New Version of Internet Explorer Sluggish

May 4, 2009

Hi,

I recently downloaded a new version of the IE browser, number "8". So I have IE-8 installed, but it is not my default browser....Firefox is.

Well, I noticed PC was running kind of slow after that (?) so I decided to do virus scans online. Firefox won't do Kaspersky or A-Squared, so I had to launch IE8. Well, it took forever to open it up, and it had a quick set-up deal which I raced through and am not sure I chose the best options. So now when I launch IE8 it takes a long time to open to my homepage.

Then I ran online scans with Kaspersky and A-Squared, which turned up nothing. Took a long time, too. I could keep on running various scans, but I'm not sure if that's the way to proceed here. I have AVG Free, Spybot S&D, SpywareBlaster, and BOCleaner and/or Comodo run from my startup.

Also, auto 'Windows Update' has run since the IE8 install, so if there was a patch or bug-fix I should have got it by now. Also, shut down and re-booted a few times since then.....

One other question. I have under my 'installed programs' list a bunch of .NET framework stuff, which I did optionally, but I never use MSN Messenger or Outlook Express, so I wonder if I need these bulky apps.

One last thing. I tried to see if there was a system restore point from before the IE8 install. The calendar only has May and I can't get it to go back to April, so there's only one restore point and it's on May 2, way after the IE8 install. What is the deal with auto-restore points? Do they clear the history after the end of the month ? How can I make lasting restore points every few days that stick around for a month or two ? Would I do them manually ?

Thanks for any help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Yours truly,

-scottportraits

 

Probably it is Spybot that's slowing your system down. Look: http://www.safer-networking.org/en/news/2009-03-25.html Just uninstall it since it's not compatible with IE 8.

If you don't have the latest version of SpywareBlaster, remove it and install the latest version. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=2859

Here some more info on the above. http://groups.google.com/group/micr..._frm/thread/3ef37656ce18f036/579478566ac1ee9b

See if that fixes it. If no change, just uninstall IE 8 under Add/Remove Programs or wait until other members post.

I can't tell you about the other stuff so hopefully someone else will jump in.

 

May 4 '09 5:30pm est

Let's continue with this topic since others might be in need of the info. It seems to me that all these features in IE8 do slow the PC's CPU resources. I would rather uninstall or roll-back the IE browser to version 7 again, if that is possible.
Spybot is fine and I have the latest SpywareBlaster. It seems to me that it was a mistake to upgrade from IE7 to IE8, especially since my default browser is the superior Mozilla Firefox.
Remember, the only reason I launched the new IE8 browser was to run online scans from Kaspersky and A-Squared (since Firefox won't work with these apps), and the only reason I decided to run the scans was because the PC had started acting sluggish after upgrading to IE8.

The Big burning existential question of the day is this: Can I 'roll-back' to the earlier IE7 version, without a lot of tedium ? I rarely use the IE browser anyway, so having it tax my PC's CPU usage is TOTALLY unacceptable.
I'm sure there's other MG's out there that love Firefox and wouldn't awfully mind having an 'old' version of IE installed; one that did not goof-up your machine.

I want to go back to IE7 without too many technicalities, since I have heard that uninstalling IE and then re-installing it is a big, tedious, and potentially perilous chore.

Thank you again for any help....you folks are great.

-scottportraits

 

This article from Microsoft will tell you how to remove IE 8. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700
Partial Quote.

If IE 8 shows up again on automatic updates, just "don't install" I believe it would show up under Windows optional updates though.

Another way is to block IE 8 from downloading. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...28-5806-4ba6-9e4e-8e224ec6dd8c&displaylang=en Here's a Major Geeks thread about it. http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=188537
Hope this helps.

 

Sorry about that misquote DomLuc. Many Spybot users DO use the immunization though and can/may get problems and don't know why it's sluggish after downloading IE 8. Spybot's article is dated March 2009 and more people will have downloaded or will since then.

 

Which Comodo are you referring to in the opening post?
Stated as BOCleaner and/or Comodo.
If Comodo Internet Security, I hope you don't have the AV portion installed along with AVG.

 

Before i disabled the immunization option (Undo)in Spybot,IE8 would take about 25 sec. to load & open ,works fine now with Spywareblaster totally enabled,loads in a couple of seconds,I still use spybot for scanning.

 

Monday May 4 9.30pm est

Okay.....let's get down to it. First, hrlow2, I had Comodo's BOCleaner Free Edition (from your site), but have now uninstalled it. I think it was MajorGeeks that suggested having it in the startup menu last year. It was not the whole suite, so I wasn't running two Anti-Virus apps simultaneously. I decided to uninstall it, just to see what would happen. I now have only three things on my startup menu: 1) AVG Free anti-virus, 2) Windows Defender, and 3) Sygate Firewall. Now, if that ain't economical and minimalistic, I don't know what would be.

I also uninstalled my old friend Spybot S&D, as OMA advised earlier today. I did not see any difference; that is, IE8 was still taking forever after that, and the whole system still seemed slow, even with Spybot uninstalled.

I went to the link provided by oma, "http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700" , and ran the 'Fixit' tool. This helped roll-back the IE browser to the earlier version, namely IE7. Re-booted, and now all seems copacetic....that is, the whole system isn't acting like gum got stuck in the gears and navigating around, launching apps, opening browsers, and using Windows Explorer seemed "sluggish".

I will visit your download section and re-download the latest Spybot and install it again, since it has been like an old friend for so long.
I will spend some time tonight doing a few things and really test out the system......but I can tell you right now that the day I loaded and patched IE8 in was a dark day. It immediately caused my whole system to slow down, and it was a medium-density pain in the rump. I'm glad I got rid of it. That's why I say Firefox is a superior browser.

Microsoft ought to fix whatever bugs are in IE8, but I will still rarely use it. I only launch IE except to run online scans, like Kaspersky or Panda.

Any more info about that .NET framework junk I have tons of, but wonder if I even need it. I never use MS Messenger, and I'm not on a big network.

Will defragment and do some housecleaning, then report back as the results come in.

Yours truly,

-scottportraits

 

Scottportraits,

The Kaspersky online scan can be run in Firefox and in Opera. I've run it in both browsers.

 

This link writes in easy understandable language what .NET Framework is about. The link is a bit old so in the meantime additional .NET Framework versions came out.

http://ask-leo.com/what_is_the_net_framework_and_do_i_need_all_these_versions.html

Good to hear that the "Fixit" tool worked for you!

 

Wow !! That's great. You answered my questions, and the machine seems to be running smoothly.

My advice to anyone still with IE7.....leave it and DO NOT upgrade to IE8. In fact, switch to Mozilla Firefox, a better browser as your default.

This topic is closed and resolved satisfactorily.

-scottportraits