A reader wanted some advice on handling issues with Internet Explorer:
“I periodically use Internet Explorer as my browser. Lately, though it freezes up and you have to use task manager to get out. Are you or any of your colleagues aware of this issue? If so, do you know any way to fix it? If we don’t hear from you before Christmas, may you and your family have a Blessed and Joyful Christmas.”
Merry Christmas to you and yours as well. And a big old “bah humbug” to Internet Explorer. While I still use Internet Explorer, I’ve found that it seems to get buggier by the second. That’s why I have Edge, Chrome, and Firefox as well. But, I have to admit, there are some sites that do seem to work better with Internet Explorer. If you haven’t tried using either Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, give one or all of them a try. Your problems may vanish instantly.
Let’s attempt a little bit of IE troubleshooting.
Are you trying to watch a site that uses HTML 5 on a Windows 7 PC? There’s a real issue with HTML5 and Internet Explorer on that operating system. Try Chrome or another browser and see if that helps.
Another option is to clear the cache. Press Ctrl + Shift.+ Delete (not the Alt key) and you can clear out cookies and temporary files.
If you still find that Internet Explorer is shutting down, try clicking the gear icon in the upper right of the browser and selecting Internet Options from the drop-down menu.
Click the Advanced tab and under Accelerated Graphics try checking Use software rendering instead of GPU rendering. Then click OK. You’ll need to restart the PC for it to take effect.
Another possibility could be add-ons of some kind are causing a problem. Type Internet Explorer in your search box and choose Internet Explorer (no add-ons) from the results.
If you have no issues when running this version of IE, you’ll want to turn off add-ons in the browser. Click the gear icon at the top right and choose Manage add-ons from the drop-down menu.
You can go through one at a time to disable add-ons and toolbars. After turning each one off, check out IE and see if it works any better. The process of elimination may help you find a culprit.
You could also try clicking the Reset button under the advanced settings.
Often times I just give up and use Chrome.