"Internet Explorer has stopped working" Redux (unfortunately)

OK. Now I'm annoyed. I've already UnBlogged about this here and now I'm seeing it again.

If I use our search facility on eggheadcafe.com and enter "which control posted back" you'll get this url:

http://www.eggheadcafe.com/articles/20050609.asp.

When I click on this in IE 7.0 (on Windows Vista, dear Reader...) I get the dreaded "Internet Explorer has stopped working" BS. Some people get this, others don't. For me, the page comes up and almost at the point where the browser has completely loaded it, that's where IE blows up. There's nothing unusual about that page, it's like every other article on the eggheadcafe.com site. Lots of people have reported this issue with lots of different web pages, just because it doesn't happen to you doesn't mean everyone else is nuts, OK? Yeesh! No wonder they call it "Internet Exploder"!

It doesn't matter if I reset IE, it doesn't matter if I run "as Administrator", it doesn't matter if I put IE in as an exclusion in Data Execution Prevention, and it doesn't matter if I run IE "without Add-ons". For what it's worth, I didn't install Vista as an "upgrade" over another OS - it was a clean install. And you better fyookin' believe I'm not gonna take my valuable time to reinstall it and all my software too!

Let me tell you something, Pal:

I have searched for hours (and I happen to be very good at this) and all the King's Fixes and all the King's Hacks couldn't put IE7+ on Window Vista back together again, and now, I AM PISSED OFF.

You got a fix? Post it here. I'm not gonna stand for this crap. I want it fixed. Be aware, if you comment post a fix, it's likely I've already tried it, but I'm willing to try any out that you have and post the results.

The newsgroups and forums are rampant with this stuff, and I say it's time to FIX IT. I've seen hundreds of messages from poor slobs like me who are trying to run a business, or doing work, and in some cases they've had to resort to using Firefox just to be able to search on the .NET for a solution! And, I STILL DON'T HAVE A SOLUTION THAT WORKS.

I don' t give TWO SHITS about your damned Data Execution Prevention, UAE, your stories about not running with add-ons, or any of that other BULLSHIT. I want an operating system with a browser that WORKS, period!

I DON'T CARE about "what printer drivers did you install". I DON'T CARE about this, that or the other thing. I DEMAND an operating system with a built in Internet browser that will WORK, and that will work RELIABLY, CONSISTENTLY, and without ERRORS that interfere with my PRODUCTIVITY. And, I REALLY DO NOT THINK THAT IS TOO MUCH TO ASK.

D00ds, What am I talking here, Greek? How about it! Where I work, the stuff I put into production HAS TO WORK. I DON'T GET the luxury of "Fixes" or "explanations". IT EITHER WORKS, OR I AM OUT OF A JOB.

Get the picture?

N.B. There is one interesting item found by Determina that could be part of the issue. To test out this "ActiveX bgColor" bug, try this code:

<html>
<body>
<script language="JavaScript">
obj = new ActiveXObject("giffile");
obj.bgColor;
</script>
</body>
</html>

Any page with one of these little boogers in it WILL Crash IE 7.0 on Windows Vista summarily! Here's a live sample(opens in a new window, but it WILL crash your browser, even IE 6.0...). Look, you folks have had years to fix this!

P.S. Don't you just love the "Me too" syndrome? You search a post thread where some geek outlines a problem that they are having, and instead of value in the follow-ups, the NEXT 50 POSTS say, more or less, "Me Too!". Jeesh!

Comments

  1. Anonymous10:46 PM

    Cool down Peter, it's just a browser bug.
    400 people killed in Iraq in past 3 days.

    Put some time to think of things outside your computer.

    Take it easy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I must be missing something I can click on that link in IE.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm just gonna switch to using Firefox. It has bugs too, but not this kind.

    ReplyDelete
  4. it's that easy, if it doesn't work and you have other options, I don't know what has taken you so long...

    anyway, will have to try this with my Vista machine

    ReplyDelete
  5. If only browsers were Coke and Pepsi. Both taste good and give you a sugar rush. You can count on them like you can count on the sun rising every day.

    Firefox page load times are slow and ackward. Internet Explorer crashes or doesn't render certain table styles as well as FireFox.

    I'm growing disenchanted with both of them.

    Am I the only guy who has had just about enough of Billy's "Microsoft Innovation"?

    ReplyDelete
  6. I use different browsers, depending on the sites I'm visiting

    http://ebersys.blogspot.com/2006/07/using-right-tool-for-each-job-which.html

    by the way, my Vista machine works fine doing the "eggheadcafe test"

    ReplyDelete
  7. Do you have any minidumps from the browser crash that you can publish? What information are you getting from the crash if you look in wercon (type wercon in the start menu)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mark,
    thanks for asking but the problem reports are quite unrevealing. Here's a sample of one:
    Product
    Internet Explorer

    Problem
    Stopped working

    Date
    3/31/2007 9:15 PM

    Status
    Not Reported

    Problem signature
    Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
    Application Name: iexplore.exe
    Application Version: 7.0.6000.16386
    Application Timestamp: 4549b133
    Fault Module Name: StackHash_1703
    Fault Module Version: 0.0.0.0
    Fault Module Timestamp: 00000000
    Exception Code: c0000005
    Exception Offset: 0907b5ed
    OS Version: 6.0.6000.2.0.0.256.1
    Locale ID: 1033
    Additional Information 1: 1703
    Additional Information 2: 2264db07e74365624c50317d7b856ae9
    Additional Information 3: 1344
    Additional Information 4: 875fa2ef9d2bdca96466e8af55d1ae6e

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7:48 AM

    i'm a former ms kool-aid drinker, but i've been using firefox for years now, and haven't looked back

    for the few sites that require ie for correct rendering, i simply use ff's "ie tab" or "ie view" plug-ins

    sorry to hear about the anguish, but there are alternatives

    i hope you get it solved, peter

    ReplyDelete
  10. Well, topramen, that's using your noodle! I suspect that from everything I've seen so far, that this will just have to wait for a fix from the Mother Ship...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7:35 PM

    Maybe you could install windbg, then attach it to the IE process before you visit the page that causes the crash. When IE crashes type ".dump /ma [FileName]" to create a minidump file, then post a link to the file. Someone might be able to take a look at that and find the exact cause of your issue and where it is related to the activeX issue you noted.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous11:05 AM

    disabiling protected mode has worked for me, internet proterties, security, deselect enable protected mode

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yep. That's one of the first things I did, for every zone. Sorry. Didn't work.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous7:09 AM

    I found this page doing a google search for some help with this problem & had to put my 2-cents in:
    I'm furious over this because as time goes on, I'm finding MANY websites that trigger this problem. If someone comes up with a way to circumvent this idiotic DEP (which cannot be disabled, as far as I can tell) -- Please post! Meantime, it's FireFox for me (even though it's slower and I can't find a pdf viewer plugin for it that will run under Vista).

    Microsoft, YOU SUCK!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous12:13 PM

    shoulda got a MAC

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous5:43 PM

    Hi Peter,

    I am/was having a similiar problem. Very fustrating. I don't know if this will solve your problem, but I installed "Java Runtime Environment 1.6" and that stopped the problem for me. I realize it is not certified for Vista, but it worked. So far anyway.

    Loucpher

    ps. sorry if i missed that you have already heard this.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Remove omnipage or disable omnipage in startup (msconfig).

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Peter - I was experiencing the same issue and this is what I did to get rid of it:

    Disable DEP via the Command Prompt using the bcdedit. Unfortunately, I attempted to disable DEP through the VISTA Control Panel (Control Panel - System Properties - Advanced - Performance Settings - Data Execution Prevention) options but it didn't work.

    Be sure to run the command prompt as an Administrator and then at the command prompt enter:

    bcdedit.exe/set nx AlwaysOff

    Reboot your computer and try IE 7.0 again (hopefully you will be successful).

    If you want to enable DEP again, you can go back into the command prompt and use the following command (although, personally I am not going to ever enable DEP again!).
    bcdedit.exe/set nx AlwaysOn

    Good Luck!! I know this issue is a major problem for a lot of users so give this a try. Personally, I would love to re-format my computer and get rid of VISTA but I may end up using VMWare to have a back-up plan since VISTA has been a complete nightmare!

    Betty

    ReplyDelete
  19. yea ive been gettin the same problem as peter... but after my ie crashes this error comes up:
    "Exception EAccessViolation in module ShellEh440.dll at 00008A08.
    Access violation at address 00868A08 in module 'ShellEh440.dll'. Write
    of address 00000000"

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous3:53 PM

    the error message ShellEh440.dll comes from a software called 4-t tray minimizer, stop this and explorer will come back to life.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Here is a great working fix that will get Internet Explorer 7 working again!

    http://www.rfuz.com/tech-guides/computer-fix-for-strange-problems/rados-fix---internet-explorer-has-stopped-working-error-message-problem-in-windows-vista.html

    ReplyDelete
  22. Well Peter don't feel too bad ( well you can if you want LOL), I like you am running WinBLOWS Vista Biz, brand new vaio with 2gb RAM. IE7 stops to work after a short period of time, I have done a bunch of the "fixes" but I end up having to restart IE (that is assuming it has not crashed on its own). The right click menu fails to appear, when it does opening in a new tab, it results in a failed connection page. I have the temp folder set at 40mb, I clear it often (does not solve the problem). I have antivirus/malware etc software. I have installed almost nothing since buying the laptop (no strange third party stuff etc).

    Now the killer for me, it regards the choices referred to in this thread. I installed firefox and in 5 minutes it has the same issues as IE but worse, it is 95% dysfunctional. So I appear to have no choices. reinstall, ok, THIS IS A NEW SYSTEM FROM SONY!!!!

    I bought the sony after having huge issues (over a 2 year span, 9 major repairs and 2 laptops) with an HP which I have thrown away.

    So I guess I should give up using computers all together!!!

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous4:56 PM

    In my case it was a corrupt adobe flash script. Un-installed flas in add/remove programs, re-installed via adobe download site, no more problems. May not fix your problem but it made my customer happy!!
    DDT.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:20 PM

    I was just as annoyed with the problem and tried a lot of fixes. The one thing that fixed it in the end was disabling the skype plugins.

    ReplyDelete
  25. for me, the only thing that made IE7 work in Vista, after enabling and disabling all that was posted abova, after disabling all ie add-ons etc., was disabling "Enable memory protection to help mitigate online attacks" from Internet Options -> Adavnaced tab
    Hope it will help some others too.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous10:02 AM

    This fixed mine:
    Internet Options -> Adavnaced tab
    I unchecked:
    Enable third-part browser extensions*

    Now I can use IE again without an issue, and when I need a real browser I'll use Firefox.
    Tom

    ReplyDelete
  27. this seems to be an issue with a program try this out click start...
    under start search type msconfig
    click on services, check the box which says hide all microsoft icons and then disable all ...click on start up and disable all and just check the box which is ur antivirus , click apply and ok this would resolve the issue.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous5:21 PM

    Basically jus go to tools - manage add ons - enable/disable addons. There, disable Shockwave flash object. Tat will fix the prob

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous11:49 AM

    reset the explorer settings , in the internet options advanced tab and restart the pc , it works or i m dead

    ReplyDelete
  30. Anonymous11:50 AM

    go to internet options advanced tab and reset the settings for internet explorer , it works for me

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous9:29 AM

    "Internet explorer has stopped working"

    I fixed it by doing this. You may want to right click on IE7 then open without addons to make sure that is the problem. I had to go through and disable all of them and then renable them one at a time and reopen IE each time to narrow down which addon was the problem. Hope this helps.

    Tools

    Internet Options

    Programs

    Manage Add Ons

    Disable Addons: Yahoo! Services and Yahoo IE service buttons

    ReplyDelete
  32. If the crash is ShellEh440.dll related, there are 2 ways to get rid of this error.

    First, stop working with 4t minimizer, and then launch IE. 4t is not Vista compatible, but, IMHO, it´s more useful than IE ...

    And there is a second way, wich is the one I did here. I just turned off UAC and IE stops complaining.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous9:55 PM

    internet explorer has stopped working


    Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories and right-click
    on the Command Prompt and choose "Run as administrator".


    Type in: SFC /SCANNOW and press your Enter key.

    This procedure will scan Vista's protected system files
    and attempt to repair or replace missing or corrupt files.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anonymous6:41 PM

    I've had this problem and tried all of the hints above, but ultimately found the problem to reside with two items: Adobe/Macromedia flash player and Java Sun Console. You need to search your computer for multiple installs, remove them all and reinstall. You can go add/remove programs to remove the old versions of the Java Console, but you have to use Adobe's uninstaller to get rid of all your flash versions ... you may have to run the Adobe uninstaller several times too (and maybe reboot too). A good way to determine if you have multiple version installed is to run http://secunia.com/software_inspector/

    Also, one last thing to check is to make sure all elements of Java are renabled too ... especially if you've hit reset a couple of times to try to clear the problem.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I just fixed it by uninstalling all flash/shockwave/java related programs and reinstalling them.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous12:44 AM

    Peter,

    Ninad was correct...remove Omnipage. I spent hours trying many options and that is the only one that worked for me! Thank you Ninad!!!!
    Wes

    ReplyDelete
  37. Anonymous12:20 PM

    THIS WORKED:

    Disable DEP via the Command Prompt using the bcdedit. Unfortunately, I attempted to disable DEP through the VISTA Control Panel (Control Panel - System Properties - Advanced - Performance Settings - Data Execution Prevention) options but it didn't work.

    Be sure to run the command prompt as an Administrator and then at the command prompt enter:

    bcdedit.exe/set nx AlwaysOff

    Reboot your computer and try IE 7.0 again (hopefully you will be successful).

    THANK YOU! YAY! I get to see Grey's Anatomy season finale! YAY!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Here's one I haven't seen elsewhere but worked for me. Noticed javascript errors occuring on the page where the error happened, went through all java fixes - nothing worked. Then had a look at the HTML code on the page and saw that my firewall, Sunbelt personal firewall, had added some code. Opened the 'web' config in sunbelt and unticked both "block advertisements" and "block pop-ups" - this did the trick.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anonymous12:08 PM

    Unfortunatly, I feel exactly like Peter. IE is what I like best. But I cannot take the crashes anymore. After not liking Chrome and Firefox, I have decided on using Safari as my primary browser. Ah, what a nice browsing experience. I am slightly a techie but I feel stupid aftr my wife and kid went to Mac OS. I think I am joining them. The brainwash is reversing! For home use, I am preferring Apple. I still will enjoy the frustration of Windows at work. I have a feeling this will change over time. Gotta love Capitalism.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous6:16 PM

    Peter, you are right I am having the same problem on many sites - and I am in the industry - still no fix, ie8 is worse - I really think the only answer is firefox or maybe even chrome.

    The funny thing is - it used to ork fine until about 5 weeks ago - so i dont know what has happened - I am hopeing it is a bad MS update - and they will get it fixed soon. But my hope is running out.

    Somehow Microsoft dont care a less about this problem and blame add-ons - but all have been disabled so go figure - keep writing and good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  41. It's been driving me mad too - can't do crossbrowser testing with xenocode.com sandboxed IE7 or IE8 - just kept getting "Internet Explorer has stopped working" as soon as I started it, and that was with the homepage set to about:blank!

    Turning off UAC cured the problem, but I'm reluctant to do that.

    Then I remembered the last program I installed - AllChars from www.zwolnet.com. It's a handy keyboard interceptor that lets you type extended characters like ë and ½ using a "compose key" mechanism. Quitting the program made the problem go away, as did using its "Enable" right-click menu item to disable it.

    So for me the problem is solved, and maybe it suggests a solution for others - are you sure some piece of malware hasn't installed a keypress logger on your machine?

    ReplyDelete
  42. Anonymous2:34 AM

    I understand Peter's frustration completely - and it doesn't even go to a page before IE crashes - I start IE to go to a site that is basically only compatible with IE, and when it opens it opens to a blank page, because I found its loading always slow. I changed the homepage to blank:page. That appeared to fix the problem for a while, but now it crashes on a blank page.??? WTF is up with that?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous3:34 PM

    "Anonymous said...

    the error message ShellEh440.dll comes from a software called 4-t tray minimizer, stop this and explorer will come back to life."

    I disabled 4t-Minimizer and IE 8 started working again!!! Thanks, Anonymous

    ReplyDelete

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