IE7 slow startup (sometimes fails)

tjbuc · 17th May 2009

hello all,
I am using Win XP Pro (SP3, fully up to date). I updated my old IE6 to IE7 a few months ago and have one very annoying problem. When starting IE7 it always seem to be be rather slow to start with 3-5 seconds with status "connecting..." before it displays "about: blank". However, there are frequent occasions when first starting IE7 where it gets stuck at "connecting..." and the only way to close it is with task manager.

I did see some similar references here: IE7 scrolling is sluggish but there was no answer to this specific issue.

I am aware that it could be a "settings" or "add ons" issue or even (but very unlikely) a confilct with my firewall (ZoneAlarm Pro) or Antivirus (Norton AV 2005 - newer versions cause conflicts with Zone Alarm so I stay at this older version), but it seems more likely to me that this is a generic issue with IE7.

The problem is usually when first starting IE7, either from a shortcut (starts with blank page) or when opening a URL from an email or an other application etc. but it can also happen when opening a new window (new instance of IE7) using either of these methods.

Has anyone any thoughts on this? Is it common behaviour for IE7? Has anyone had the same issue and solved it?

Thanks

Tony J

**PeteC** · 17th May 2009

Quote:

seems more likely to me that this is a generic issue with IE7

I would not agree with that.

Quote:

I am aware that it could be a "settings" or "add ons" issue

Have you tried running IE with no add-ons and does the problem remain? ....

Right click IE desktop icon > Start without add-ons or via Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Internet Explorer (no add-ons).

If that fails to resolve try a Reset of IE .....

Tools > Internet Options > Advanced - Reset.

Have you reied rebooting the router?

You are somewhat behind the times with IE7 - IE 8 is now being pushed out through Windows Update or download from here.

tjbuc · 18th May 2009

Hi Pete

Thanks for your reply. This is not any easy problem to solve since it is not happening all the time.

Sure enough starting IE with no add ons means it loads faster and (so far) has not locked up. I can try disabling add ons one by one to see if any one in particular slows the start up significantly, but there are a lot of them in the list! However, I compared the list of "add ons currently loaded in IE" in "normal" (blank page) and "no add ons" and I see that "no add ons " means just no active x controls. The Browser Extensions, Browser Helper Objects and Toolbars are all still loaded.

In my the only difference between the two modes is the Flash Active X control Flash 10b.ocx and if this is the cause of the problem then it is a near certainty that I am not the only person who experiences this problem.

I never had any such issues with IE6 and yes, I know IE8 is being offered in automatic updates now. However, I prefer to wait until I can be sure that there are no compatibility issues. I know very well that there are many common business software suites that simply wont run on IE after version 6.

I havent tried reseting IE7 settings. When installed it retained most of my security & other settings from the previous IE6 installation, but I should perhaps review them again, although it takes quite some time to check them all for each zone.

I don't have a router. I use ZoenAlarm pro and connect via a Cable Modem.

P.S I have a clean system here, with no spyware or other nasties

Any futher comments appeciated. I will surely advise f and when I find the answer.

Thanks again,
Tony J

**PeteC** · 19th May 2009

When running IE with no add-ons ......

Quote:

All Internet Explorer add-ons, such as ActiveX controls or toolbars, are turned off. Some webpages might not display correctly

This is the message displayed when starting IE 8 with no add-ons and the Roboform and Google Toolbars which are installed are not present. I no longer have IE7 installed on any computer but would imagine that IE7 is thesame. The Add-ons to disable for trial purposes are the non-MS ones.

Googling 'IE7 slow to open' brings up a number of hits amongst which is the suggestion to uncheck 'Enable third party browser extensions' which solved the problem for one poster. Without trying this I don't know how this relates to no add-ons - maybe only MS add-ons are enabled. A restart of IE is required for this change to stick so I will post back with results.

**PeteC** · 19th May 2009

I don't know off hand if 'Enable third party browser extensions' is present in 7, but unchecking it in 8 and restarting IE removes the Google & Roboform toolbars (in my setup) which are clearly third party.

Easy enough to try if the option is available.

tjbuc · 28th June 2009

Hi Pete

Sorry for the long delay in following up on this..

IE7 does have the option 'Enable third party browser extensions' - it is under 'Internet Settings - Advanced'. I didn't get arpund to trying this however and I didn't have time to try disabling all of the non-microsoft add on's one by one, however I have solved teh problem...

I had installed Panicware PopUp Stopper Free ver 2.9 I used this for many years but since moving to IE7 it was just sitting in the background in "off mode". However, it occurred to me that even though it was disabled it was still monitoring browser activity. Sure enough after uninstalling this IE7 starts much more reliably - so I belive the problem is more or less solved.

So, for anyone else with similar problems, it may be caused by more than one pop up blocker being installed. In my case it is true that Panicware PopUp Stopper Free ver 2.9 is pretty old now, but the later versions never worked so well which is why I stayed with that old version. It is however redundant in IE7 and above.

P.S another program that I use which may have the potential to slow down IE is Kookaburra Cookie Pal 1.7c. However, I haven't seen any problems with this so far. Again, it is possibly redundant even with IE6, but I prefer to manage my cookies manually.

Thanks again for your help Pete.

a final note:
IE7 still seems to start slowly however.. with occasional lock ups if you dont wait for it to finish.. what is it actually doing when it says "connecting" prior to displaying "blank page"? does anyone know? IE6 never did this. Is IE8 any better on this point? any comments appreciated, I guess I will need to make more time to investigate this further

**PeteC** · 28th June 2009

Thanks for the update - Panicware PopUp Stopper Free ver 2.9 may have conflicted with the IE popup stopper if that was on. I have used the Google Toolbar with it's popup stopper on - and IE's off since 6 and through to 8 with no problems.

If you choose to evaluate IE8 that can be uninstalled to roll you back to 7.