There is an ongoing problem with Internet Explorer 8 on my Windows Vista computer. When I first installed Internet Explorer 8 the Windows desktop would sometimes freeze, and a reboot seemed to be the only way to get things working again. I then ran some utilities, including a registry optimiser, which appears to have exacerbated the problem. As a result, I uninstalled and reinstalled Internet Explorer 8 several times. After these reinstallations the problem appears to have stabilised, as directly after a reboot I can always get into Internet Explorer 8. However, at some point afterwards the message appears saying “Unable to connect - Diagnose connection problems” which then tells me that nothing is wrong. Occasionally the entire screen will freeze as well. On opening the Task Manager there will be several “iexplore.exe” processes running and if I sequentially start closing these processes there is usually a brief pause and then everything suddenly unfreezes and the problem disappears (but can then reoccur later). That said, on other occasions this does not fix the problem and I need to restart the computer. How can I fix this frustrating problem?

Other users have reported similar issues with Internet Explorer, although the experience is not limited to just Windows Vista but users also on Windows XP and Windows 7 report similar problems. The integration of Internet Explorer with Windows makes for a seamless experience when using the product, but it can also make fixing the software quite difficult, since “uninstalling” Internet Explorer 8 does not fully uninstall the product but instead uninstalls the Internet Explorer 8 update leaving the previous version of Internet Explorer installed (it is not possible to normally uninstall Internet Explorer from Windows, given how tightly it is integrated into the operating system). You also mentioned in the question that you have used a registry optimiser which could have made the problem worse. As a rule of thumb I always recommend against using third-party registry optimisation and fixing tools. Having first-hand experience using these tools, and seeing how they can go wrong, I am of the belief that often they cause more harm than good. In some cases these tools can inadvertently remove required entries in the registry making the system run worse than previously. The main reason that people use registry optimisation tools is because after a while, data from old programs and settings can build-up in the registry, slowing down the computer (as Windows may have to read and load this data even though it is no longer needed) so the question arises about how can this build-up of old data be addressed. My philosophy is that every 12 – 24 months I always backup all the data on the computer then format the hard drive and reinstall Windows from scratch. This is the best way to clear-out the build-up of data and will often result in the computer running significantly faster. This is often the safest method as well, since you are not risking using third-party utilities which could be removing important things which are stored in the registry and still required.

Now that we have discussed the background of the issue we should turn our attention to other methods of fixing the problem. In the first instance it would be prudent to check that a program or process running in the background is not conflicting with Windows and causing the issue. To test this theory we will disable all background items (programs and processes) from loading on startup and then reboot the computer. This should result in nothing being loaded except essential background items. Go to the “Start” menu and type “msconfig” (without the quotes) and press ENTER. This will open the System Configuration window. Click the “Startup” tab which will list all of the items which are loaded on Windows startup. Write down all of the items which are currently ticked and then untick all of those items (alternatively, you can just click the “Disable all” button at the bottom of the window). Click OK to save and close, then restart the computer. When Windows has restarted none of those items should load, giving you a fairly clean slate on which to test this theory. Try starting Internet Explorer 8 and check whether the problem continues.

If you find that the problem no longer occurs then one of those background items was causing the problem. In this situation it will now be a process of elimination to determine which of the background items is the cause. Return to the System Configuration window and Startup tab. Tick one of the items which was previously enabled, then click OK and restart the computer. When the computer restarts that background item should now load. Test Internet Explorer to check whether the problem occurs. Keep repeating this procedure until you find that the problem occurs after enabling one of the items, at which point you have found the problematic process. In the short-term you should be able to leave that particular item disabled, although you will need to conduct some further research to determine the purpose and nature of that item to see whether it is required and may need to find a resolution (such as an updated version which does not have this problem) or whether it is not necessary and you can simply leave it disabled.

In the event that you disable all of the items and the problem remains then obviously none of those items were causing the problem. Before proceeding further, make sure that you re-enable all of the startup items and then restart the computer so that they all reload. The next possibility is that an Internet Explorer add-on is causing the problem. Add-ons are extensions to Internet Explorer which add functionality which is not provided with the default installation of Internet Explorer. These could be added explicitly by installing the add-on, but could also have been added when a program was installed on your computer. To check whether this is the problem we can try starting Internet Explorer without any add-ons. Go to the “Start” menu > “All Programs” > “Accessories” > “System Tools” > “Internet Explorer (No Add-ons)”. If Internet Explorer loads and works correctly then it appears an add-on has been causing the problems. Much like the startup item process, it is now a process of elimination to determine which of the add-ons is causing the problem. In Internet Explorer, go to the “Tools” menu > “Manage Add-ons”. The Manage Add-ons window will appear and list the add-ons which are enabled to normally run within Internet Explorer. In the left-hand pane, click the “Toolbars and Extensions” add-on type and this will display those types of add-ons on the right-hand side of the window. Select all of the add-ons (either through holding down the SHIFT key while selecting the first and last add-ons, or pressing the CTRL-A shortcut key) and then click the “Disable all” button in the bottom right-hand corner of the window. This will disable all of the selected shortcuts. Click the “Close” button to save and close. Now, restart Internet Explorer and verify once again that the problem does not occur. If the problem does occur then you may need to disable the other add-on types in the Manage Add-ons window. This follows the same procedure as previously described, and I will not enter into further detail as in most cases the culprit add-on will be within the “Toolbars and Extensions” add-on category that we have disabled.

Assuming that the problem does not occur once all of the Toolbars and Extensions add-ons have been disabled then obviously one of those specific add-ons is causing the problem. As mentioned, we will now need to commence our process of elimination, so go back into the Manage Add-ons window and enable one of the add-ons, save and close, then restart Internet Explorer and check whether the problem re-occurs. Keep repeating this procedure until the problem does re-occur at which point you know that the most recently enabled add-on is causing the problem. Similar to the start-up items, you should then be able to re-enable all the other add-ons just leaving the problematic add-on disabled. Once this has been accomplished, and Internet Explorer has returned to a state of stability, then you can conduct some research on that add-on to determine whether it is required or if a fix for this problem is available (such as a configuration change, or a new version of the add-on has become available which addresses the problem).

Of course, it is possible that the add-ons are not causing the problem and disabling all add-ons does nothing to resolve the issue. If you started Internet Explorer in no add-on mode yet the problem still occurred then you will find yourself in this situation. The next procedure which you can attempt is resetting Internet Explore to the default configuration. This will reset all of the Internet Explorer settings, add-ons and personal data (such as the history and saved passwords). While this is a fairly drastic measure, since it will remove any personalised settings from Internet Explorer, we are at the point where it is necessary to take more serious action in an attempt to resolve the problem. In Internet Explorer, go to the “Tools” menu > “Internet Options”. If Internet Explorer is not functioning correctly, you can also access the Internet Options through the Windows control panel. Once the Internet Options window has opened, click the “Advanced” tab. At the bottom of the window you should see a button titled “Reset…”. Clicking this button will produce a warning window. Tick “Delete personal settings” and then click the “Reset” button to reset Internet Explorer. Once the reset procedure has completed, restart Internet Explorer (if this does not happen automatically) and check whether the problem continues.

If you reach this point and the problem persists, then you may need to consider a reinstallation of Windows Vista. While this is not the most convenient procedure to undertake at short notice I suspect that the problems with Internet Explorer are perhaps rather ingrained within the Windows installation and will be difficult (or impossible) to fix without a reinstallation. This could have happened as a result of the problem itself, or perhaps as a result of some of the steps taken to fix the problem (such as using a registry optimisation tool). Either way, the best option at this point would be a reinstallation. Be aware, this process is destructive so all data on your computer will be lost during the reinstallation. Therefore, make sure that you backup any data you wish to keep (such as documents and emails) before embarking on the reinstallation procedure.