Why must I reboot to get on IE after prolonged time on puter?

Greetings all,
I'm never sure what info is pertinent to problem. I have a Dell Inspiron running XP with IE6.0 (SP2). We switched last month to dsl, using a Siemens modem connected by a honkin' yellow wire.

If I come out of having the bad boy in Standby, or sometimes just if I've been piddling around on a Word doc for awhile, it won't let me start IE without rebooting. Not a big deal, but annoying, and us technophobes hate never knowing WHAT we're doing to upset these temperamental machines.

I update and run Ad-Aware, Spybot, AVG, ZoneAlarmFirewall, CCleaner, Spyware Blaster and probably some other stuff I forget at the mo.

Possibly related ... (this has happened on previous puter and I forget what solved it) whenever we shut down it always tells me there's something running and if I don't click "End Program" I'll be there til the Last Trump sounds.

What other info do I need to tell you wonderful folk to help you help me?

GrammawNewbie, Perplexed As Ever

 

What happens when you try to launch IE?
Any error messages?

Does iexplore.exe show up in your process list? (ie hit ctrl+shift+esc, switch to 'Processes' tab)

 

Just takes forever to pretend to load, then a this-pg-not-available-type msg

I'll have to try again later and see what it says when having a stubborn episode.

 

An easy step to take would be to try running IE Fix. This utility will repair:

*

When you click a hyperlink in an e-mail message or on a Web page, or right-click a hyperlink on a Web page and then click Open in New Window, you may experience one or more of the following issues:
o

Nothing happens
o

The new window may be blank
o

You may receive a scripting error message

*

When you use the Print command or the Print Preview command in Internet Explorer, nothing may happen.
*

When you try to connect to Web folders, you may receive the following error message: "The current operation could not be completed because an unexpected error has occurred."
*

Internet Options Advanced tab is completely blank.
*

Internet Explorer About box version information is completely blank.
*

Address bar search does not work.
*

Unable to type in text boxes in a search engine or website.


Please note that you will need your Windows XP installation disk to perform this procedure.

 

Thanks - if I have time I will try that. Usually it works just fine (eg first thing in AM I boot up and click a button on keyboard to get weather, no prob), but hangs/doesn't respond when (for lack of correct term) idling a long time, either standby or using another app. That's what irks me ... why it works at first or if I get out of IE and decide I need it again fairly soon, but if I'm away for awhlie with puter on, it balks.

Again, thanks. You've helped me with issues before and I appreciate it.

 

Are you using IE7? I just ask because I had to do a cold shut down on my PC every time I tried to close the IE7 browser window. I got rid of IE altogether and switched to Mozilla Firefox. Just a thought. Geeks seems to recommend switching to a browser other than IE. At least that is what I've found out by spending days without end in the "Malware Removal" forum. Good Luck ! Shannon

 

Hi, This happened to me when I left my pc on all day on the net. I rang my ISP help and they advised me it happened because our modem is connected on a USB port. Apparently they go to sleep if there is no action for a while.
I rebooted and no problem. I suppose you could change your connection method but I just turn off instead of hibernate.

 

just one idea... i see you'r using ZONEALARM. there is an issue with ZA that some users have reported that the firewall blocks internet connection after the pc has been left idle for a period of time. try turning off the firewall when this happings and see if you can connect then. i had this same problem when using ZA. if it is the firewall blocking you go to this link. http://forum.zonelabs.org/zonelabs/board/message?board.id=cfg&message.id=39906 hope this helps....

 

Thanks for the terrific suggestions!

Mada_Milty, I spent a buncha time digging for my IE SP2 disc (usually keep all my puter stuff in one place), never found it so stalled on that IEFix but might try anyway if I can download SP2. Sigh

Shannon, I was going to update to IE7, but now probably won't. My poor Hubby has gone thru so many changes (we got dsl at the same time my Norton expired and I switched to ZA and AVG) that I don't have the heart to switch browsers. I don't really have time for the learning curve at the mo either.

Beezneez (great name, so 1920's!), I am glad to hear someone tell me the *why* (a possibly one, anyway). What I noticed last night - will try again today if I remember - is that it's when I click my desktop link that it stalls; I tried punching a button on my fancy-schmancy keyboard and it popped right up. Unsolved Mystery ...

Wolf, this sounds like a great thing to try and I shall do it asap.

You folks are the greatest! What would I do without the Geeks?