's good.
Thank you everyone.
Gary!!

 

Hello!! This is a little over my pay grade, but I used this program, and it said I passed all the tests. Is this any good??
Thank you!
--------------- SeaTools for Windows v1.2.0.1 ---------------
6/14/2011 12:23:01 PM
Model: Maxtor 6L100P0
Serial Number: L2388YLG
Firmware Revision: BAJ41G20
SMART - Pass 6/14/2011 12:23:01 PM
Short DST - Started 6/14/2011 12:23:33 PM
Short DST - Pass 6/14/2011 12:24:49 PM
Identify - Started 6/14/2011 12:25:06 PM
SMART: Supported and enabled
48-bit Address feature set supported: False
Max LBA: 195813072
Host Protected Area features: Supported and enabled
Mandatory Power Management: Supported and enabled
Security Mode: Supported not enabled
SET MAX security extension: Supported not enabled
Advanced Power Managment: Supported not enabled
Download Firmware: False
SMART self-test supported: True
SMART error logging supported: True
Drive Temperature(C/F): 40/104
Power-On Hours: 8915
Short Generic - Started 6/14/2011 12:26:33 PM
Short Generic - Pass 6/14/2011 12:28:01 PM
Identify - Started 6/14/2011 12:30:16 PM
Identify - Started 6/14/2011 12:31:02 PM
SMART: Supported and enabled
48-bit Address feature set supported: False
Max LBA: 195813072
Host Protected Area features: Supported and enabled
Mandatory Power Management: Supported and enabled
Security Mode: Supported not enabled
SET MAX security extension: Supported not enabled
Advanced Power Managment: Supported not enabled
Download Firmware: False
SMART self-test supported: True
SMART error logging supported: True
Drive Temperature(C/F): 40/104
Power-On Hours: 8915

 

I don't know how to evaluate the data that you posted, but that appears to be the proper diagnostic program.
The current version is 1.2.0.5 which you can download HERE

There is a tutorial here: SeaTools for Windows

 

Hi

Everything you posted looks good, but you didn't do the Long Test. The Short Test doesn't catch much (though it's always a good prerequisite to a Long Test). Please run the Long Test and post whether it passes or fails please.

 

Hello friend!! Sorry for the delay. Been gone. Passed the long test. It took a long time to complete.

 

Hi

Looks like your drive is good to go! And yeah, it's called the "long test" because it takes a long time!:-D

According to all of the diagnostics, nothing is wrong with the drive.

For future reference, any time I purchase a new drive, I use the manufacturer's disk test utility to look at the SMART status, do the short test, and do the long test, to ensure the disk is good before using it, as I've lost data in the past due to hard drives failing within a week of owning them. Usually, if a drive tests well out of the box with no errors, it's likely to last a few years at least. A drive with any errors to start out with is likely defective to the point of failing soon after.

 

Thanks friend for all your help!!

 

No problem. :major

 

I would do this too, but my issue is with the unexpected. When you try to do something and fail and have no backup pc to post questions and do research on the web, then you end up having to either spend time trying to find someone to help you or let you use there computer, or spend money paying someone else to fix it, or both.

I carry a backup, but the second(cheap) backup laptop has saved me a lot of time and frustration when things don't go as expected.

 

I have multiple computers in the house, so no dedicated "backup computer" per se, but at least the chances of all of them breaking at the same time is small!:-D

 

Hi !! I have one 7 year old Dell. I keep current back up images of my OS on two Segate external USB's, I use the free Macrium Reflect. It has never let me down yet and I have restored a image several times. I just recovered from a very stupid error and I'm glad I had my PC backed up.
Gary!! As of today, I'm wireless. That was a job:-D:-D

 

this is a little off topic but instead of Chrome or SR Iron you should give rockmelt 3 beta a try it's really fast browser.

I would defo add it to the list of other browsers for sure.

Here is my List of browsers.

Rockmelt 3 beta (default)
Opera 11.50 beta
IE 9
IE 10 platform preview
Firefox 5.0

 

Yeah, I tried the Rockmelt browser... it's basically aimed for Facebook. SR Iron's still better IMO, and has more addon support (it can use Chrome addons).