Stumped on XP/IE weirdness

[Bogie]

Okay... I've been wrenching on this damn machine all day...
 
When you load internet explorer (which is required to be used in an online college course...), the home page literally hangs for about 5-10 minutes (I have not timed...). It shows up, but then if you try to access anything else, you get not responding. After this time period, everything works normally. Machine is hooked to a cable modem at present, and it is not signal-related. Also upgraded to IE 7, same result.
 
Help?

[Preacherman]

1.  Is the home page trying to set cookies, when you've disabled them in your browser?  This can be a problem.

2.  Is the "home page" to which you're referring set as your default home page in your browser, or are you navigating to that page?

3.  Have you cleared your cache, old cookies, etc. before starting a session?  This can make a startling difference.

Just a few ideas.

[erik the bold]

When you say 'load', I'll assume that you mean, 'open'.

Had similar problem with wife's computer a couple of months ago.  Her's was malware related.  I was able to clean up, fortunately. 
She now runs Firefox.   

Try this...

Download and install Lavasoft Adaware and Spybot Search and Destroy with latest updates.  Run in 'Safe Mode' (F8 on start up).  Run full system scan 2-3 times each, with restart after each scan to make sure all bad stuff is gone.  Run virus scan as well.  (I use AVG Free)

Alternately, try opening without ethernet cable attached.  Does problem repeat?

[Leatherneck]

Excellent advice above, especially the malware caution. Also, when it hangs up, try opening task manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL) and see what programs are running.

TC

[BakerMikeRomeo]

If it helps any, and you're not too attached to your home-page, I use about:blank (there's a button for it under Internet Options some place), so my browser isn't fiddling with anything while it's trying to finish loading.

I also add my Minor Geek endorsement to doing scans for malware and maybe busting a Defrag move, just for good measure and also clearing cache, cookies, etc.

Mmmm, cookies..

~GnSx

[Bogie]

Okay... This is too darn weird... Booted safe, ran the hunter/killer software (adaware, spybot, etc.) and switched the home page, loaded the latest version of IE, etc., etc., and it's still hanging for about 5-6 minutes at least when you load IE...
 
Damn, but I am longing for the days when I just had to worry my Kaypro, my high-tech 2400bps modem, and the AT commands...
 

[erik the bold]

Have you tried a 'system restore' to a point prior to the problem appearing?

Does your ISP provide a dynamic or static IP address?

Do you have any 'add-on' toolbars and such?

Is it only your logon, or other users on this computer as well?

Google search brought up the following:

You could try deleting Temporary Internet Files folder and the History folder.
(Windows will reset folders on restart)
From Folder Options> View, make sure hidden files will be visible. Then
login as another user with administrator privileges, or from the
machine's default administrator account (startup in safe mode) and delete
the affected TIF folder and History folder from Windows Explorer. They're at
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings.

You would not be able to delete these folders when logged in as
yourself- they're "In use." You should be able to delete them from the
Administrator account.

If running XP SP2, try IE> Tools> Manage add-ons. Disable add-ons to see if
one of them is the culprit.

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Try downloading Crap Cleaner ( http://www.ccleaner.com )

I've used it for quite awhile and I find it exceptionally useful in cleaning out my cache files and keeping my registry clean. I've got it set up to automatically purge things at every reboot.

It is also very good at other things, such as completely deleting your unwanted applications, such as those spambot toolbars and such.

From what I've seen, you'd be time/effort/peace of mind ahead to stay away from IE7 also.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Bogie]

Well, when I have the machine back in another day or so, I'm going to wrench on it some more. I've run darn near every hunter/killer I can find, and it's still doing this - whatever web site I set as the home page, it goes there, and hangs... After a few minutes, it behaves normally.
 

[Vodka7]

This is a long shot, but you might want to check if adobe acrobat is running.  About 25% of the time after loading a PDF file, acrobat fails to exit correctly and causes some weird problems with my web browser and sometimes my system in general.  Bring up the task manager, look for something like AcroRd32.exe, and manually kill the process.

You also might want to see if any weird IE addons are running.  Press Alt to bring up the menus (just press and release, don't hold), go to tools, manage add-ons, enable/disable add-ons, and disable anything that you don't trust.

[Ben]

Long shot, but I've had something similar happen to me on a few different websites lately. Have you tried hitting "reload" while the page is loading? When I've had a page start taking too long to load, I'll hit "reload" while it's trying to load from the first attempt (not hitting "stop" first) and it will then load right up.

[cosine]

Long shot, but I've had something similar happen to me on a few different websites lately. Have you tried hitting "reload" while the page is loading? When I've had a page start taking too long to load, I'll hit "reload" while it's trying to load from the first attempt (not hitting "stop" first) and it will then load right up.

I find having to do that a fairly common occurrence. Yahoo's website is the worst.