IE Doesn't Start, But Runs in Background....

[CarKing]

I click on my IE6 application of the start menu to get it running, and about 40% of the time it won't load up. So at the end of the the night it will have 5 or 6 iexplore.exe running that I have to click "End Now" 5 times. It's like it loads, but doesn't load up fully so it never appears on the screeen. Most of the time I can load it fine. I am not sure what started this, but it did start about a week ago.

Is there anything that maybe running causing this? Should I try a feeble repair attempt? Reinstall Office? Or maybe a reformat?

Here is what the task manager looks like even when I am NOT using IE6:
http://members.cox.net/carking24/1.jpg

You can see what the iexplore.exe looks like when it is just running in the background.

[roYal]

Sometimes it just hangs and not show its GUI but the process will still be running. If the bugged process is still running, every iexplorer.exe you try running after that will do the same. If one gets bugged, just alt+control+delete and do an end process on it. When there's no indications of iexplorer.exe running in the processes, it should work just fine next time you try opening iexplorer.

[CarKing]

The wierd thing is that if one gets bugged and doesn't run, 99% of the time when I try to open another IE it will load just fine. My question is how can I fix this issue. I seem to have 5 running at night no matter how well I think I am doing of ending them.

[Ascii2]

Try installing Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1.

[rrcoot]

I would recommend using Firefox instead of IE.

[roYal]

I would recommend using Firefox instead of IE.

I would recommend reading the sticky threads.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=365094

[Ascii2]

I would recommend using Firefox instead of IE.Recommending an inferior browser does not solve the problem.

[Captain Newbie]

Recommending an inferior browser does not solve the problem.
But it could potentially put him back on the Internet, which is the point of this thread. It would solve the big problem, but not the little one of having Exploder fouled up. :)

The usual advice of looking for spy/mal/adware as well as viruses, and installing all the latest Internet Exploder Explorer updates applies here.

[redduc900]

Try IEFix...

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/IEFIX.htm
What IEFix does?
1. Registers the core Internet Explorer libraries.
2. Repairs Internet Explorer using IE.INF method.
3. Fixes the application path setting
... or try the following manual procedure of reinstalling from the INF files. Type the following in the Run box...

rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\inf\ie.inf

[FudgeNuggets]

It has a few compatibility issues but otherwise I've found IE7b2 to be quite a pleasant experience.

[Captain Newbie]

Try IEFix...

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/IEFIX.htm

... or try the following manual procedure of reinstalling from the INF files. Type the following in the Run box...

rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%\inf\ie.inf
*bows before the almighty Windows Wizard*

[Ascii2]

Could be a plug-in or ActiveX control bothering.

[Mr.Guvernment]

It has a few compatibility issues but otherwise I've found IE7b2 to be quite a pleasant experience.

been using it myself for about 2 weeks and not one single problem, crash or incompatible site.

wait, [H] main page sometimes looks weird, but it is seldom.

[FudgeNuggets]

been using it myself for about 2 weeks and not one single problem, crash or incompatible site.

wait, [H] main page sometimes looks weird, but it is seldom.

My problems are with plugins, like shockwave and flash, but all in all that might not be a bad thing as tey are used to exploit and spawn pop-ups more than anything these days.

[CarKing]

Well I tried all the fixes posted and nothing seems to have changed. Is there a way to just do a fresh install of IE only?

I did try the fix and it didnt work.

[Ascii2]

What version of Internet Explorer are you now using?

[anhvo12345]

i had this problem on my laptop last week.

here is how to fix it

From the Start menu, select Run.
In the Open field, type sfc /scannow (Note: There is a space between sfc and /scannow)
Select the OK button.
Follow the prompts throughout the System File Checker process.
Reboot the computer when System File Checker completes.

[redduc900]

Well I tried all the fixes posted and nothing seems to have changed. Is there a way to just do a fresh install of IE only?

I did try the fix and it didnt work.
Try being more specific... you scanned for viruses and spyware / malware like Captain Newbie suggested? You uninstalled Flash and / or Shockwave like FudgeNuggets suggested? You uninstalled all ActiveX controls and / or plug-ins like Ascii2 suggested? You mentioned that you tried running IEFix, but did you also try reinstalling IE from the INF files by running the command I made note of? You could also try reinstalling IE6 by using this method... Start | Run | Type regedit, and then click OK. Locate the following Registry subkey, right-click the IsInstalled (REG_DWORD) value in the RH pane, and then click Modify...

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE | SOFTWARE | Microsoft | Active Setup | Installed Components | {89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}

Change the value data of IsInstalled from 1 to 0, and then click OK | Download and install IE6...

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1E1550CB-5E5D-48F5-B02B-20B602228DE6&displaylang=en

... following the instructions here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=257249