MS Windows Internet Explorer 8 Problems

[evamaria]

I normally use comp 1, with IE8 and MS updates latest version; unfortunately, this IE8 doesn't work properly (anymore) with many websites (I've got XP so IE9 won't install). So, in order to get beyond such probs, I also installed FF, using it just for such problematic sites.

Now I "lost" my AC adaptor for my comp 1 (will have to do 160 km to retrieve it, in some weeks), and so I unpacked pc 2 which in fact I hadn't used for months (or was it years?), and without having done the "necessary" MS update installs.

Now, a revelation: Many of the websites that don't show up properly in IE8 on my up-to-date comp 1, don't cause any problems here, with IE8 a little bit older... or is it just different settings here?, and certainly with XP3 in a version many months older than on comp 1.

To give a precise example: On the website welt.de, it's the users' comments that are really interesting (as it's in lotsa other press offerings: zeit.de, faz.net, taz.de, sueddeutsche.de, and many more). Now, in order to read those comments, I had to revert to FF, on my comp 1, "in spite of" doing any possible MS update (when in fact, it's probable those updates CAUSED those problems!)... and here, on comp 2, I CAN read the welt.de comments (which would not open in comp 1 anymore, for many, many months now) again! I don't have to say this is an incredible relief for me, it's so more pleasant to just use just ONE browser, and I'm fine with IE8 when it works!

Hence my big question: How to assure that in pc 1 (when it will work again) I can read the "Disqus-powered" user comments of welt.de again, like in old times?

Should I check for some special settings? And yes, I've got very old backups, but they would destroy ALL new things in my pc 1 system, so going back a year or two isn't a viable solution.

(In the normal curse of things, you'd assume that you could resolve problems with updates; in MS' case, it seems to be the other way round - how to get an early version of IE8, then, for downloading, after having de-installed the current version - if that ever is possible? Or, to put that question in another way: On pc 2, I obviously have got a working, old (but installed, not fresh) version of IE8 - how to retrieve that, in order to install it over my new crap version on pc 1? (All those are English versions, which I prefer.))

[Carol Haynes]

If it isn't a daft question why use IE8 when it is causing so much grief?

[Curt]

... this IE8 doesn't work properly (anymore) with many websites (I've got XP so IE9 won't install).

[evamaria]

Yes. But I only change things when really necessary, and whenever I do so without that, it's 1 or 2 years later at the latest I put all my stuff back into my ancient things. I know this is not really the way I should do it.

Btw, on this comp 2 (with the about 1-year-old Win XP (and IE8) version(s)), installation of Adobe Reader XI... and then even X (!!!) FAILED!!! So I installed Foxit Reader 6, with traditional toolbar though. Now, this is much more pleasant than my Adobe Reader X experience had been, on comp 1: visually very light, fast, tabs (!!!)... only drawback: The "hide the (really ugly!!!) toolbar" setting isn't persistent, so that ugly toolbar reappears with every new pdf I get from the web.

As for FF, whenever I have switched to it, I quickly get back to IE8: There's too much "middle grey" in the FF layout (I know there are other color schemes, but don't know how to try them), and especially, I like in IE that the address line is ABOVE the menu, when in FF it's beneath the menu! I'm aware these remarks might appear ridiculously minor, but it's why I always switch back to IE as fast as possible... And btw, do you think the iCult would have grown the way it has if looks and ergonomics didn't count at all?

Thus, any ideas how to transfer my running, 12- or 14-months old IE8 version from pc 2, to pc 1, in order to install it there, too? Or what are the possible settings (out of all those 300 IE settings there) that I should check first, in order to try to amend those probs there? Unfortunately, I think it's NOT a settings prob, though, since a year or so back, I think I remember having read IE had NEW problems with some web sites now... but of course I had thought  they were working on them (ha, ha!), so I was eager to install all possible updates. So now, a year later, and in view of the perfect running of my "old" IE version, it seems to be the best tactic to "go back a year", IE8-wise, but how? (And it might be the old IE8 version, AND something in the old Win XP version, too)

So, my question in a more general way: How to DOWNGRADE that MS crap, instead of monthly updates?

[cmpm]

You could use Avant instead, it's light weight and fast.
And I would choose Avant over Firefox if I was wanting to stay in an IE frame of mind.

http://www.avantbrowser.com/

I use Avant for my work email and work related tasks.

[4wd]

Are you blocking the cookie set by Disqus?
Blocking third party cookies?

If you do you won't see any reader comments.

[evamaria]

4wd: I don't think it's cookies settings, since without cookies, almost nothing would work, so I allow them (but have them automatically deleted afterwards).

Of course, I don't have comp 1 running, so I should perhaps asked my questions when I had got hand on it in running state again, but I've been too eager to find an alternative RIGHT NOW! ;-)

cmpm, Avant Browser is not something really brilliant, but it works. I thank you for this idea; I installed it, and for some weeks, I'lll go by it!

F5 is refresh, F6 is address bar focus, F8/F8 is prev/next tab, Alt-s is searchbar focus, control-d is add to favs, control-n is open in new tab (they call tabs "windows" (well, to be precise, it IS a - tabbed - window, after all...), but very fortunately don't mean independant windows by this, which would have been unacceptable) - so I don't need a menu.

But I don't know yet if my AHK macros will work: content of the address line must be identifiable (meaning, not by loading it into the clipboard, but as such), and there is no real caption, but tabs instead, right at the top - it's for that design detail that I never stayed with google browser or its derivatives...

But IE and MS have become unacceptable for any pc user with a minimum of respect for himself or herself, that's for sure, so...

Will share my experience with Avant when I will have tried to transpose my IE macros.

Btw, for IE, on current pc 2, the version is "8.0.6001.18702 IS" (by "Help-About"), so I tried to find a download version "8.0.6001", but it seems the respective links have all been updated to download the latest "8" version from them, which is a common prob with all these download links of freeware or shareware.

And btw, again IE, it seems this old 8.0.6001 version hasn't got the probs with Disqus I opened this thread for, but has got many other probs, especially with ridiculously bad memory management. Of course, it's a different pc, but with the same processor and with the same 2 gb of memory (and plenty of virtual memory in both cases), so I suppose the old IE version is the culprit, not my pc or pc settings.

That's why I will now try and really find an alternative to my IE crap - I'm ready for a change, finally.

Some months ago, I had briefly tried the Apple browser, but found it hadn't the necessary keyboard shortcuts then. Will trial the whole bunch again.

Btw, Avant has got 10th place out of 10 tested browsers in the toptenreview.com test, but then, from their testing of software I'm more intimate with, I can tell that their criteria, and their test results, are often rather weird...

At the end of the day, AHK's able to identify a window even without a traditional caption, so... but am I the only one to prefer captions just for visual tradition? Anyway, having all these tabs right at the top... it's a real prob for me!

And then, (almost) all other software does NOT do that, so it cannot be considered "new standard" or such, it was just a design idea by google, then shared by some and abhorred by many...

Be this as it might be... in any case:

Carol, you're right, IE (whatever version) isn't worth my attention, efforts or loyalty anymore.


Some update here: Safari for Windows seems to be "dead": I had tried v. 5; v. 6 does not seem to be transposed into any Win version. So that is out.

[app103]

XP here, too, with a fully updated XP & IE8. I can see disqus comments just fine on welt.de.

Have you tried clicking this to see if it makes a difference for you?

[Curt]

Try the page "Download Internet Explorer 8": http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/internet-explorer/ie-8-worldwide-languages

or

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/internet-explorer/

or

http://www.oldapps.com/internet_explorer.php

[Carol Haynes]

Go to Internet Options and try resetting IE to 'factory default settings' (Use the reset button of the final tab). That also disables all the crap that accumulates in the background with IE.

Also try flushing your DNS cache (CMD prompt and type IPCONFIG /FlushDNS ) - you will need to disconnect and reconnect again from the network after that (pull the wire or switch off WiFi for a minute - alternatively restart your computer).

[Stoic Joker]

Also try flushing your DNS cache (CMD prompt and type IPCONFIG /FlushDNS ) - you will need to disconnect and reconnect again from the network after that (pull the wire or switch off WiFi for a minute - alternatively restart your computer).

Sorry about the side track, but... The whole point of the ipconfig /flushdns command (which I use constantly) is to eliminate the need for rebooting and unplugging things. Restarting the browser for the above yes, as IE does a bit of name lookup caching of its own ...But the rest should never be needed.

If a network disconnect/reconnect resolves anything, it is most likely an ARP table issue with a bad MAC address. The alternative there would be one of the ARP commands to either list the existing IP to MAC address lookups (to spot the bad one), or to just purge the existing lookups so the machine can get the updated/correct info.

To list existing lookups:
arp -a

To purge the current ARP table:
arp -d *

These are really handy for troubleshooting IP conflicts.

[evamaria]

app103, Curt, Carol and StoicJoker,

thank you all very much for these kind ideas! As said before, I should have withheld these questions to the point in time where I will be able to try the respective ideas, since on comp 2 now I've just got that, working, old version, but I'll try them out and will report, especially in view of the fact that by what you've found, app103, it's obviously NOT the new version that is at fault, but some of my setting, so "reset to factory settings" is primordial here.

VERY funny here: Even the hiding of the last lines in this very text entry field, making it impossible to enter more than just some lines of text here, in IE8, is gone now... that I've changed to Chrome, for good (what an incredible relief... no wonder nobody ever bothered to look after this, IE8 compatibility isn't really any more serious objective (if you don't sell things, that is...):

___The macro trap___

I also installed Maxthon cloud browser, which also seems to be quite ok (but in spite of trying "skins", I couldn't get rid of some baby-blue background). And then I installed google / chrome as they call it. Well, it seems that in the end, I found my new browser... (And nobody today will believe anymore that Chrome will store more of your things, when fact is, all of them will store all of your things, for their masters-in-the-dark (and yes, I know, there are so-called stealth Chrome versions, but I don't believe in them either).

Back to macros

So chrome doesn't have a caption, and the tabs are on top - at least, they are neater than in Avant (where at least it is possible to hide the awful toolbar, and then the address line begins where it should begin to begin with, to the left of your screen, not somewhere in the middle). I didn't get back to my macro file (I "lost" my usb stick together with the AC/DC thing), but this way, at least, hdd and backup are in different places, for once!), but tried the AHK Window Spy: So, the good news is, all these Window windows have "titles" and "classes" indeed, independently of any visible caption: you just have to look them up, once and for all, and then write your scope macros, the caption is really and only there for your being content with what you see on screen, or let's call it "for historical / tradition-compatibilily reasons".

And also, there is a way to retrieve the content of the address line, by "Visible text in slow title match mode", just as in IE. Then, all necessary kb shortcuts are there.

I should have looked up all this months before, but it seems that I first had to "loose" my traditional working environment, in order to get rid of this crazy IE8 sh**.

At the end of the day, as soon as you know the necessary commands (i.e. how to navigate between tabs, how to address the address line, to create a new tab, and so on), transposition of even numerous macros from one such browser to another one should take 20 minutes... but the macro trap exists nethertheless: You built up your macro system around some specific applications, and then you're stuck with them, not by real necessity, but because you "invested some work" into them... when in fact, that was an investment you had to do anyway, independently of every such application (e.g. dozens of specific url's, all two-key on two F keys, together with a second, abc key then), and in which conceptual work the non-transferrable "specifics" for that specific application were only a very minor, negligeable part (that's why serious applications (not Ultra Recall, though!) have a function "replace x with y"), and this means, most of your work is NOT lost, buy a transfer to alternatives!

(


___Tabs above address line___

There are two conceptual points of view for this:

Mine is:

Adress line first, since there are some MORE addresses out there within the web, NOT YET present in my tabs. So "address line urls" are "farer away", whilst those addresses in tabs are "nearer to me", hence the logical order address line, then tabs, then the content from the current tab.

Another one is:

Tabs first, since they are the topmost category. Then the address line, since your choice here will choose the content of the selected tab... or even, its current content is, again, the title of the current tab, but in full length... and then that content; this point of view seems to be as logical as mine above, but we see here that you should at least have a CHOICE, PLEASE!!!

)


___So it's Chrome or FF, depending on what you like best... but why others?___

Chrome vs. FF seems to be a question of personal style... but IE8 or Safari 5 seem to be for lazy people only preferring lots of fuss to some 3 or 4 hours of delving into alternatives.

Opera perhaps, for some? But it seems (I trialled a previous version of it, didn't like it, but would'nt pretend to really know it now), for some special uses, or had it been vanguard some 5, 8 years ago, then got left behind?

I understand Avant has got several, alternative "machines", in order to display sites "like" Chrome, "like" (a newer) IE, "like" FF - would this a real compatibility advantage? Are there many sites Chrome renders faultlessly, but not FF, and vice versa?

I'm not really happy with Chrome, but I can very well live with it, whilst living with IE8 had become a chore.

Thank you, fellows! You asked me right question: why bother?

The lesson here: Masochism should be transitional at least if it cannot be avoided altogether, which would be best.

[Tinman57]

  The comments section is probably Java, so make sure you have the latest update.  You may also want to make sure Flashplayer is updated.  If you have Java disabled in IE8, that will prevent you from seeing the comments section as well.  There are many "things" that can cause this, these are the most likely causes....

[Tinman57]

You could use Avant instead, it's light weight and fast.
And I would choose Avant over Firefox if I was wanting to stay in an IE frame of mind.

http://www.avantbrowser.com/

I use Avant for my work email and work related tasks.

  Even though I'm using Avant right now, I couldn't, in all honesty recommend it to anybody right now.  Ever since the 100's builds there has been a ton of bugs that won't be fixed until build 109 or later....

[evamaria]

Thank you, Tinman57, and as soon as I'll have both comps side by side, I will make the effort to check / compare the settings (that's why I leave them in their original state here with the old IE8 version) - and that will be my very last contact with IE - but I owe this (and then reporting my finds) to the very big help I've got here with this matter.

Also, I'm thankful to cmpm since he guided me to an alternative I was willing to trial, and that was a big step for me to leave IE behind me. I've already switched to Chrome now, in spite of the rather intensive-blue tabs crumped right under the "ceiling", and in spite of not having found a way to change that color to something less intrusive - all these "skins" ain't neat enough, i.e. put some unnecessary coloring "behind" the tabs and appearing between them, and so on, so I'll have to live with blue tabs, and I, after having done 10 or 12 or 15 years of browsing with various IE versions, will not look back to all those ugly ads there slowing down my system: Having installed Adblock, my screen is much "lighter" now than it was before, with url's like welt.de or spiegel.de or such, and much more pleasant to look at, even with too-blue tabs there.

AD BLOCKERS

Well, I finished by opening a new thread for this, it's perhaps a subject worth separate discussion!