Internet Explorer stops working with 8.1

pennypincher2013

I've just bought a new laptop with windows 8.1 and internet explorer suddenly stops working. Every now and then I get that message 'Internet Explorer has stopped working' and sites are slow to load or parts won't load. I first noticed it whilst on youtube but it appears with any site. Including this forum. And God help if there's 2 tabs open.
This laptop is only a day old and shouldn't be going like this.
Has anyone any suggestions how to fix this?

penrhyn

Never use IE, suggest you use Firefox, if you still have problems then there may be other factors to look at.

Jivesinger

pennypincher2013 wrote: »

This laptop is only a day old and shouldn't be going like this.

If anything goes wrong after a day, I'd say take it back to the shop; whether it's a new laptop or a new kettle.

Are you seeing any problems when running other software?

almillar

People have a low opinion of IE - but in Windows 8 it really isn't too bad, and certainly not as bad as you describe. It's a new laptop, there's something wrong with it, or the software installation, don't waste any more of your own precious time on it. Take it back, you can easily show them the fault happening, and get a replacement.

grumpycrab

Have you added any extensions? Try without just to see if it works...

Press the “Windows key + R” key on the keyboard.
In the Run window type “iexplore -extoff” without quotes and press Enter. This will start Internet Explorer in no add-ons mode.

rmg1

If it's a day old, it might also be downloading and installing updates in the background which will slow it down considerably depending on the size/number of updates it has to deal with.

penrhyn

A quick count shows around 60 updates since I installed 8.1

pennypincher2013

Thank you everyone for your replies. I have been using the new laptop for the past few hours, using google chrome with no problems. I've done some investigating and there seems I'm not alone with a problem with windows 8.1 using internet explorer.
I had my first lot of updates from Microsoft and when I next turned on the laptop, I had a message from Microsoft saying that they've unpinned IE and would I like to use any other browser. This suggests to me that they know there's a problem and their solution is use anything but Internet Explorer.
I did a test using Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox and Internet Explorer. Only IE had problems loading webpages and froze.
I've tested the new laptop to see if it only IE that had problems. I have played a DVD, viewed and edited photos, used paint and wordpad and looked at few apps, all with quick, smooth actions and no loading or freezing problems. So I think it is IE which is the only problem. I can live with that. I'm planning on adding software so will see how that goes.

Has anyone else had problems using internet explorer with windows 8.1?

Jivesinger

pennypincher2013 wrote: »

I had a message from Microsoft saying that they've unpinned IE and would I like to use any other browser. This suggests to me that they know there's a problem and their solution is use anything but Internet Explorer.

No, it's because Microsoft were forced (I think by the EU?) to give users a choice of browser. This 'browser choice' has been in earlier versions of Windows and IE too. It doesn't mean they think anything is wrong with it.

pennypincher2013

And there was me hoping they had realised something was wrong and were going to, one day, fix it

penrhyn

pennypincher2013 wrote: »

Thank you everyone for your replies. I have been using the new laptop for the past few hours, using google chrome with no problems. I've done some investigating and there seems I'm not alone with a problem with windows 8.1 using internet explorer.
I had my first lot of updates from Microsoft and when I next turned on the laptop, I had a message from Microsoft saying that they've unpinned IE and would I like to use any other browser. This suggests to me that they know there's a problem and their solution is use anything but Internet Explorer.
I did a test using Google Chrome, Mozilla FireFox and Internet Explorer. Only IE had problems loading webpages and froze.
I've tested the new laptop to see if it only IE that had problems. I have played a DVD, viewed and edited photos, used paint and wordpad and looked at few apps, all with quick, smooth actions and no loading or freezing problems. So I think it is IE which is the only problem. I can live with that. I'm planning on adding software so will see how that goes.

Has anyone else had problems using internet explorer with windows 8.1?

The browser selection prompt was as a result of an EU ruling that Microsoft was in contempt of monopoly regulations or some such in bundling IE with their operating systems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union_Microsoft_competition_case