IE8 won't open some web pages

I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar will
move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will continue
spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly anything and
there will be no error messages. These same pages open just fine in IE7 and
Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it will go right to
it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall helped somewhat as did
selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode but this still
occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously will not open but
they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3. This has been very
frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then reinstalled after
several months hoping this problem has been corrected. Any ideas?

Note: IE8 couldn't open the email verification page after posting the above,
nor would it open the page for me to write this reply, I had to use Firefox.

"BowlingInTexas" wrote:

> I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar will
> move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will continue
> spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly anything and
> there will be no error messages. These same pages open just fine in IE7 and
> Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it will go right to
> it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall helped somewhat as did
> selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode but this still
> occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously will not open but
> they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3. This has been very
> frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then reinstalled after
> several months hoping this problem has been corrected. Any ideas?

Can you provide at least one URL of "some web pages" so we can try them
ourselves?

Do you have the same problem when you start Internet Explorer from the
"no add-ons" icon?
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

BowlingInTexas wrote:
> I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar will
> move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will continue
> spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly anything and
> there will be no error messages. These same pages open just fine in IE7 and
> Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it will go right to
> it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall helped somewhat as did
> selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode but this still
> occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously will not open but
> they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3. This has been very
> frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then reinstalled after
> several months hoping this problem has been corrected. Any ideas?

1. Does the behavior persist if you start IE in No Add-ons mode? To start
IE in No Add-ons mode:

=> Right-click on the blue IE desktop icon and select Start without
Add-ons; or

=> Start | (All) Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Internet
Explorer (No add-ons).

Troubleshooting and Internet Explorer’s (No Add-ons) Mode:
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/07/25/678113.aspx

2. Does the behavior persist if you Reset IE Advanced settings (RIES)?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737 <= Read before using!

3. What anti-virus application or security suite is installed, is your
subscription current, and is it supported in IE8? What anti-spyware
applications (other than Defender)? What third-party firewall (if any)?
Were any of these applications running in the background when you installed
IE8?

4. Has a(nother) Norton or McAfee application ever been installed on this
machine (e.g., a free-trial version that came preinstalled when you bought
it)?


BowlingInTexas wrote:
> I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar
> will
> move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will
> continue spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly
> anything and there will be no error messages. These same pages open just
> fine in IE7 and Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it
> will go right to it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall
> helped
> somewhat as did selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode
> but this still occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously
> will not open but they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3.
> This
> has been very frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then
> reinstalled after several months hoping this problem has been corrected.
> Any ideas?

MSN.com will not open for me, not even when opening with no add-ons.

"Leonard Grey" wrote:

> Can you provide at least one URL of "some web pages" so we can try them
> ourselves?
>
> Do you have the same problem when you start Internet Explorer from the
> "no add-ons" icon?
> ---
> Leonard Grey
> Errare humanum est
>
> BowlingInTexas wrote:
> > I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar will
> > move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will continue
> > spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly anything and
> > there will be no error messages. These same pages open just fine in IE7 and
> > Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it will go right to
> > it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall helped somewhat as did
> > selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode but this still
> > occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously will not open but
> > they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3. This has been very
> > frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then reinstalled after
> > several months hoping this problem has been corrected. Any ideas?
>

Yes, this persists when I start IE in no add-ons mode.

Yes, it persists after resetting IE Advanced Settings (I forgot to mention
that was the first thing I'd tried).

I am using AVG Free and it is fully updated and all its add-ons are disabled
in IE8. I have no other resident anti-spyware, etc running, nor a third party
firewall.

I've never installed Norton or McAfee. I recently did a fresh install of XP
Pro after installing a new hard drive.


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:

> 1. Does the behavior persist if you start IE in No Add-ons mode? To start
> IE in No Add-ons mode:
>
> => Right-click on the blue IE desktop icon and select Start without
> Add-ons; or
>
> => Start | (All) Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Internet
> Explorer (No add-ons).
>
> Troubleshooting and Internet Explorer’s (No Add-ons) Mode:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/07/25/678113.aspx
>
> 2. Does the behavior persist if you Reset IE Advanced settings (RIES)?
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737 <= Read before using!
>
> 3. What anti-virus application or security suite is installed, is your
> subscription current, and is it supported in IE8? What anti-spyware
> applications (other than Defender)? What third-party firewall (if any)?
> Were any of these applications running in the background when you installed
> IE8?
>
> 4. Has a(nother) Norton or McAfee application ever been installed on this
> machine (e.g., a free-trial version that came preinstalled when you bought
> it)?

MSN.com opens fine on my copy of IE 8, so we can eliminate Internet
Explorer as the cause of your problem.

By the time those packets arrive at your computer they have been through
many highways and biways, any of which can fail at any time. Or there
may be something unique about your computer that prevents MSN from
appearing (not that you're missing much, IMHO.)

Perhaps if you explain in more detail what you mean by "will not open."
What exactly do you see in your browser windows - blank?" error message?
partial page? different URL?
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

BowlingInTexas wrote:
> MSN.com will not open for me, not even when opening with no add-ons.
>
> "Leonard Grey" wrote:
>
>> Can you provide at least one URL of "some web pages" so we can try them
>> ourselves?
>>
>> Do you have the same problem when you start Internet Explorer from the
>> "no add-ons" icon?
>> ---
>> Leonard Grey
>> Errare humanum est
>>
>> BowlingInTexas wrote:
>>> I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar will
>>> move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will continue
>>> spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly anything and
>>> there will be no error messages. These same pages open just fine in IE7 and
>>> Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it will go right to
>>> it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall helped somewhat as did
>>> selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode but this still
>>> occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously will not open but
>>> they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3. This has been very
>>> frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then reinstalled after
>>> several months hoping this problem has been corrected. Any ideas?

As I mentioned, the page does nothing... is blank, no messages, nothing. Have
left a page loading for over a day and it remains the same with the little
icon in the tab just spinning away and the progress bar about 33%.

MSN.com was just one example... about half the pages I try to load will not,
especially pages I have already visited.



"Leonard Grey" wrote:

> MSN.com opens fine on my copy of IE 8, so we can eliminate Internet
> Explorer as the cause of your problem.
>
> By the time those packets arrive at your computer they have been through
> many highways and biways, any of which can fail at any time. Or there
> may be something unique about your computer that prevents MSN from
> appearing (not that you're missing much, IMHO.)
>
> Perhaps if you explain in more detail what you mean by "will not open."
> What exactly do you see in your browser windows - blank?" error message?
> partial page? different URL?
> ---
> Leonard Grey
> Errare humanum est

Prologue: The progress bar is only intended to give an approximation of
the download progress. And a rough one at that.

Something on your computer is filtering your access to web pages. Likely
candidates are your security software or your Hosts file. Sometimes an
ad blocker will prevent an entire page from loading (because the page is
coded not to appear without the ad showing. I hate that.)
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

BowlingInTexas wrote:
> As I mentioned, the page does nothing... is blank, no messages, nothing. Have
> left a page loading for over a day and it remains the same with the little
> icon in the tab just spinning away and the progress bar about 33%.
>
> MSN.com was just one example... about half the pages I try to load will not,
> especially pages I have already visited.
>
>
>
> "Leonard Grey" wrote:
>
>> MSN.com opens fine on my copy of IE 8, so we can eliminate Internet
>> Explorer as the cause of your problem.
>>
>> By the time those packets arrive at your computer they have been through
>> many highways and biways, any of which can fail at any time. Or there
>> may be something unique about your computer that prevents MSN from
>> appearing (not that you're missing much, IMHO.)
>>
>> Perhaps if you explain in more detail what you mean by "will not open."
>> What exactly do you see in your browser windows - blank?" error message?
>> partial page? different URL?
>> ---
>> Leonard Grey
>> Errare humanum est
>

To keep track of things, it helps immensely if you quote all of the previous
message(s) in your replies to the newsgroup. Thank you.

Please state your full Windows version (e.g., WinXP SP3) when posting to
this newsgroup.


Did you experience the same behavior before you installed IE8?

Was AVG running in the background when you installed IE8?

Are the AVG add-ons Linkscanner, Search-Shield, Active Surf-Shield, and
Security toolbar installed & enabled?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002
www.banthecheck.com


BowlingInTexas wrote:
> Yes, this persists when I start IE in no add-ons mode.
>
> Yes, it persists after resetting IE Advanced Settings (I forgot to mention
> that was the first thing I'd tried).
>
> I am using AVG Free and it is fully updated and all its add-ons are
> disabled
> in IE8. I have no other resident anti-spyware, etc running, nor a third
> party firewall.
>
> I've never installed Norton or McAfee. I recently did a fresh install of
> XP
> Pro after installing a new hard drive.
>
>
> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" wrote:
>> 1. Does the behavior persist if you start IE in No Add-ons mode? To
>> start
>> IE in No Add-ons mode:
>>
>> => Right-click on the blue IE desktop icon and select Start without
>> Add-ons; or
>>
>> => Start | (All) Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Internet
>> Explorer (No add-ons).
>>
>> Troubleshooting and Internet Explorer’s (No Add-ons) Mode:
>> http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/07/25/678113.aspx
>>
>> 2. Does the behavior persist if you Reset IE Advanced settings (RIES)?
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737 <= Read before using!
>>
>> 3. What anti-virus application or security suite is installed, is your
>> subscription current, and is it supported in IE8? What anti-spyware
>> applications (other than Defender)? What third-party firewall (if any)?
>> Were any of these applications running in the background when you
>> installed
>> IE8?
>>
>> 4. Has a(nother) Norton or McAfee application ever been installed on this
>> machine (e.g., a free-trial version that came preinstalled when you
>> bought
>> it)?
<paste>
>> I have a problem with IE8 not opening some web pages. The progress bar
>> will
>> move very slowly then stop about 1/3rd way. The icon in the tab will
>> continue spinning till that tab is closed; the page will never dispaly
>> anything and there will be no error messages. These same pages open just
>> fine in IE7 and Firefox (I can copy the url and paste into Firefox and it
>> will go right to it). Adding an exception for IE in Windows Firewall
>> helped
>> somewhat as did selecting to display all web pages in compatibility mode
>> but this still occurs. Often web pages that have been viewed previously
>> will not open but they are not the only ones. I am running XP Pro SP3.
>> This
>> has been very frustrating. I have uninstalled IE8 several times and then
>> reinstalled after several months hoping this problem has been corrected.
>> Any ideas?