Internet Explorer Running Slow

Why is Internet Explorer Running Slow, you may ask. Part five of the IE series looks at more ways to speed up your web browser.

Refer to part four to cover the 12 recommendations for improving IE performance.

Part One and Part Two introduce you to some new browsing features such as InPrivate Browsing and Smart Address Bar Searches.

Part Three shows you how to use certain software options, such as deleting Internet Explorer History.

Part Six shows you how to Reinstall Internet Explorer. Sometimes this is your only course of action left to take.

Each tutorial is littered with hints and tips on handy features that you may not be aware of. Keep and eye out for them.

There are also plenty of images to help you see how easy this is. Give it a go.

Internet Explorer Running Slow Continued

Many issues cause Internet Explorer to run slow. Not all of them are down to the web browser, either.

The way the Operating System is set up and the technical specification of your machine, e.g. CPU, RAM etc., can also be factors.

This tutorial focuses on things you can do to stop Internet Explorer running slow. If you work through each suggestion, you should find an improvement in overall performance.

Listed below is a link to each fix we discuss. This gives you the option to either read through the whole page, or hop to the fix of interest.

Step eight on this page  gives you the opportunity to share your knowledge on how you speed up Internet Explorer. Why was IE running slow on your machine? How did you speed it up?

Step nine on this page enables you to jump directly to the knowledge and actions shared by other visitors to this page. Take a look. You may find out something new!

Internet Explorer Running Slow | Favourites

Storing dozens of Favourites can stop Internet Explorer from working properly. Don't be surprised at the performance if you have hundreds of favourites bookmarked.

All the URL's (Uniform Resource Locator, i.e. the http(s):// bit) need to be loaded when you start up Internet Explorer.

My advice is to review your favourites every week or two and delete the ones you don't really need, or never use.

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Internet Explorer Running Slow | Tabs

The golden rule is not to open up any more than 4 to 6 tabs in an Internet Explorer window.

Each tab is a different browsing session, and any more than 6 tabs slows things down. IE may even crash as a result of too many open tabs.

If you need to open up more than 6 tabs, open up a new Internet Explorer window, or close some of your tabs down.

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Internet Explorer Running Slow | Home Page Settings

Do you have a graphic intensive home page? Setting your home page to a gaming site or similar, for example, can slow down load times down.

This is worsened if you have IE set up to check for newer versions of stored pages every time you visit your home page. See Temporary Internet Files for more details.

Change your home page to www.google.com. This is an example of a site that is less graphic intensive. Alternatively, set your home page to blank.

• Click Tools > Internet Options > General tab
  
  
• Click Use Blank to set no home page
  
  
• Click Use Current to select the current web page you are on as your home page - See more at
  
  
• Click OK to apply your settings
  

Internet Explorer Running Slow
Home Page

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Internet Explorer Running Slow | Patching

It is critical you keep your computer, and web browser, fully up to date with all the patches Microsoft release.

This ensures that vulnerabilities in your Operating System are not exploited by cyber criminals.

Microsoft releases new security updates every Tuesday. Patch Tuesday is the first Tuesday in every month when Microsoft issue critical and important security updates.

Apply these updates as soon as possible to be protected. Usually, your computer is set up to automatically do this. However, you can double-check your computer is fully patched by:

Clicking Tools > Windows Update

This takes you to the Microsoft Update Site, where your computer is scanned and a list of patches is presented.

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Internet Explorer Running Slow | Google Redirect Virus

If you have this virus, your browser will grind to a halt!

Google searches take an age. When the search results appear, clicking a link redirects you to an entirely different site.

Watch the video below for more details on this Internet Explorer virus (It is about 9 minutes long.)

Internet Explorer Running Slow | The Google Redirect Virus Video

See Computer Virus Removal for further details on how to remove this virus. It is simple, and will save you a fortune at your local computer repair shop.

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Internet Explorer Running Slow | Optimize Advanced Settings

The default advanced settings are suitable in most cases. There is no need to change them.

However, if you are feeling ambitious, you can have a go at changing the following to stop Internet Explorer running slow.

• Untick Display Accelerator Button On Selection

This means the Accelerator button  does not appear when text on a web page is highlighted. See Accelerators for more details

• Untick Enable Suggested Sites

This means when you are entering a search term, suggestions to improve your searching experience do not occur.

• Untick Always Use ClearType For HTML

This means the text on web pages (especially on Laptop LCD screens) may be more difficult to read. However, Internet Explorer speed improves dramatically. It is up to you to make a decision.

• Untick Play Animations In Web Pages

This means any animations on web pages do not work. Can you live without this?

• Untick Play Sounds On Web Pages

This means any embedded audio in web pages do not work. Can you live without this too? The more unchecked multimedia options, the quicker web pages load.

Internet Explorer Running Slow
Advanced Settings

If you make any advanced changes and find you are having problems, click the Restore Advanced Settings button and restart your web browser.

This resets all the Advanced Setting options back to their default values.

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Internet Explorer Running Slow | Final Thoughts

This article continued with suggestions on how to speed up your web browser. With Internet Explorer running slow, you waste a lot of time waiting for things to happen.

Part six shows you how to Reinstall Internet Explorer.