Problem with Internet Explorer/WinXP

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so I'm
hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an IE7 specific
group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white page
(background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no toolbars,
nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very bottom of the
screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes up. I
don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually use that
MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars and no icons
visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or forward, no address bar
to enter other URL's, no words such as "File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc.,
just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Try starting IE with 'no addons'
Start > All Programs > accessories > System tools > Internet explorer (no
addons)

Then reset IE
Tools > internet options > Advanced > reset > apply > ok

Then you could start in normal mode .. but why not download superantispyare
and run it in safe mode .. (when installing superantispyware the utility
called Safeboot is also installed, which makes it very easy to boot into
safe mode.)

Hopefully that will sort out the problems.

but for dog sake! upgrade to the latest IE version at the very least. :)

Pete Zahut

2010-11-19 14:41:54 UTC

Post by 123Jim

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as
"File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Try starting IE with 'no addons'
Start > All Programs > accessories > System tools > Internet explorer
(no addons)
Then reset IE
Tools > internet options > Advanced > reset > apply > ok
Then you could start in normal mode .. but why not download
superantispyare and run it in safe mode .. (when installing
superantispyware the utility called Safeboot is also installed, which
makes it very easy to boot into safe mode.)
Hopefully that will sort out the problems.
but for dog sake! upgrade to the latest IE version at the very least. :)

Thanks 123Jim, I'll pass that information on to her. Comment noted about
upgrading IE but I don't know if she will. I don't like IE8 myself and am
quite happy with 7 or even prefer Firefox :-)

Alias

2010-11-19 14:47:12 UTC

Post by 123Jim

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as
"File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Try starting IE with 'no addons'
Start> All Programs> accessories> System tools> Internet explorer
(no addons)
Then reset IE
Tools> internet options> Advanced> reset> apply> ok
Then you could start in normal mode .. but why not download
superantispyare and run it in safe mode .. (when installing
superantispyware the utility called Safeboot is also installed, which
makes it very easy to boot into safe mode.)
Hopefully that will sort out the problems.
but for dog sake! upgrade to the latest IE version at the very least. :)

Thanks 123Jim, I'll pass that information on to her. Comment noted about
upgrading IE but I don't know if she will. I don't like IE8 myself and am
quite happy with 7 or even prefer Firefox :-)

Update to IE8 as it's a part of the system. Use Firefox, Opera or
Chrome. Better yet, don't use Windows to surf. I recommend Linux Mint as
the learning curve is very easy for Windows users. Get it free at
http://www.linuxmint.com/. It comes with thousands of free programs.

--
Alias

glee

2010-11-20 15:14:24 UTC

Post by 123Jim

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as
"File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Try starting IE with 'no addons'
Start > All Programs > accessories > System tools > Internet explorer
(no addons)
Then reset IE
Tools > internet options > Advanced > reset > apply > ok
Then you could start in normal mode .. but why not download
superantispyare and run it in safe mode .. (when installing
superantispyware the utility called Safeboot is also installed, which
makes it very easy to boot into safe mode.)
Hopefully that will sort out the problems.
but for dog sake! upgrade to the latest IE version at the very least. :)

Thanks 123Jim, I'll pass that information on to her. Comment noted
about upgrading IE but I don't know if she will. I don't like IE8
myself and am quite happy with 7 or even prefer Firefox :-)

Do NOT use the advice you were given to "Reset IE settings" unless all
other avenues are exhausted. It will remove all saved passwords and
other settings.

After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.

If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+
http://dts-l.net/

Pete Zahut

2010-11-20 15:36:05 UTC

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/
comes up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does
actually use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are
no toolbars and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go
back or forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words
such as "File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full
screen. How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Try starting IE with 'no addons'
Start > All Programs > accessories > System tools > Internet
explorer (no addons)
Then reset IE
Tools > internet options > Advanced > reset > apply > ok
Then you could start in normal mode .. but why not download
superantispyare and run it in safe mode .. (when installing
superantispyware the utility called Safeboot is also installed,
which makes it very easy to boot into safe mode.)
Hopefully that will sort out the problems.
but for dog sake! upgrade to the latest IE version at the very least. :)

Thanks 123Jim, I'll pass that information on to her. Comment noted
about upgrading IE but I don't know if she will. I don't like IE8
myself and am quite happy with 7 or even prefer Firefox :-)

Do NOT use the advice you were given to "Reset IE settings" unless all
other avenues are exhausted. It will remove all saved passwords and
other settings.
After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.
If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

Thanks very much for that Glen, much appreciated. My friend hasn't had time
to try anything yet so I'll be sure to tell her to use your advice first and
keep Jim's for later use if necessary.

VanguardLH

2010-11-20 19:00:42 UTC

Pete Zahut wrote ...

When my friend opens Internet Explorer... it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.

Do NOT use the advice you were given to "Reset IE settings" unless all
other avenues are exhausted. It will remove all saved passwords and
other settings.
After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.
If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

Thanks very much for that Glen, much appreciated. My friend hasn't had time
to try anything yet so I'll be sure to tell her to use your advice first and
keep Jim's for later use if necessary.

glee is trying to steal thunder from Elmo's same suggestion offered the
previous day. Fullscreen mode doesn't explain away the 30 to 40 second
delay before anything begins painting inside the web browser's window.
Fullscreen mode also doesn't explain away why you don't see any toolbars
when you start IE. The toolbars appear for a couple seconds and then
roll up or disappear after a couple seconds.

Regarding resetting of IE, when you click the Reset button, a warning
dialog is presented that tells you all what will happen. You don't need
glee's warning to know the effects of a reset. Something not mentioned
by glee regarding the reset of IE (and mentioned in the warning prompt)
is that all add-ons will get disabled. While it is easier to test IE in
its no add-ons mode to get them out of the way as possible causes of the
problem, disabling the add-ons is another route for removing them as a
possible problem cause. Typically you can first disable all the
non-Microsoft add-ons to see if any of those are the culprit. If none
are found to be the culprit then disable the Microsoft add-ons. Using
the no add-ons mode makes a faster and quicker check against all of them
at once to see if any might be the culprit. If the no add-ons mode
works to eliminate the delay then disable them all and start reenabling
one at a time to see which one causes the delay problem.

Pete Zahut

2010-11-20 19:50:45 UTC

Pete Zahut wrote ...

When my friend opens Internet Explorer... it opens full-screen and
is just a blank white page (background?) for something like 30
seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.

Do NOT use the advice you were given to "Reset IE settings" unless
all other avenues are exhausted. It will remove all saved
passwords and other settings.
After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard
to toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full
Screen mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.
If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse
cursor up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down.
Find the "Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return
to normal screen mode.

Thanks very much for that Glen, much appreciated. My friend hasn't
had time to try anything yet so I'll be sure to tell her to use your
advice first and keep Jim's for later use if necessary.

glee is trying to steal thunder from Elmo's same suggestion offered
the previous day. Fullscreen mode doesn't explain away the 30 to 40
second delay before anything begins painting inside the web browser's
window. Fullscreen mode also doesn't explain away why you don't see
any toolbars when you start IE. The toolbars appear for a couple
seconds and then roll up or disappear after a couple seconds.
Regarding resetting of IE, when you click the Reset button, a warning
dialog is presented that tells you all what will happen. You don't
need glee's warning to know the effects of a reset. Something not
mentioned by glee regarding the reset of IE (and mentioned in the
warning prompt) is that all add-ons will get disabled. While it is
easier to test IE in its no add-ons mode to get them out of the way
as possible causes of the problem, disabling the add-ons is another
route for removing them as a possible problem cause. Typically you
can first disable all the non-Microsoft add-ons to see if any of
those are the culprit. If none are found to be the culprit then
disable the Microsoft add-ons. Using the no add-ons mode makes a
faster and quicker check against all of them at once to see if any
might be the culprit. If the no add-ons mode works to eliminate the
delay then disable them all and start reenabling one at a time to see
which one causes the delay problem.

Cheers Vanguard my friend, good points and all noted. Thanks very much.

glee

2010-11-20 21:23:10 UTC

Pete Zahut wrote ...

Do NOT use the advice you were given to "Reset IE settings" unless all
other avenues are exhausted. It will remove all saved passwords and
other settings.
After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.
If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

Thanks very much for that Glen, much appreciated. My friend hasn't had time
to try anything yet so I'll be sure to tell her to use your advice first and
keep Jim's for later use if necessary.

What a moron! I'm not trying to "steal thunder" from Elmo. I even
mentioned in another post in this thread that Elmo was the only person
who made what is likely the correct suggestion. You're a real piece
of....work.

As for the delay painting the screen, I have seen exactly that in full
screen mode on older systems with older integrated graphics chipsets.
Switching to window mode removes much of the delay. It occurs on older
systems where I work.

--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+
http://dts-l.net/

Jim

2010-11-19 15:15:35 UTC

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so I'm
hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an IE7 specific
group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white page
(background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no toolbars, nothing
visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes up. I
don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually use that MSN
page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars and no icons visible
at all, nothing to click on to go back or forward, no address bar to enter
other URL's, no words such as "File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the
MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

1) slow internet connection ?
2) if this has just started , system restore to when it was working .

Pete Zahut

2010-11-19 15:38:29 UTC

Post by Jim

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as
"File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

1) slow internet connection ?
2) if this has just started , system restore to when it was working .

Thanks Jim but no, it's not a slow internet connection - that wouldn't
explain the lack of icons/toolbars but I'll bear system restore in mind.

VanguardLH

2010-11-19 19:42:40 UTC

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so I'm
hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an IE7 specific
group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white page
(background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no toolbars, nothing
visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes up. I
don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually use that MSN
page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars and no icons visible
at all, nothing to click on to go back or forward, no address bar to enter
other URL's, no words such as "File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the
MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Load Windows in its safe mode (with networking). Any faster now with
less startup apps loading that might be interrogating the web traffic?

As mentioned, try loading IE7 in its no add-ons mode. If that solves
the problem, start looking at what programs/add-ons have been installed.
Start killing off the non-critical and often least or rarely used ones.

In IE8, DEP was enabled by default (Advanced tab, Security section,
"Enable memory protection ...". In IE7, the option was added but was
disabled by default because of so many crappy add-ons that had popular
use. Enabling DEP might expose which add-ons are poorly coded and
should be discarded or updated to correct the problem.

There are users that also install theming software which conflicts with
some applications. For example, WindowsBlinds is known to cause
problems with Internet Explorer so its user must configure WindowsBlinds
to exclude that application from its theme alteration.

Elmo

2010-11-19 22:07:30 UTC

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so I'm
hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couldn't see an IE7 specific
group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white page
(background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no toolbars, nothing
visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes up. I
don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually use that MSN
page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars and no icons visible
at all, nothing to click on to go back or forward, no address bar to enter
other URL's, no words such as "File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the
MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Have her press F11 to exit that display mode.

--
Joe =o)

Pete Zahut

2010-11-20 19:53:46 UTC

Post by Elmo

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couldn't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as
"File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Have her press F11 to exit that display mode.

Thanks very much Elmo. I did post a thanks last night but it doesn't appear
to have shown up - hope it does at this second attempt.

Pete Zahut

2010-11-21 11:22:29 UTC

Post by Elmo

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but
can't contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couldn't see an
IE7 specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank
white page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons,
no toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the
very bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as
"File", "Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?
TIA

Have her press F11 to exit that display mode.

Thanks very much Elmo, that worked. Cheers my friend :-)

glee

2010-11-20 15:15:42 UTC

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an IE7
specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white
page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no
toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very
bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as "File",
"Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?

Elmo is the only responder who gave you the correct answer of what to
try first.

After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.

If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+
http://dts-l.net/

VanguardLH

2010-11-20 18:44:13 UTC

Pete Zahut wrote ...

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an IE7
specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white
page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no
toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very
bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as "File",
"Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?

Elmo is the only responder who gave you the correct answer of what to
try first.
After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.
If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

Uh huh. Please explain why fullscreen mode incurs a 30-second delay, as
mentioned by the OP, before anything starts painting inside the web
browser's window. The OP specifically mentioned that they are NOT using
about:blank as their home page. Please explain why the OP never
mentioned seeing the top toolbars that show up when first going into
fullscreen mode (they appear immediately and then after a couple seconds
roll up out of view).

When you go to the OP's home page, http://uk.msn.com/, whether in
windowed or fullscreen mode for Internet Explorer, can you really get up
to 30 seconds before anything of that web page begins painting inside
the web browser's window? I get up to all of a count of 3 seconds
before I see the first object appear (my delay is probably a tad longer
than the OP's since I have the big pond jump from USA to UK).

glee

2010-11-20 21:32:33 UTC

Pete Zahut wrote ...

Post by Pete Zahut
Trying to help a friend but never seen anything like this before so
I'm hoping you knowledgeable folks here can help.
When my friend opens Internet Explorer (think it's version 7 but can't
contact her at the moment to confirm - and I couln't see an IE7
specific group anyway) it opens full-screen and is just a blank white
page (background?) for something like 30 seconds - no icons, no
toolbars, nothing visible at all except the WinXP taskbar at the very
bottom of the screen.
After about 30 to 40 seconds, her home page http://uk.msn.com/ comes
up. I don't think this is a browser hijack because she does actually
use that MSN page as her home page, but again, there are no toolbars
and no icons visible at all, nothing to click on to go back or
forward, no address bar to enter other URL's, no words such as "File",
"Edit", "View" etc., etc., just the MSN page, full screen.
How do we get things back to normal?

Elmo is the only responder who gave you the correct answer of what to
try first.
After IE opens to the home page, press the F11 key on the keyboard to
toggle it from Full Screen mode to normal mode. When in Full Screen
mode, all the toolbars and the menu bar will be hidden.
If the F11 key does not respond for some reason, move the mouse cursor
up to the top of the screen, and a toolbar will pop down. Find the
"Full Screen" icon on the toolbar and click it to return to normal
screen mode.

Uh huh. Please explain why fullscreen mode incurs a 30-second delay, as
mentioned by the OP, before anything starts painting inside the web
browser's window. The OP specifically mentioned that they are NOT using
about:blank as their home page. Please explain why the OP never
mentioned seeing the top toolbars that show up when first going into
fullscreen mode (they appear immediately and then after a couple seconds
roll up out of view).
When you go to the OP's home page, http://uk.msn.com/, whether in
windowed or fullscreen mode for Internet Explorer, can you really get up
to 30 seconds before anything of that web page begins painting inside
the web browser's window? I get up to all of a count of 3 seconds
before I see the first object appear (my delay is probably a tad longer
than the OP's since I have the big pond jump from USA to UK).

Why the jerk attitude, Vanguard? Full screen mode can cause a delay on
older systems with older integrated graphics chipsets...I've seen it a
number of times. The delay in rendering could also have another cause
separate from the full screen mode....that doesn't mean they aren't in
full screen. The description fits full screen.

The fact that the OP didn't specifically state the seeing the fullscreen
rollup toolbar doesn't mean it wasn't there. In fact, on old systems
with inadequate graphics (or outdated drivers), the rollup toolbar is
not always easily visible because it will appear as a series of
horizontal lines rolling up, with no recognizable toolbar features. I
have also seen this many times on older systems.

--
Glen Ventura
MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
CompTIA A+
http://dts-l.net/

Pete Zahut

2010-11-21 11:23:46 UTC

Post by glee