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IE 6 freezing up

 
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Jay Bollyn
Honored Contributor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

It was not clear to me if any browser is working right now on that PC. If a browser is working, I agree TCP/IP is working.

It appears that perhaps critical updates have not been installed. Since these OEM OS installs need many critical updates as step #1 when the box is unpacked, it is quite likely the PC has both spyware and virus problems.

For my personal PC, I would reformat and reinstall winXP. We all know that spyware and virus problems cannot always be completely removed. After reformat, you know exactly what you have. No need to guess or assume anything.

I would also buy a more recent anti-virus program.

J.
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James Malloy
Occasional Advisor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Jay: IE 6 works fine for awhile, but after perhaps the 20th or so time typing in a new URL, that's when it locks up. Unfortunately I don't have XP on CD-ROM; it is set aside by the factry on a locked portion of the hard drive. So if there was a software issue at the factory when pre-installed, I'm stuck re-formatting with a bad backup.

This is the 2nd m7680n I'm having this same problem with--I took the last one back (used it for about 2 days) having exhausted the possibilities with HP customer service, re-formatting XP twice with a "destructive recovery," etc.

I have installed every critical Windows update on this box as well as the previous box, and still get the same issues. Baffling.

You're all very helpful, I appreciate the suggestions and will continue to tackle the problem and keep learning more.
James Malloy
Occasional Advisor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Forgot to mention (if it's worth mentioning), I'm running XP Media Center Edition.

Am now trying the following update: Update Rollup for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 (KB925766).
Jay Bollyn
Honored Contributor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Since you are having the same problem with two different PCs, it is unlikely there is a hardware problem with both of them. So we are looking for some type of software issue/conflict etc.

The main suspect would be a software app which you installed on both PCs. If you installed NIS on both PCs, that would certainly be a suspect. I would uninstall NIS and use some other AV app. A 30-day free trial would be plenty of time to determine if uninstalling NIS helped.

I also don't think you have the same virus/spyware issue on both PCs.

Your recent replies have been helpful in focusing on the problem. If you think of anything else, reply with that info.

In the meantime, as a workaround, I would use whatever alternative browser you like. Just use IE6 for the windows critical updates. Sounds like you are doing this already.

Here is a good quote from Wikipedia:

Much criticism of Internet Explorer is related to concerns about security: Much of the spyware, adware, and computer viruses across the Internet are made possible by exploitable bugs and flaws in the security architecture of Internet Explorer, sometimes requiring nothing more than viewing of a malicious web page in order to install themselves. This is known as a "drive-by download": an attempt to trick the user into installing malicious software by misrepresenting the software's true purpose in the description section of an ActiveX security alert.

While Internet Explorer is not alone in having exploitable vulnerabilities, its ubiquity has resulted in many more affected computers when vulnerabilities are found. Microsoft has not responded as quickly as competitors in fixing security holes and making patches available. Not only are there more security holes discovered in Internet Explorer, but these vulnerabilities tend to remain unpatched for a much longer time, in some cases giving malicious web site operators months to exploit them before Microsoft releases a patch. Several companies maintain databases of known security vulnerabilities that exist in Internet Explorer, for which no fixes have been published by Microsoft. As of November 27, 2006, Secunia reports 3 unpatched vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer, of which the most severe vulnerability is rated "moderately critical". In contrast, Mozilla Firefox, the main competitor to Internet Explorer, is reported to have 1 unpatched security vulnerability, rated "less critical."

In May 2006, PC World rated Internet Explorer 6 the eighth worst tech product of all time.

end quote.

J.




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Pat Flanagan
Honored Contributor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

James,

Keying in on your statement "IE 6 works fine for awhile, but after perhaps the 20th or so time typing in a new URL, that's when it locks up".

This isn't the exact problem you're having but could be the cause. In any case, it won't hurt anything to re-register the .dll files.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/281679/en-us

Pat
James Malloy
Occasional Advisor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Pat: just did that. Thanks. We'll see how things hold up.

Also installed IE7 this afternoon. By the way, why would I be getting this error when going to this HP site after installing IE7:

"There is a problem with this website's security certificate.

The security certificate presented by this website was issued for a different website's address.

Security certificate problems may indicate an attempt to fool you or intercept any data you send to the server.

We recommend that you close this webpage and do not continue to this website."
Mars Engine
Frequent Advisor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Hi James, Jay, Pat, Ron and all people that were involved in this thread.

I was sitting and pondering where this world goes to, if there is a God and where is that beverage that I have ordered two days ago when it struck me :)

Is it possible for IE6 to stuck because of some problem in open or halfopen connections due to a p2p software running or in any other way? Remember the 5 halfopen connections limit for WinXP (if I'm not mistaken).

Anyway, I will look into it further. I just wanted to let you know so that YOU can ponder on it too :)

In any case, if this is the issue here, James should look in the event log to see for errors and warnings.

Look in system for
Warning, Source:TCPIP, Event ID:4226
Error, Source:DCOM, Event ID:10010

Regards,
Mars

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Pat Flanagan
Honored Contributor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

James,

On the security certificate, just a guess. I'm not taking the IE7 plunge until SP1 is out (my usual practice with anything new MS).

However, if it's anything like a security certificate warning in IE6, then it should give you an opportunity to view the certificate. Look for that and see if you can do so. It could be something simple like you're connecting to forums.itrc.hp.com, and the certificate was issued to just hp.com (maybe?).

If it's completely wrong however, be concerned. The worst case I can think of might be a keystroke logger rootkit that's routing all connections through a hacker's proxy server, or other spyware on your computer.

IE7's supposed to have a lot more "safety" features built in, like checking websites against a phishing site database at MS automatically. That equals more warnings to dig through to understand what they're trying to tell you. I would expect that most of them will turn out to be innocuous.

Pat
James Malloy
Occasional Advisor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Pat how can I contact you? I'd like to know more about keystroke logger, proxy server, and as you said, worst case, how to find such a thing on my computer.

Thanks again everyone for the tips.
James Malloy
Occasional Advisor

Re: IE 6 freezing up

Mars:

Those event codes not found in system viewer. Did some fishing around the application viewer and saw some interesting items related to IE6:

"Application Hang" event #1002.