"Internet Explorer has stopped working" message

[Xenophon PCDGS]

My son has visited us today and has brought the laptop of his wife with him, which uses Internet Explorer 11 which appears to have a problem of sorts.

The stoppage is very brief and seems to clear itself very quickly, allowing normal usage again. Has anyone any ideas to offer in this afternoon, before he returns home at 1700 today.

 

[pemma]

Best solution would be to download another free browser like Firefox or Chrome.

Alternatively try disabling third party plugins like Adobe Flash Player, which will reduce the chance of it stopping working.

 

[Mike99]

I had this about 8/9 months ago, download Chrome and it works fine, 'the system' seems to want to use Chrome nowadays.

 

[DownSouth]

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

More seriously, third-party bloatware (toolbars, extensions, plug-ins etc) are usually the problem with Internet Exploder. Try removing them one by one to find the problem, restarting the computer after each one to see if it fixes the problem.

If you get to the point of all third-party that's not an option, try performing a reset of IE, which can (from memory) be found in one of the tabs of the Internet Options control panel. Be warned, this WILL eliminate any saved history and passwords so they should be stored separately before resetting IE.

 

[Crossover]

Unfortunately the OP isn't very detailed so hard to give much advise. I would echo the sentiments of the above posters (sorry, I had typed out a huge reply but in a flaky wifi area, lost it and not typing it again!) to check add ins and if not, do a full Reset of IE (not just deleting browsing history etc)

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

My son is most impressed to have received so many responses in such a short space of time and is currently trying out the offered options on his wife's laptop. His own laptop at home I think is is one of the Apple product range.

He offers his heartfelt thanks to all of you.

 

[TheNewNo2]

I never got on with Chrome, always preferred Firefox, though they do insist on bringing out an entirely new version every five minutes (version 3 lasted years).

Internet Explorer has never actually been any good, it only had market share due to it being pre-installed.

 

[Busaholic]

I never got on with Chrome, always preferred Firefox, though they do insist on bringing out an entirely new version every five minutes (version 3 lasted years).

Internet Explorer has never actually been any good, it only had market share due to it being pre-installed.

I'm still on Windows XP and have had to virtually abandon Internet Explorer: tried Firefox, but hit problems and have now been pleasantly surprised with Chrome. But certain websites on which I get problems with Chrome I can still access with IE. All good fun for a non-techie like me. And, no, of course I do absolutely no financial transactions of any kind on my computer, I'm not quite that daft.

 

[Bevan Price]

The infernal Flash Player frequently causes problems on my computer, stalling browsers (Firefox or IE), sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for longer. Often happens when I try to log in to forum, and despite me setting Flash not to start until I authorise it.

Tried Chrome once, but found it too slow & resource greedy to run on my computer.

 

[D6975]

Another vote for Firefox, switched from IE years ago having got thoroughly fed up with it. I did try some of the others too, but found Firefox to be the best.
Flash is a pest, I think it's the constant updates that cause the problems. If you haven't got the very latest version installed, some sites that are using it cause problems.

 

[DaleCooper]

I use Firefox and have had lots of problems with my pc freezing when loading various pages. I've have improved things somewhat by adblocking sites such as google-analytics.com, platform.twitter.com, connect.facebook.net and various similar sites which appear to piggyback on the site I'm interested in.

It makes me wonder what's going on with all these organisations accessing my pc and collecting data, I find it pretty scary.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Flash is a pest, I think it's the constant updates that cause the problems. If you haven't got the very latest version installed, some sites that are using it cause problems.

Am I wrong in assuming that Adobe Flash Player automatically updates when a new update appears, as is the case with a number of products that I am aware of.

yorkie made a good point a while ago of queying one of the Adobe package of products that came fully installed when my latest top of the range HP Pavilion tower system (and numerous other items), so can I ask the forum members what does Adobe Air actually achieve.

 

[pemma]

Am I wrong in assuming that Adobe Flash Player automatically updates when a new update appears, as is the case with a number of products that I am aware of.

Normally you get a message in a grey box on the screen saying an update is available and asking you if you want to update. I got one this morning. If you don't get that then maybe your Firewall blocks Adobe from checking for updates.

 

[SS4]

It makes me wonder what's going on with all these organisations accessing my pc and collecting data, I find it pretty scary.

It's the reason I still use firefox even when others have gone over to chrome. NoScript and ghostery and self-destructing cookies are good extensions to have. Set your default search so something like duckduckgo and turn off tracking (although it's questionable if this works).

Main trouble I find with NoScript is that sites rarely work with it

For the more privacy concious there is the Tor browser and the Tails OS.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

When I set up this thread, it was concerning the laptop of my daughter-in-law. I must make it clear that just in case any form member thinks that I use IE11, both my good lady wife and I both have Firefox, which we prefer to Chrome.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Normally you get a message in a grey box on the screen saying an update is available and asking you if you want to update. I got one this morning. If you don't get that then maybe your Firewall blocks Adobe from checking for updates.

That puts my mind to rest on that matter. Yes, I too react to such update prompts but was unsure if it also was available as an automatic update.

 

[DaleCooper]

When I set up this thread, it was concerning the laptop of my daughter-in-law. I must make it clear that just in case any form member thinks that I use IE11, both my good lady wife and I both have Firefox, which we prefer to Chrome.

Phew! That's a weight off my mind.

 

[Bevan Price]

Normally you get a message in a grey box on the screen saying an update is available and asking you if you want to update. I got one this morning. If you don't get that then maybe your Firewall blocks Adobe from checking for updates.

You need to be careful with Flash updates, if you look carefully during installation, you will see it offers options about whether or not it is allowed to download updates automatically, and the default setting is to allow this - you have to adjust the settings if you want to control "new updates" yourself.

Beware also that some updates of Flash & other add-ons may sometimes try to sneak other software onto your computer, and you need to un-check a tick-box to prevent that happening.

 

[DaleCooper]

Another problem I've had recently is Windows checking for updates and using up all the system resources so I couldn't do anything else for 15-20 minutes. I've switched off automatic update checking and do it manually once a week.

 

[TheNewNo2]

yorkie made a good point a while ago of queying one of the Adobe package of products that came fully installed when my latest top of the range HP Pavilion tower system (and numerous other items), so can I ask the forum members what does Adobe Air actually achieve.

Adobe Air is sort of similar to Flash, it's used by a variety of applications, including BBC iPlayer downloads.

 

[Crossover]

Another problem I've had recently is Windows checking for updates and using up all the system resources so I couldn't do anything else for 15-20 minutes. I've switched off automatic update checking and do it manually once a week.

Most updates will come about once a month on Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday each month. There will be others in between but relatively few

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Most updates will come about once a month on Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday each month. There will be others in between but relatively few

Why are the updates for Windows 7 shown as "recommended or optional". I thought it was essential that all those updates were classified as "important"

 

[Bevan Price]

Why are the updates for Windows 7 shown as "recommended or optional". I thought it was essential that all those updates were classified as "important"

Because not every computer needs all the updates. For example, I recently declined a skype for Windows update because I do not use skype.

 

[HilversumNS]

Another problem I've had recently is Windows checking for updates and using up all the system resources so I couldn't do anything else for 15-20 minutes. I've switched off automatic update checking and do it manually once a week.

Windows updates are scheduled for the 2nd Tuesday of each month. They also knock out the odd one when something critical needs to be fixed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Because not every computer needs all the updates. For example, I recently declined a skype for Windows update because I do not use skype.

Windows 7 updates, if that is your one installed, is surely far more important than the Skype one, which is, as you say is only an "optional" one.

 

[DaleCooper]

Why are the updates for Windows 7 shown as "recommended or optional". I thought it was essential that all those updates were classified as "important"

You can bring up a list of the updates, from a link on the updates page in control panel, which explains what all the updates are. I only install the important ones.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The infernal Flash Player frequently causes problems on my computer, stalling browsers (Firefox or IE), sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for longer. Often happens when I try to log in to forum, and despite me setting Flash not to start until I authorise it.

On a slightly different matter, a friend of mature years (81) says that he has just tried to install BT Desktop Help, but when he tried, the BT website said that Adobe Shockwave Player needed to first be installed and provided a download link for that to occur.

Is this a usual procedure?

 

[Kite159]

Windows updates are scheduled for the 2nd Tuesday of each month. They also knock out the odd one when something critical needs to be fixed.

I read in a computer magazine that microsoft are going to move away from the monthly patch Tuesday and instead send out patches as and when required.

 

[Class172]

On a slightly different matter, a friend of mature years (81) says that he has just tried to install BT Desktop Help, but when he tried, the BT website said that Adobe Shockwave Player needed to first be installed and provided a download link for that to occur.

Is this a usual procedure?

Doesn't sound anything suspicious to me; it's probably needed for the program to run.