Re: Windows 98SE "freezes" for 1 minute every time I close Internet Explorer 6.

To expand on what Noel has posted, I would suspect a problem with your TIF
(cache) - and that you have IE set to clear your cache when closing IE. The
setting is in IE at Tools...Internet Options...Advanced tab, Security
section - "Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed".
Uncheck that box, click Apply, click Okay and see if your problem is solved.
If so, totally delete your TIF folder per the instructions here (it will be
recreated as empty when you reboot):
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/delcache.htm

--

Jon R. Kennedy MS MVP/IE
Charlotte, NC USA
jkennedy2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


"Sol" <revolution_158@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OMednbLF2NwxBgrZnZ2dnUVZ_oKdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi there.

Well, a few days ago, a strange little problem started plaguing me. First,
let's discuss my system's specs.

MSINFO32 has this to say:

-----

SYSTEM INFORMATION
Microsoft Windows 98 4.10.2222 A
Upgrade using Full OEM CD /SrcDir=D:\WIN98 /IQ /U:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IE 5 6.0.2800.1106
Uptime: 0:06:52:48
Normal mode
AuthenticAMD AMD-K6(tm) 3D processor (ed.: yeah, it's old =)
128MB RAM
84% system resources free
Custom swap file on drive C (5866MB free)
Available space on drive C: 5866MB of 9777MB (FAT32)
Available space on drive D: 9772MB of 9772MB (FAT32)

RUNNING TASKS
Kernel32.dll
MSGSRV32.EXE
Mprexe.exe
Mstask.exe
MMTASK.TSK
KB891711.EXE
Explorer.exe
Taskmon.exe
Systray.exe
Wmiexe.exe
Ddhelp.exe
Thunderbird.exe
Rundll32.exe
Msinfo32.exe

STARTUP PROGRAMS
ScanRegistry Registry (Machine Run) C:\WINDOWS\scanregw.exe /autorun
TaskMonitor Registry (Machine Run) C:\WINDOWS\taskmon.exe
SystemTray Registry (Machine Run) SysTray.Exe
LoadPowerProfile Registry (Machine Run) Rundll32.exe
powrprof.dll,LoadCurrentPwrScheme
SchedulingAgent Registry (Machine Service) mstask.exe
KB891711 Registry (Machine Service)
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\KB891711\KB891711.EXE
(ed.: HijackThis came up with the same results and no suspicious looking
entries of any other kind. Also, I take above average care not to allow
malware into my PC and I've never had an infection on the PC in question,
so there's that to consider.)

INTERNET EXPLORER
Version 6.0.2800.1106IS
Build 62800.1106
Product ID 55736-OEM-5334751-04305
Application Path C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer
Date of Last Install 3/9/06 1:17:51 AM
Language English (United States)
Active Printer Not Available
Cipher Strength 128-bit
Content Advisor Disabled
Update Versions ;SP1;Q905915;Q837009;Q833989;Q891781;q313829;Q912812;
Java VM Version 5.0.3810.0
IEAK Install Yes (ed.: I had IEAK downloaded once... I can't remember if
I installed it or not. I definetly have the IE 5 PowerTweaks installed,
so maybe that's what it means... I probably just don't know what this is
actually referring to. Pay no 'tention to the man behind the curtain. =)

INTERNET EXPLORER CACHE
Page Refresh Type Always
Temporary Internet Files Folder C:\WINDOWS\Temporary Internet Files
Total Disk Space 9777 MB
Available Disk Space 5866 MB
Maximum Cache Size 1 MB
Available Cache Size 0 MB


-----

I install and uninstall a great deal of software on this machine on a
regular basis, though my problem didn't seem to crop up following any
particular installation and I haven't been doing much installing in the
past few days. I keep the disks (2 physical HDDs; see above) defragmented
fairly regularly and run scandisk on them regularly too, as well as Steve
Gibson's excellent SpinRite 6.0. I keep my machine current with all
applicable Windows Updates (which is now a non-issue with good ol' Win9x
=). I use cable Internet and connect out to the great yonder through a
hub (a straight up hub, not a switch or a router) which itself plugs into
a Linksys router which obviously connects to my cable modem. I share the
hub with 1 other PC and 1 other PC plugs directly into a LAN port on the
router. So my network looks (roughly) like this:

GREAT YONDER
|
|
CABLE MODEM
| PC 2
| /
ROUTER----------HUB------
| \
| PC 3 (THAT'S ME!)
PC 1


This's in my home, if that matters.

That's pretty much all the pertinent pre-problem info I can think of to
tell you at this late (for me) hour...


...So here's the problem:

Whenever I close my 1 open IE window, my PC "freezes" for almost exactly 1
minute (if it's not dead on 60 seconds, it's pretty close; I watched the
clock several times ;). The reason I put quotes around freezes is that
the PC doesn't *completely* lock up. I mean, I still have control of the
mouse and keyboard, and in fact, I can click on the icons on my Desktop
and they're actually able to gain focus (you know, they turn blue and "get
selected"; click on an icon once in any version of Windows if you have
double-clicking enabled and you'll see what I mean). I can click on
different icons and change the focus too, and I can even use the arrow
keys on the keyboard to change icon focus (that's how I knew I was still
able to use the keyboard ;). I can click on the Start button and bestow
focus on it as well (click your start button and watch the actual button
itself change; that's what I see, minus the menu itself). But, if I try
and double-click on anything, nothing at all happens... Until 1 minute
later. Then, any folders I clicked on open up, any apps start to run,
etc. This has so far *only* occurred when I close IE, and, as I said in
the subject line, it happens *EVERY* time I close IE. Well, actually
that's not 100% true. If I simply open IE to my start page and then close
it without clicking any links or navigating to any websites, then this
problem does NOT occur. However, if I open multiple windows (Ctrl+N)
then, even if I merely close them and don't do anything else, the PC still
"freezes". Even stranger, if I open multiple IE windows and then click a
link in each window (say, 4 concurrently open windows) they all dutifully
load the page with no apparent performance hit...but if I close them all,
then the PC *REALLY* freezes, with almost no responsiveness on the mouse
and keyboard, but only for about the same blasted minute, maybe a little
longer. Gah!

I've not tried much yet because I'm a little in fear of breaking stuff on
this PC... I need to make a current HDD image/ghost/clone/what-have-you,
but I'd kinda like to not take a buggy clone if I don't have to... So you
see the sort of catch-22 I'm keeping myself in. =) In any case, I
regularly clean out my temp files, browser cache, and I have restarted the
PC multiple times since this started cropping up (in fact, when I first
detected this chicanery, I thought Windows was just locking up on me as it
is wont to do, and I gave it the old 3 finger salute and restarted a
number of times before I noticed the pattern... ;). I've turned the PC
completely off once or twice also in the hopes that that might help... So
far no good. I read something recently about Windows not liking if the
root directory of the boot partition being full of files, so I set about
clearing out the rather messy root directory of my C: partition (I was
given this PC so, hey, *I* didn't get it messy =). That too did no good.
The only other thing I can think of that I've done recently that's out of
the ordinary is that I accidentally downgraded my ASPI drivers from
version 4.7something to 4.60. I thought that may have been the cause of
the problem, so I re-updated my ASPI drivers to v.4.7whatever, but I'm
still stuck with the issue. But there it is anyway, maybe that means
something and I don't know it...

If anyone out there has any advice or ideas, I'd be very glad and equally
appreciative if you'd share it. I'd especially like to know if this is an
issue with IE itself, or if this is something else's cancer making IE look
like the culprit. My thanks go out in advance to anyone who responds.

Cheers to one and all.


.

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