Scott Drinkard

Why Does Internet Explorer Freeze Up?



Posted: Thursday, April 24, 2008

by
The Computer Guy

Problem: Typing a URL into the address bar of Internet Explorer causes the browser to freeze up. If you open task manager, you see that the process IEXPLORE.exe' causes CPU usage to spike to 100% .

I've seen numerous discussions concerning this one and I have addressed it a few times. Bear in mind that this is just one solution to a problem that may have numerous causes, however if you've been dealing with this issue, then you'll know it's worth looking into. First off you should try to get rid of any malware that may be lurking in your PC. Make sure your virus protection is up to date. Run scans for spyware/adware with Spybot Search and Destroy' or Ad-aware' (or BOTH!) It's probably also a good idea to scan for any rootkits to make sure that your AV software is picking everything up. If, after that, you're satisfied that your PC is clean, then you may be dealing with some incompatible IE Add-ons.

It's a reasonable assumption that when your computer suddenly starts acting strangely that you are under attack by some rogue malware. Believe me, as a PC repair tech, that's always the first thing that comes to my mind. However, sometimes the problem is not malicious at all. Many times, it's just bad coding by an otherwise well-intentioned software developer. The problem of virus's and Spyware, though has become so pervasive that we tend to get caught up in that mentality that it just has to be a virus, so we wind up chasing shadows and never really entertain the idea of a less sinister cause. If you haven't eliminated malware as a possible cause of the browser lockups, I suggest you do that first, before moving on to the next suggestions outlined in this article. Download a free trial version of SUPERAntiSpyware (Download the Free trial of the PRO version for best results). After you download your copy, install it and run a FULL system scan. If you Do have any malware on your system this program will find it. After you're sure that all of your bases have been covered with Spyware and viruses, then try this:

Solution: In Internet Explorer, click on "Tools" > "Internet Options". Select the "Programs" tab. Click "Manage Add-Ons". Make sure you have selected Add-ons that have been used by internet explorer' in the drop-down box. Now, go down the entire list selecting each entry and checking the Disable' radio button. You will get a message for each one telling you that you have to restart Internet Explorer. Just click OK' and keep moving down the list until all entries are disabled. Then you can restart Internet explorer, type a URL in the address bar and see if the freeze-up problem has disappeared.

If IE doesn't freeze then you've just discovered the source of the problem! Now go back to the Manage Add-ons' dialog box and start re-enabling the BHO's. Don't enable all of them at once. We need to find the "guilty party". Enable two or three at a time, restarting IE after each time and try typing in an address. When your browser freezes, you've found the culprit. Leave any entries that are having a problem set to Disabled'

Other than a few minor cosmetic differences in the interface, this procedure is pretty much the same for all versions of Internet Explorer.

If you're dealing with this problem I know how frustrating it can be. I hope this article has been helpful. For lots more useful information and articles, please visit my site at www.westtexascomputerguy.com .
If you enjoyed this article visit him on Facebook at facebook.com/odessacomputerguy and become a fan.

Scott Drinkard is a freelance computer repair and networking technician living and working in Odessa, Texas. As the owner of Odessa based "The Computer Guy" Mr. Drinkard has been serving the fine people of West Texas for 12 years. You can read more by Mr. Drinkard by visiting www.odessacomputerguy.net.
This Article has been viewed 17,028 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (9 total)
» left by Marilyn
from Shiloh, IL 3 years 146 days ago.
This article definitely helped me fix my address bar from freezing up! I followed the advice of checking the "add-ons" since I had already scanned for adware/spyware. It worked. My problem was a Yahoo IE services button add-on (browser extension). Thanks Scott!!
 
» left by Anonymous
 3 years 91 days ago.
Seems it has fixed the problem. 5 Stars
» left by Anonymous 2 years 355 days ago.
thanks a lot I fixed my problem with this article :)
» left by Scott Drinkard 2 years 355 days ago.
4 fans.
You're welcome. I'm glad it was helpful.
» left by Anonymous 2 years 355 days ago.
my problem was a SKYPE add-on ...
» left by Anonymous from Anonymous 2 years 339 days ago.
Half-helpful. Often IE freezed at start when you just first time click on it. So right and much more complete solution must be to start IE with all addons disabled via Start/All Programs/Acessories/System Tools/Internet Explorer (No Addons) and only then follow as author suggests.
 
My reason was damn "Yahoo Helper" written by some Yahoo programmer-retard who managed to help my IE to freeze
» left by Hassene . J.
 2 years 213 days ago.
Yes it worked, i spend a whole day with this damned issue, now it s working quite perfectly !!! thank you so much !
» left by FSeg
from Miami, FL 2 years 92 days ago.
Excellent article!!!
 
It fixed my problem. Thanks a lot Scott !
» left by Anonymous
 2 years 62 days ago.
Very helpful suggestions
» left by rcmz
from Houston, TX 1 year 57 days ago.
Thanks the author, very useful advice.

my pc often freeze too, which always drive me crazy, I want a program to solve my slow computer, several days ago my friend recommend me a software tuneup360, now I'm waiting for the result.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.