Internet Explorer 7 hangs

Beat that dead horse!

[rocknbil]

I've raised this before and cannot locate the thread. Perhaps this is just a rant, perhaps others see this, if so . . . what did you find?

I only use IE to check design compatibility. Often it just hangs . . . "waiting for site . . . " for up to five minutes.

If I stop whatever I'm doing (which is usually 10 things at once,) close all applications, reboot, sometimes it comes back. Sometimes it doesn't.

Overall, Microsoft is just wasting my time. I will never understand how, even with all it's problems and to all comments this will elicit to the contrary, they can develop such a robust and usable operating system yet market the most busted-a** browser in existence. It's like they're doing it on purpose, "we don't care, because we don't have to."

IE version: 7.0.5370.11

System: XP Pro, latest updates minus IE 8 installed. 120 GB HD, under 25% used. 2 GB RAM. 2.8 mHz.

Pro satellite Internet, 800 mbps - 1.5 MB. Note this is a proxy service, and may be the weak point, but no other browsers have problems.Shared via a LinkSys 4 port router, and I've done various tests and changes to see if this makes the problem go away. Like anything else, sometimes yes, sometimes no . . . see Java below.

AVG: Grisoft Free 8.5.392, latest updates, running with LinkScanner disabled (don't like anything modifying pages, period.)

Currently it's running with all add-ons disabled. This comes from the aforementioned thread and lots of searches, which seemed to indicate the problem was related to an add-on, specifically Java.

While I'd thought that fixed it . . . apparently if didn't, I've fallen victim to correlation does not equal causation.

I swear, if it weren't for the fact that most clients just use IE by default (browser="Connect to Internet") I'd just toss the whole thing. Good vote for the return of the 1994 phrase with a twist:

This site best viewed in anything but Internet Destroyer . . . PLEASE we BEG of you!

[penders]

I only use IE to check design compatibility. Often it just hangs . . . "waiting for site . . . " for up to five minutes.

I have noticed, what appears to be, a similar issue with IE8 occasionally (on XP Pro). When "Tools > Reopen Last Browsing Session", not all tabs would necessarily load. Instead you just get a white page and the 'loading' icon on the tab continously twirling - it never loads!? Stopping and reloading the page does not help (on that tab). However, I've not persisted too much with this as it hasn't been a big issue up until now (I will delve deeper next time). The page loads fine in other browsers.

I also have Google Toolbar installed and wondered if this was the issue.

(I can't say I noticed this issue with IE7, although I largely managed to avoid this browser - instead testing on a separate Vista IE7 machine.)

This site best viewed in anything but Internet Destroyer . . . PLEASE we BEG of you!

Well, many are suggesting that this sort of message is OK for users of IE6. Although I do not entirely agree as many IE6 users are corporate users who have no choice but to use IE6 because they have other software which runs only on IE6! (In such situations may be they should have another browser for general internet browsing - if allowed - and more secure.)

[rocknbil]

Haha . . .I was being snarky, I'd never do that. You know, humor is the best medicine . . .

But if everyone had this problem, IE users would never see it anyway. :-)

[penders]

Haha . . .I was being snarky, I'd never do that. You know, humor is the best medicine . . .

Yeah, thought you probably were :) It's just that I have recently seen several well respected publications recommending this as a way to try and stamp out IE6, even running tutorials on how to do this.

[swa66]

Just a note:

"satellite Internet": most of those I've ever looked at do some *very* weird things with the TCP/IP protocol itself (they do send acks on the protocol level before the server has received the thing it'll send an ack for. Some call it "proxy ack" and is is essentially breaking TCP/IP by doing that.

The reason they do this is to shorten the RTT as a geostationary satellite means slow interactivity (even if you have lots of bandwidth). Actually the problem is more visible on high bandwidth connections ("long fat pipes" is a well researched TCP/IP problem).

I've no idea if windows' TCP/IP stack stumbles over this or not, but it might as the acks are really not proper

[rocknbil]

I agree - but the defining factor on that point is that no other browsers have this problem (Opera, FF, Windows Safari, not even the last release of Netscape I have here.)