Jump to content

Welcome to Geeks to Go - Register now for FREE

Need help with your computer or device? Want to learn new tech skills? You're in the right place!
Geeks to Go is a friendly community of tech experts who can solve any problem you have. Just create a free account and post your question. Our volunteers will reply quickly and guide you through the steps. Don't let tech troubles stop you. Join Geeks to Go now and get the support you need!

How it Works Create Account
Photo

IE8 using way too much memory; causing system freezes


  • Please log in to reply

#1
shampton2

shampton2

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPip
  • 33 posts
Hi. I have been having issues with my web browser for quite some time now. I don't know specifically when it started, but I always attributed it to the age of my computer (2001 Dell Precision Workstation 340). Whenever I open IE8, I am able to perform a few tasks, but then all of a sudden, my computer starts chugging, the processing light stays on, and I am not able to do anything else but wait. I used to try to End Task it, but that wasn't working. So now, usually, I end up ending the IE processes, and there are two or more, even if I only have one tab open. Ending the larger one, which is like 75K or more (often upwards of 120), does not cause the program to end. I have to end the process on the smaller one, generally 3 to 6K.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what is causing this, and, more importantly, how I can fix the darn thing? I would be ever so grateful.

Thanks in advance,
Summarah
:) :) :) :)

Edited by shampton2, 10 February 2010 - 05:17 PM.

  • 0

Advertisements


#2
xblindx

xblindx

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPipPip
  • 132 posts
Do you have any add ons such as Siteadvisor installed?
  • 0

#3
shampton2

shampton2

    Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • PipPip
  • 33 posts
No, but I do have a large number of processes running which I don't know what they are. Svchost.exe has 11 running right now.
:)
  • 0

#4
xblindx

xblindx

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPipPip
  • 132 posts
It is normal for svchost.exe to have multiple processes.
Could you possibly sort the processes by their memory usage and post the top 5 while IE is running?
  • 0

#5
shampton2

shampton2

    Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • PipPip
  • 33 posts
iexplore.exe (~44K), Mshield.exe (~39K), mcmscsvc.exe (~15K), explorer.exe (15K), and svchost.exe (~10K). I think that the problem occurs typically when I have Outlook 2002 open at the same time and/or have opened the Sorority Life app on facebook. Right now, I haven't done either of those activities, and my web browser is just breezing along. I have 2 tabs open, and there are 2 instances of iexplore.exe.

I will make the problem reoccur and then provide an update. Thank you for helping me!
  • 0

#6
Kyler_IE8_Team

Kyler_IE8_Team

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 7 posts
I would recommend disabling any add-ons you might have running with IE8, this might streamline the browser and get things moving a little faster.
Go under Tools (in the upper right) and select Manage Add-Ons. Disable any add-on with a more than .2 sec load time (you can always turn them back on easily).
Hopefully that helps.

Cheers,
Kyler
IE 8 Outreach Team
  • 0

#7
xblindx

xblindx

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPipPip
  • 132 posts
Hmm, those processes taking a lot of memory are all related to McAfee, could you possibly temporarily disable McAfee and start IE and see if you still get the same results?

Edited by xblindx, 12 February 2010 - 02:54 PM.

  • 0

#8
shampton2

shampton2

    Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • PipPip
  • 33 posts
Thanks for your quick responses. I only had one add-on enabled, and it was less than the load time you specified.

McAfee is not loading now, and I did not disable it. When I attempted to start it manually, it reported that one of its components was recently updated and that I should restart my computer. After the restart, however, McAfee still did not load. So I have to find out what's going on there. I may test the browser before enabling it again to see if that's the culprit.

Thanks for working with me on this. I appreciate your diligence and patience.
  • 0

#9
xblindx

xblindx

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPipPip
  • 132 posts
I'm happy to help :)
Personally, I wouldn't use Mcafee though, I would use a free alternative such as avast! or Avira
  • 0

#10
shampton2

shampton2

    Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • PipPip
  • 33 posts
Yeah, McAfee is quite the memory hog. And I could not get it to disable. It doesn't show a tray icon, but all of it's processes (that I could identify) are still running. So after a few minutes on Sorority Life, the browser gets to hogging the memory again. I will remove McAfee and replace it with Avast or Avira and see if I still encounter the issue.

Thanks for your help! :)
  • 0

#11
Broni

Broni

    Kraków my love :)

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 12,300 posts

McAfee is quite the memory hog

Nonsense. Not that I like McAfee, but the above is not true.

McAfee is not loading now, and I did not disable it


I suggest that you start a new topic in the Malware Removal and Spyware Removal area.

Before you start a new topic click on this link --> Malware and Spyware Cleaning Guide, Please read before starting a new topic. This will give you a few preparations to make, as well as instruction for posting your OTListIt2 log.

If you are still having problems after being given a clean bill of health from the malware expert, then please return to THIS thread and we will pursue other options to help you solve your current problem(s).
  • 0

#12
shampton2

shampton2

    Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • PipPip
  • 33 posts
Well, I got rid of McAfee and started using Avast!, and that sped my computer up a little bit. Then I swapped browsers from IE8 and started using Google Chrome. Finally, I downloaded Advanced SystemCare and did all the scans, made all recommended repairs, and now my computer is FLYING!!! I didn't even think it had this much life left in it, but it is zooming! For real! :) Thank you so much xblindx! You are awesome!

Broni, thanks for your suggestions. I have seen articles (I don't remember where, maybe PC World or cNet, but I don't want to erroneously attribute) that stated that McAfee files, specifically mcproxy could be disabled because it is a notorious memory hog. The one that was giving me trouble was mcshield. Could have been due to a malware infection, but the problem is solved and I am thrilled.

Thanks again! Geeks2Go ROCKS!
  • 0

#13
Broni

Broni

    Kraków my love :)

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 12,300 posts
Good news :)
  • 0

#14
xblindx

xblindx

    Member

  • Member
  • PipPipPip
  • 132 posts
Sorry for this extremely late reply, but its good to hear you got it running :)
  • 0






Similar Topics

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

As Featured On:

Microsoft Yahoo BBC MSN PC Magazine Washington Post HP