How Much Does Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 Suck?
Sunday, December 10th, 2006;
-- Andy Beal |
I’ve noticed a dramatic increase, over the past few weeks, in the number of people visiting my rant about just how bad IE 7 is. It’s consistently been one of my most visited posts, but as Microsoft rolls out the upgrade to more and more IE users, I’m seeing a direct correlation in the number of complaints.
Here’s a snapshot of the increase in people visiting my IE 7 complaint post.
Has Microsoft rolled-out an inferior, bug-ridden product too hastily, in an effort to try and keep people from switching to the superior Firefox? Has the opposite effect happened, with more people now switching browsers?
Leave me a comment about your experiences with IE 7.
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December 10th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
My biggest complaint with IE7 is that it broke clearfix, which means I’m going to have to go through all my old websites and fix the CSS.
December 10th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
IE7 sucks. It wouldn’t let me change my homepage and MSN would take years to load. Not ot mention anything you do out of surfing say clicking file or something is in extra slow motion.
Thank You
December 10th, 2006 at 6:06 pm
For many years I’ve used three browsers. I.E. was always the least used but a stand by when K-mealon (my favorite) and Netscape could not rendure. Months back I tried I.E. 7 beta. I really like the RSS feed reader but Outlook Express still takes a back seat to Thunderbird for mail ease and I.E.’s favorites a backseat to K-mealon and Firefox’s bookmarks. I’ve never had any problem with full I.E. 7 upgrade but didn’t like that it was all but forced on me. My views are that I.E. 7 is the giant size fully loaded SUV browser that is very slow and cumbersome. Firefox the dual or tri purpose sport utility with a good mail counterpart and K-mealon the top AAA fuel dragster of browsers.
December 10th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
I’m getting the same feedback. I hope you don’t mind me putting a link, but there’s a little too much to put down in a comment. Here’s my full post on why IE is losing the browser war:
http://www.douglaskarr.com/2006/12/08/firefox-winning-the-browser-war/
December 10th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
I *much* prefer the previous version if IE — but about a week ago I hastily clicked “OK” on the download button for IE 7. My bad. It sucks.
However, that has forced me to experiment with Firefox — so the whole thing might turn out to be a blessing. The plugins for Firefox are stellar, and Firefox seems to play nice with Gmail, which is my primary email program.
Honestly, there’s no telling how long I would have stayed with MS had they not forced me to look for alternatives.
December 10th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
I used to fear switching to FF as too many sites were not built to be compatible. I switched one year ago, I don’t recall finding one site that didnt work perfectly.
December 11th, 2006 at 9:13 am
It is so sad that Microsoft with its vast technical prowness cannot develop a decent browser. It shows you what happens with large bureaucratic organizations that lose site of what is going on outside of their walls. It is clunky, slow to open, and crashes when I use multiple tabs. Its useless, I still do not understand why companies are not changing their defaults to FF. I guess it is a mixture of ignorance and fear… I guess Microsoft is good at something…
December 11th, 2006 at 9:22 am
I love IE7! It’s innovative and is redefining the browser. It’s not surprising since Microsoft has a long history as an industry innovator. I especially like the tabbed browsing which exemplifies the creativity and customer focus that is inherent to Microsoft core values. IE7 and Microsoft are truly light years ahead of the competition!
I can’t wait for Vista!
B. Gates
December 11th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Andy,
I personally like Opera, but I have been using IE7 since October and see that it is very stable, even though it is more like Firefox than anything else. Not everything works across Firefox (if you want examples, let me know).
The need for IE7, as a developer, revolves around the need to see your site as your visitors see it. IE will always be important until users stop using it. I expect that this won’t happen until the OS market swings another direction (away from Microsoft).
Firefox has been posting steady gains, but its a big slope.
December 11th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
I’m back! Quick question for this community: Does anyone know how I can get IE 6.0 back on my machine? Some of the recruiting software I use is being difficult with Firefox.
December 11th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
I would rather have IE6 Back until IE7 is ready
for our use.Right now the product is really getting
on my last nerve.Great potential in IE7, but when
are reduced to snail pace it really ugly.Why can’t
the Browser deal with coverage of Affiliate Links.
Never had any Browser crash like IE7, needs to fix
and fix now. FireFox is not works but with cloaked
Affiliate Links but is not a complete answer.
December 11th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
I would rather have IE6 Back until IE7 is ready
for our use.Right now the product is really getting
on my last nerve.Great potential in IE7, but when I’m reduced to snail pace it’s really ugly.
Why can’t the Browser deal with coverage of Affiliate Links. Never had any Browser crash like IE7, Microsoft needs to fix it and fix now.
FireFox works better with the cloaked Affiliate Links but is not a complete answer. Maybe we are
expecting more from IE, yes it has been the main
stay for me. Sorry but I had to correct the above.
December 11th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
I’ve had a good experience with IE7 as an end-user, but Firefox comes out tops in any case (FF Keywords are great). Also as a developer, the JS console, the DOM explorer, the source code viewer and the Web Developer plug-in just awesomely rocks.
December 14th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
In its infinite wisdom, MS managed to create a vastly inferior product. Ctrl-N still doesn’t open up a fresh window with a fresh homepage, but opens up a page identical to the one you’re on. Why would I want two identical pages? There is no conceivable reason. It has also changed the fonts to some unreadable translucent madness. The icons and file trays are laid out so crappily that it takes up three lines worth of the browser window and you can even maneuver them around to make best use of space. The forward and back buttons are nowhere near the home and print buttons, and MS made it obviously difficult to change the default browser from MSN search; who the f**k uses MSN search except the top brass at MS? Also, the “star” favorites button is clearly stolen from Gmail. If I hadn’t read how troublesome it is to revert to IE 6.0 (which my office requires use of), I’d be back in a heartbeat. Nice job Microsoft, when you really put your mind to it, you really know how to produce some mediocre products.
not only steal Gmail’s “star” favorites system but also
December 15th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Have been trying to install with XP professional (legal copy). After 7 hours - still installing.
Two of my friends have same problem.
What gives????
December 17th, 2006 at 5:12 am
to anyone DO NOT INSTALL IE7 use ie7 & it will ruin the best part of any browsing experience you have had.ITS SIMPLE ITS FULL OF BUGS.if your unlucky enough to download it by an auto update>control panel and delete it.try something else Firefox2 is excellent why do you think apple use it,no brainer it works.
December 17th, 2006 at 9:27 am
I thought my old age was taking me for a dance; until I started reading the reviews on IE7. I have had nothing but trouble with this pitiful piece of antiquated “Gatesjunk”. As far as
I’m concerened, he has razzle-dazzled his way right out of an otherwise functional IE6 AND whatever (little as it may be)respect I had for him. In his efforts to yank that almighty buck (and control the market of course), he has layed waste to my Cutesite Builder, and a dozen other programs I have on two main frames & a laptop. It’s also created a major event in my Outlook Express. This IE7 is CRAPOLA / plain & simple. And God help the poor average user trying to surf the net. Hey Gates, Bite Me! (And your xp isn’t all of that either son)
December 18th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
I downloaded and installed IE7. Right away I couldn’t do certain things that I could do with IE6, video streaming for one. It also interfered with some of my other software. I uninstalled it and thought things were fine, then Windows updates downloaded, and reinstalled IE7 again on it’s own. I uninstalled it again and so far (one month later) things are good. I DO NOT recommend Internet Explorer 7. It is not ready to be used, right now it’s garbage.
December 19th, 2006 at 12:23 am
to anyone DO NOT INSTALL IE7 use ie7 & it will cut off whatever you are downloading and it really slows your browser down! My DSL is like dial up again! go back to IE6 or another browser!
December 19th, 2006 at 12:47 am
I create and manage group sites at MSN Groups. I used IE 6 for many years to great effect. Now, without my commitment, IE 7 was downloaded onto my computer, and it refuses to cooperate with MSN, or any MSN website. You would think a Microsoft Browser would work with a Microsoft Website…
Obviously not..
I’ve also had trouble accessing other websites just as much since the download. It’s just a really dumb vehical to gain back the internet lead that they want.
DO NOT GET IE 7. Stick with the superior browswer, IE 6!!!!
December 19th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Thanks — but I already installed IE7. You are right: It SUCKS! So, can someone show me a download link for IE6, assuming I can get IE7 off of my machine?
Much obliged.
Harry
PS - Why hasn’t anyone from MS chimed in on this string? Or better yet: If someone from MS could call me at (678) 795-0900 and walk me through the uninstall, I would really, REALLY appreciate it.
December 20th, 2006 at 10:55 am
I can’t stand the damn thing. It is VERY slow, whether i am browsing or surfing. It is especially slow when exiting. It literally takes 3-10 seconds to close the program. I am not a huge Firefox fan….i have always been true with IE, but not anymore. I use Firefox now. Why is it that Google has Betas for years that work just fine, but when Microsoft brings out a beta, its absolutly HORRIBLE? I also have Office 2007, which crashes or hangs up every 10 minutes…..giveing me warnings and errors. I already know that Vista is going to be a bitch. So tired of the idiot stuff, make a program that WORKS when released.
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:12 pm
IE 7 is a nightmare. It has totally screwed up my computer, it crashes and freezes, and has wreaked havoc on my outlook express as well. What a fool I feel like now, just downloading the harmless looking update. Steer clear.
December 23rd, 2006 at 5:40 am
This is my second posting: Just had to laugh the other day - when I realized that the “REAL EVIDENCE” that IE-7 sucks. The truth is, if the program was really worth a shit, it’s own Malicious Software Removal Tool would have taken it’s own self out. Have a Merry Christmas guys and gals; after X’mas I’ll be low ending my lap to get rid of this Viral piece of crap that IE-7 left me with. Firefox2 is beginning to look like a viable option.
December 23rd, 2006 at 6:36 am
I need to be able to regularly ftp files to servers. IE7 BLOCKS all ftp requests automatically and the so-called online help to fix this doesn’t work.
I am angry that IE7 is an automatic update and that it shall come as standard with Microsoft Vista. I’m switching to Firefox immediately and I’ll be looking at an alternative operating system too.
December 23rd, 2006 at 12:15 pm
I could not believe how bad IE-7 sucks.
Once installed, I couldn’t even connect to the internet. I couldn’t even close the program after opening it. My computer was in such slow motion it seemed like everything was frozen.
I was fortunate enough to be able to click on start and then restart to get out of it.
I then had to go into “add or remove” and uninstall IE-7.
I was able to uninstall it successfully but not without other files being disrupted.
For a moment I thought I had been lured into downloading a virus onto my computer.
Thanks alot Microsoft, ” YOU BONEHEADS! “
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:46 pm
The other posts are too gentle! The time I will have to spend cleaning IE7 off the many machines it was inadvertently installed to without any loss of information or functionality will be educational. The annoyance with MS will reach an all tme high that defies description. IE7 is not a program it is a virus and I will treat it as such.
December 23rd, 2006 at 1:59 pm
So you think IE7 is bad?
Read this cost report on how the entire computer software and hardware industry shall be adversely affected by Microsoft Vista. It will also affect video and audio quality and add-on entertainment systems.
http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.txt
December 24th, 2006 at 6:48 am
Dear Bill Gates,
I can only assume you have recently acquired stock in Apple Computers since it is clear that the distribution of Internet Explorer 7 is MEANT to creat havoc and serious error conditions in the WinXP Operating System.
Besides affecting other applications (including Microsoft apps such as Movie Maker), even upon removal and reverting back to IE6, I now have problems with IE6 not working on sites that make use of FLASH apps for user access (I cannot login to http://www.there.com website now nor access my online banking).
Maybe this is just part of a GRAND PLAN to try to push people into VISTA???
I truly regret ever seeing IE7, let alone having it on my system and NOT being able to revert back to a fully functional IE6!!!
May you find a large lump of coal in your stockings, Mr. Gates!!!
December 24th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
I am fortunate in that I am in the process of deploying over 100 Xp SP2 identically imaged machines. I deliberately built the image with all patches and Office updates EXCLUDING the IE7 “Critical Update” and told it not to bother me again, ever.
I figure that I shall be safe until some one in BIll’s World decides that Vista is a “Critical Update” once they chop off support for XP.
Imagine the scnenario… don’t read all the fine print. Disagree and you won’t get any more updates. Agree and your system is crippled after so many days until you pay an activation fee. I would not be surprised.
For those of you who want to go back to 6 sp1 I suppose that one way would be to use IE 7 to download some other browser. Then uninstall IE 7. Install the other browser. Go to Bill’s World and install IE 6 sp1.
December 25th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Merry Christmas everyone and Bill Gates, I hope you liked the Coal that Santa left you.
Don’t you wish that Microsoft was still operating in that garage like the Big G used to?
I have dumped IE7 and IE6. I only use IE6 now to test compatibility for web pages. Now I have switched to Firefox, something I decided only after being exposed to IE7.
I shall switch to Linux when Vista becomes the norm.
December 25th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
I downloaded IE7 to my laptop and noticed immediately that it was much slower and bogging things down. This browser is not ready. DO NOT load it to your computer. You will hate it. It’s so slow it seems as though my cable modem was performing like a clunky phone-line. I switched to FireFox and deleted IE7 from my system.
December 25th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
How do I go back to IE 6.0? Installing 7.0 took away 6.0 and I can’t find a copy to download. 7.0 sucks, emails missing, can’t us Telnet (it says it’s “disabled by default” and doesn’t tell you how to “enable” it.. Any help appreciated. Thanks,
Van
Lowell Van’t Slot NJ
December 25th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
Just uninstall IE7 from add/remove programs and it will default back to IE6. You’ll need to the go to tools-> internet options -> advanced and correct all the rubbish IE7 has done to your setup.
December 27th, 2006 at 1:29 am
My experience with IE is not positive. I am an IT prosessional. At my work all our IT staff started to use IE7 in prep for a possible rollout firm wide. Also all the staff installed it on their home computer as well. In all cases and enviroment IE7 had singificant issues. Only one computer out of 5 staff + the work computer work with no crashing. We have concluded that IE7 is one of the worst product rollout that Microsoft has ever done. Here is a quick list of the major issues we have encountered:
1. Will not install properly.
2. IE7 Crashes when starting the first couple of times… but then behaves until to turns into issue #4.
3. IE7 crashes Windows Explorer when opening a new tab.
4. IE7 stop working completely, and always crashes so all you can do is rollback to IE6.
Basicly, I would not touch this until at least the first service pack is released. Too bad, because it really had a lot of good features…. but it’s just a totaly buggy piece of software.
Stick to Firefox.
December 27th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Explorer 6 has been my preferred browser for quite some time - although I have had Firefox and Opera installed, I’ve generally not chosen to use them.
Unfortunately, Explorer 7 simply does not work on any of our three domestic PCs, behaving as if there is no working internet connection, while Firefox functions normally. Despite spending some hours on the problem, I have just not been able to fix Explorer, and am resigned to using the rival browsers until a fix comes along
December 27th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Newest IE prevents me from linking directly to my google search, instead kicks in advertising links. This browser is just horrible.
December 27th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
IE7 came as an automatic update so I downloaded it. When I saw I had to sign in to Google just to look at my bookmarks I went to the control panel and unistalled it, restarted my computer and I have my old IE back!
December 28th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
I’ve not had any of the problems that most of you are describing. The one thing that happens on occasion is that I may want to see a popup window and even though I disable the popup blocker and hold the control key down, and enable showing popup windows in a new tab, the browser completely shuts down. This doesn’t happen very often, and only with certain popups. Otherwise it works fine. And to open a new tab with your home page press Ctrl-T (for Tab).
December 28th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
OHHHHHHHHHHH I can’t stand it! I bet it is going to take me literally ten minutes to post this comment. I missed an entire day of work today trying to figure out what is wrong with my browsing experience. I can’t roll back to IE6, my darn computer won’t let me. If I delete IE7, it rolls back okay, but then I go to do something and it STILL lags so bad I may as well be on a VERY bad dial up connection. And I have cable! I don’t know about firefox. I downloaded it, but I think IE7 has my whole computer so messed up that firefox won’t work either. Nothing works!
December 29th, 2006 at 12:44 am
It is positively UNREAL the number of problems I have had with IE7! I like the interface and the smaller profile of the menus, BUT after working flawlessly for a while I now have error after error.
Some are memory, some are failure to start because of a problem with kernel32.dll, idaemon, or msctfime.
I finally threw in the towel tonight.
NO MORE IE7 for me.
December 30th, 2006 at 5:22 pm
IE 7 keeps shutting down on me in the middle of crap! “Anything you were doing might be lost. Ha ha ha ha ;ha ha” Great! It doens’t matter what I’m doing, it just crashes after a set amount of time. I run other browsers, but Microsoft’s free internet hosting requires that you access their page using this sucky new browser. I agree with everyone who does not like this browser.
December 30th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
I have now installed and then uninstalled IE7 twice in my laptop—most recently this week. Since I live in the sticks: I have dial-up with MSN–even it doesn’t work with IE7–OK for a short-while–then no more browsing–even to MSN sites.
The MSN tech support people are totally over-whelmed with IE7 problems. When I first paniced that I was losing functions from MSN Dial-up with IE7–I sent three e-mails over a one weeks-span. One was finally answered with a worthless reply—10 days later. I would call on the help line, wait for 15-20 minutes–then get kicked off.
The one surprise thru all this is IE7 is working fairly well in our 2001 vintage desktop—only problem seems to be kicking you off-line a little more often.
December 31st, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Just a word of wise warning!!!
Do not switch to IE-7!!!
It becomes part of your operating system.
Who would have guessed that?
And it is all but impossible to get rid of, unless you format and restore the whole system.
Lets keep complaining until Microsoft wakes up and fixes there problems with something more friendly and not distructive to our computers.
After all, we own our computers, NOT MICROSOFT!!!
January 2nd, 2007 at 7:44 am
IE7 downloaded on automatic updates and subsequently IE no longer works at all. Only Mozilla, but unfortunately other programs that piggyback on IE files such as my wireless router configuration and EA link to access the internet don’t work either. Now I guess I get to have the fun of rolling back again and blocking automatic updates. This is the only fix I have found so far. Do a system restore to before MS infected your system with IE7 and block updates until they fix this piece of junk.
January 4th, 2007 at 1:43 am
Agree with everything said. This comes from WinUpdate, but if you have your options set to download automatically install on demand AND you typically Custom Install instead of automatic, you have a chance to catch it. (Please, please don’t just let MS install things without checking the list, folks…)
Either way, dumb me hadn’t seen the bad press and installed last week. As with everybody else, it has hosed up the system and hogs massive resources. Browsers are SUPPOSED to be thin-client…what can they possibly be coding that requires 100% of my CPU?!?
Seems to impact WMP also, but no issues with wireless so far.
Anyway, will do what I can to dump it–looks like I might be switching to FF for awhile. If I can get back to IE6 w/o wiping my disk, I’ll post something.
Good luck, all.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
IE 7 is miserable.
I too had not heard any bad press and just assumed it would be a regular round of updates, etc but this looks totally different and I do not like it at all.
I don’t think I have had any problems outside of IE 7 but I really, really do not like the way I am forced to have the weird favorites buttons on a toolbar at the top.
I’ve never seen or used any other browser … but this has me looking.
January 5th, 2007 at 10:04 am
I’ve recently been bullied in to upgrading to IE 7 and I can’t belive how much it has slowed down my system. I’ve found the tab management to be cumbersome, I don’t like the new layout of tile buttons and the I think the interface generally is ugly.
My main gripe is that, for some unknown reason, web pages now refuse to recognise that I have Shockwave and Java plugins installed on the browser. I’ve just recently switched to Firefox and I’m can’t belive the difference in peformance and ease of use.
January 5th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
IE7 is SOOOOOOOOO Slow. I like the tabs but it feels like I’m using dial up again! I’d go back to IE6 but I’ve heard nightmare stories from a couple of people who tried to uninstall IE7.
I’m a Microsoft developer and I feel that the past couple years Microsoft has been concentrating more on quantity rather than quality.
Mallet
January 6th, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Update About IE-7 Browser:Kim Komonda News
DIGITAL DIGRESSIONS: Easy and fast tips that work for you
Just wanted to say we have been searching for answer about
IE-7 since our last post in mid December 2006. I Listened to
IE-7 Release Party and got a better understanding of what is
Intended, Yet a Browser Application should not as difficult
to understand and certainly not Slow operation as IE-7 does.
The Updated Browser Application was introduced to XP Home
user as a Security update since it was so much work done for
Security with the IE-7 Browser. Or should I say attempted?
I’m still not satisfied just yet with the speed issue just
yet and still working on that, You will find this help from
Kim very enlighting just for starter.
Kim wrote in:ROOKIE RUNDOWN
Tips to get you newbies up and going!
Liz in Clearwater, FL, wrote in about Internet Explorer 7.
She’s just updated from IE 6 and needs a little help
figuring things out. She wanted to know where the menu bar
went and if the old shortcut keys still work.
Well, Liz, by default Internet Explorer 7 does not show the
menu bar. This must be confusing for a lot of people who
rely on it.
The menu bar is easy to activate. Right-click the gray area
at the top of the window. On the pop-up menu, select Menu
Bar. You’ll see the familiar menus from IE 6.
The keyboard shortcuts you used in Internet Explorer 6
should still work. But, there are additional shortcuts to
work with different tabs. If you’re not using the tabbed
browsing feature in IE 7, you’re missing out.
With tabbed browsing, you can have several different Web
pages open in the same window. It’s easy to switch between
tabs. And your desktop won’t be cluttered with tons of open
windows.
If you don’t like tabbed browsing, you can turn it off.
Simply click Tools>>Internet Options. On the General tab,
click Settings in the Tabs section. Deselect Enable Tabbed
Browsing. Click OK>>OK. You’ll need to restart Internet
Explorer.
Now, on to the shortcut keys: Posted August 17, 2006
This is no Affiliate Link for me, just for information:
http://www.komando.com/tips/index.aspx?id=2205
January 6th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
The tabs are a great idea, shame they usually crash after loading a few pages.
This can result in all ur other tabs also crashing which sorta defeats the whole point.
It does mean your other internet windows stay open but who cares….
Its slow. when i say slow Im talking about the loading of pages. ive gotgreat connection yet nearly every page is slow to load, even google which is my homepage.
IE 6 just booted it up instantly, even running myspace wasnt that bad on IE 6 and those of you who have used myspace know how bad it can be.
Its a nightmare, dont ever use tabs on myspace … ever
thats it so far i think. oh yeah, that stupid search bar that appears to be unremovable. i want google toolbar, dont need thier rubbish.
January 6th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Just being able to find that menu bar again for
me is a step in the right direction. I really do
honestly believe Kim Komando will be a source
that will solve some of the problems if not all.
I can’t stand it when IE-7 crashes either, seems
to me the New Browser Application is using more
RAM than IE6 also. Does anyone know if people
with the 1GiG of RAM or experiencing the same
crash problems? The speed at which our machines
will run does depend on the amount of RAM in
Reserve (Random Access Memory).
We have so much greed running wild on the net
these day, may do well to check Your registrar
on Your machine to see if anything is loading
to draw down your RAM. I got a strange feeling
that something fishes is going on with some
secret advertising the public isn’t in the know
of just yet. Greed my be the blame for some of
what we are being slammed with right now.
Microsoft has to know everything isn’t going
according to plan.Everyone that uses a computer
isn’t a geek, we just know when things are not
right with our machine. Right now I’m glad to
know the Menu Bar is still on the Browser. I’ve
noticed that the Favorites will load much faster
using that Menu Bar. Be Blessed!
I’m not giving up because we will get victory!
Next thing is, check with Your Domain Host to
see what they are doing to be compatible with
Secure Server Requirement if Your Domain is
using it on feedback pages and so forth.
January 7th, 2007 at 4:14 am
Three big problems with IE7.
First - It automatically installs on your PC without your knowledge (acting as an automatic “update”). This one thing alone is outrageous. There isn’t even a way to disable the IE7 automatic install - independent of other more benign and useful automatic updates. Thus, it seems that if you want to keep IE6 as your browser, you are doomed to never have any other updates since IE7 will persistently try to install itself as an automatic update (without your knowledge or explicit approval). This simply means that IE6 users always need to close the automatic updates “pop-up” when it presents itself in order to protect against IE7 installing. It’s just too sneaky for my liking. Who has ever heard of an automatic “browser update”??? (read - MS is telling you which version of IE it wants you to use without your knowledge and whether you want it installed or not). I just find this to be beyond reason. NO-ONE forces users to have a particular version of software, brower, etc… without explicit approval. I’m wondering if this is even legal?
Second: Persistent browser crashes and sometimes complete PC shutdowns for no meaningful reason other than having a few tabs open. It’s just crazy! Basically, there is no stability or reliability. There should be no reason for browser crashes with simple Internet browsing and related activities.
Finally, I have to admit that IE7 is sloooowwwww. I have ALOT of RAM and it is still sloooooowwwww. It’s true that if the browser is sucking so much CPU, something else must be going on - what? I have no idea. I have chronic CPU surges when I use IE7 - this never happens when I am doing the same exact things while using FF 2.0 & I never experience crashes. The ONLY reason I haven’t moved exclusively to FF is because not all websites are compatible with FF 2.0
My question, has IE7 come up with any recent updates to address some of these problems? I keep waiting/hoping that some fixes/patches will present themselves, but have not yet heard of any.
The uproar against IE7 is interestingly very contained. I expected to see an obvious upwelling of complaints on the Internet, but I found that I needed to do very specific searches and even then, only a few places have a few things to say about it. I am surprised.
January 8th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I Hate IE7 !!!!!!!!!!!! It is the worse thing I have ever downloaded. It cuts off the internet connection as soon as you click on internet explorer and I have to keep unticking the work offline button. It is slow and takes ages to come on. I am going to get rid of it, it is SHITE!!!!
January 8th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
I have high speed cable and a very fast computer and IE7 is so slow it is horrifying. I have never ever even tried another browser (except to verify cross browser compatibility).
When i uninstalled IE7 and reinstalled IE6 it was also slow, and kept insisting that updates were available.
Now I use firefox - so IE7 might just be the best thing to ever happen for firefox.
January 9th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I have a fairly new (
January 9th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
I liked IE6 better than Navigator, Firefox, or anything. IE6 was fantastic because I never had problems with it, and the view was perfect. Other browsers have a crappy toolbar/menu arrangement (that’s what I mean by ‘view’). There was nothing wrong with IE6. There was no reason to make IE7. Now I have all of this stupid clutter, including a useless “favorite yummy programs” toolbar that I can’t hide, a NOW PERMANANT search bar (something I have always hated with a passion and would immediately uninstall every time my sister inadvertently downloaded one), and the worst part - TABS. What the hell is this? This isn’t convenient. There was nothing wrong with the old method of grouping IE windows on the taskbar. All of these things just take up more space.
Lesson Learned - When automatic updates are available, ignore them.
January 10th, 2007 at 7:54 am
All the negative feedback on IE7 seems to be working.
Not that Microsoft will drop the silly browser but at least on auto update they now give you the option to never be bothered again with IE7 and just allow regular auto updates that don’t include it.
January 10th, 2007 at 9:37 am
Some users just can’t deal with change….IE 7 is pretty darn good. I just wish I could get the links toolbar to stay where I want it. But I can’t say that is an IE7 issue or something the network administrator here at work foisted on me.
January 10th, 2007 at 11:44 am
It’s not a case of not dealing with change. It’s a case of a totally useless browser that inhibits creative work on the net!
IE7 is user unfriendly, IT professional unfriendly, marketing unfriendly, browser unfriendly AND…
for the novice internet user (90% of users do not know how to use the control panels on a computer program) it is a badly thought out package. IE6 is better and IE7 is a very poor imitation of Firefox. I don’t care about the rubbish layout, I don’t care about the amount of processing required. What I care about is that the browser does not provide a quality user experience and if I did not know how to adjust things to correct the appalling functionality issues I would be stuck with a crap product.
January 10th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
John I just disagree with your impression that IE7 is user unfriendly. I am a IT professional an dI like it. It took me a couple of days to get used to the changes, but the tabs more than make up for it. I’m guessing that 90% of the people who are flaming here hated Microsoft to begin with, so it would probably be impossible for them to make a change that they would be happy with.
Personally, I am an IT professional who has worked in app development a long time and most of these comments remind me of users who just get upset over changes in general.
I found this site because I am having a minor issue with IE7 in that my toolbars keep resetting to standard. I don’t care about the menu toolbar because I just use alt + F to get to the menu toolbar on the rare occasion that I need it anyway, but I use the links toolbar for all of my favorites because you can have it in a standard windows explorer window as well. However, it won’t stay put in IE7 and keeps getting it’s own row instead of just being on the far right and being used as a drop down. Do you know how to adjust this “appalling functionality” issue? If so you’d be great!
January 10th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
“I’m guessing that 90% of the people who are flaming here hated Microsoft to begin with, so it would probably be impossible for them to make a change that they would be happy with.”
I’m not flaming because I hate change. If that were so, I would never have jumped on the FF bandwagon. I LOVE change… if it’s an IMPROVEMENT. I like fast, efficient, intuitive, and reliable technology. Is that too much to ask in this day and age??? IE7 has added nothing to the browsing experience that FF and Opera didn’t already have. What was the point if MS was not going to outdo the competitors?? IE7 is barely competing, if you ask me.
January 10th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Blogger,
You are probably right about FF & Opera. I’ve just preferred to use IE, cause I remember back in the day when IE first came out to compete with Netscape and the integrated functionality of IE was such a plus that I switched and have stuck with it ever since.
I think one of the problems that Microsoft had to deal with is that because they have (stupidly) made IE such an integral part of the operating system that they have to deal with security issues more so. Couple that with the fact that Microsoft products are the primary targets of hackers they probably have a lot more error and security handling than other browsers have/need. Perhaps this is the reason why it seems slow to so many people. Myself, I’ve not noticed a major difference with the speed of the system. My home laptop sucked to begin with and was slow with IE6 and I think IE7 actually resolved some issues that my home system had. My work laptop is a pretty hot machine, and so it’s hard to say if IE6 was that much faster than IE7.
You asked, “What was the point if MS was not going to outdo the competitors?? IE7 is barely competing, if you ask me. ” Personally, I think the people who are going to migrate to other browsers are more savvy to begin with and I don’t think that is IE’s target audience. Their target audience is the relatively inexperienced user. Therefore, I believe their goal is to try to make it easier to use for them. Where I think they are going wrong is that as technology is being adopted by more and more people, the number of “new to computers” people is becoming less and less and it’s time to stop treating all users like they’ve never seen a PC before. Moreover, people who are computer savvy often find efforts like this to not be user-friendly because it’s not a standard interface that we are accustomed to. They are “trying” to make it more intuitive for a beginner, not the advanced person. For the advanced user because the interface is different we get annoyed cause it doesn’t work the way it used to.
Sorry this message is a little disjointed but I was hurrying, I got to get back to debugging a program.
Also, if anyone knows how to get the links toolbar to stay put, I’d appreciate some help. I’m sure there’s a registry setting I need to change, but I don’t have time to play around to find it.
January 10th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
I agree with you on the points you’ve raised. Good luck on your links toolbar issue!
January 11th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
ummmm noticed that around the time my pc was in the shop you had that big spike in visits to your site. i would have found you about that time but ie7 destroyed my hard drive and it was in the shop for repairs.
after downloading the “upgrade” it iradicated all explorer icons and all logical links. the only way i could get on line was to type in a web addy in word and click it or find a support link via add and remove programs.
i tried to make new icons from the program/internet explorer file but could not find the .exe file. and all those comments about downloading ie6, i thought that came with windows and wasn’t available for a download. no matter i had numerous problems after downloading 7 and the only fix the tech people came up with was reformating the hard drive. now it’ll take another 4 weeks for me to get all my software back on the computer and re-organize my files. the good news is that i no longer get that pop-up that wants me to download the ie7 update. maybe ms got wise. nah couldn’t be.
January 11th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I sent Microsoft a rant under their product suggestions area. I said that Internet Explorer should never have been included as Automatic Download for Windows Update.
I have had end-users within my company download it without my permission, which totally hosed up our synchronization capability with our database that relies on web browser communications to our website.
Microsoft has pulled a lot of boneheaded moves and including IE7 as an automatic download is one of them. It should be immediately pulled from Automatically Downloading with Windows Update. They have no clue on the havoc they create and through their actions apparently don’t care.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Personally I’ve never had a problem with IE. IE7 works perfectly fine for me. It’s not slow and pages display properly. I also use firefox (installed it because other people who use my computer like it) but I prefer internet explorer. Sometimes I think for some people, the reason they get bad impressions might be because of their own computer or internet connection and maybe because some just hate microsoft. I really don’t care what brand it is as long as it works. For me IE never failed so I never needed to change. The “new” tab feature is really useful. Some say they stole it from firefox but anyways soon all browsers will have tabs. I think IE7 just needs some time to develop which shouldn’t take long since it’s already on it’s seventh version…unfortunately it’s impossible to please everybody…
January 12th, 2007 at 4:53 am
Brett I’d be delighted to help you with your “appalling functionality” issue only I don’t have a copy of IE7 installed any more and wouldn’t wish to have the current poor version even if you came to my door with a briefcase full of fivers to bribe me to install it.
I’m sure Microsoft will fix their browser. It certainly was a bad marketing strategy to make the download an automatic update. Shame Microsoft can’t be sued as they cover it in their IOLA.
I don’t hate Microsoft. I just hate crappy Beta products that I didn’t want to test.
As a person who operates a business in the affiliate marketing field, I have to say just how unfriendly IE7 is for operators of AM websites.
Like you I don’t care about how the browser looks (although it does look a bit like someone was on Mescalin when they designed it), I just want a browser which does the job I want, namely to connect me to what I seek without going through ten shades of security protection, reminders or finding pages blocked because it uses a particular script contained on the webpage. I just want to open the damn page and see all there is to see and use all there is to use. Microsoft doesn’t like you to do that.
January 12th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I can’t use IE7 - it just crashes in mshtml.dll almost instantly. I have seen this problem on three or four other machines, and I can’t make heads or tails of it.
January 12th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I usually (never) post when I come across discussions, however, I felt it was important to address two concerns I have over IE 7. When employed with my former employer I served as system manager of a small town ISP. When the browser was released, of course I downloaded it and played around with it. I was shocked to discover that the layout had completely changed from IE 6 (menus, buttons, etc.). Now keep in mind I have to think in terms of the least familiarized user. I was amazed at the problems this would create for end-users, people that may or may not be “computer-literate”. I’d say that 85%-90% of our users fall into the latter category. Meaning, if a button, in which they’ve come to rely on to do the one thing they know how to do, is missing then that user will become confused and frustrated. Ultimately, our staff would have to deal with that problem, which would prevent us from devoting our time to other projects. Therefore, my staff and I discouraged against the update for most of our users.
The last concern is why I’ll never use another Windows OS after XP. During the Christmas holidays I was planning to do some further testing IE 7 while visiting my parents. They hadn’t performed the update yet so I did it for them. -This is a valid copy of XP. It came with the computer and had been validated since WGA was released. It had received all updates, no problem up to this point- So I install the browser, walk-through setting it up, and click the prompt asking to validate it, no problem. I then restarted it as it asked. As soon as the computer booted up to the Windows XP Welcome screen a notification came across the screen stating that the copy of Windows XP Home was not a genuine copy. After a 5 second timer the message gave me the option of resolving the problem now (buying a new license!!!) or resolve later. You can imagine my reaction. I’m just astounded that a company that is so intent on reassuring themselves that all of it’s software is legit could cause such a blunder. Accusing my parents of illegally installing non-genuine genuine software. That’s crazy and infuriating. The security methods they are implementing are not helping. And with DRM in effect with Windows Media 11 (by default) and Vista, it looks like it’s going to be dark day in end-user rights. You want be using Microsoft’s software…unless it lets you.
January 12th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Until I read this, I just thought that the large number of programs I have installed and uninstalled had damaged something. After downloading 7.0, I couldn’t even run IE. Uninstall wouldn’t either.
Fortunately, I had GoBack on the machine and that was the only way I was able to recover without doing a clean install of because MS restore wouldn’t work either. Imagine me thinking that a MS product would work on a MS OS! One more reason (as though I needed one) why I won’t be buying an off the shelf computer all set up with VISTA for about 2 years.
Now all I have to deal with is the flippin computer harassing me 3X per day with popups telling me that downloads (IE 7.0) are ready for my computer and no way to shut the thing off. It truly reminds me of those friggin cars with the voice that would start harassing you when the gas tank got past 1/4
January 12th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
IE7 was written by n00bs who don’t know anything about Software Testing. Honestly, I could have written a better browser by myself in six months. Go back to basics MS and fix your flawed internal QA processes. Just pathetic…
January 12th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Yep, IE7 crashed again today and I lost some really important tabs. In FF, when you close it down, you retain your tabs until you want actually close them. I wish there was a way that tabs could be saved in IE7.
January 12th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
hmm, I don’t seem to notice how much ie7 sucks, that’s probably because I never use it, lol. FF2 FTW
January 13th, 2007 at 3:23 am
Installing IE 7.0 is opening a can of worms. I installed it like an idiot looking at a shiney new coin. I had it running for a day or so and noticed it was causing issues with another program I use frequently. Easy enough to uninstall the “update” through add/remove programs, but now my IE 6.0 has frequent crashes and error messages. It seems you can remove 7.0, but….you can’t get rid of it. DON”T INSTALL IT.
January 13th, 2007 at 11:23 am
IE7 worked great for me originally - until I installed the Java update from Sun. Slow, slow slow. Went to add-ons and disable Java (2 items). Now back to full speed. Of course I can’t view any pages requiring the add-on.
January 13th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Did a little more research. If you only disable ssvhelper_class add-on from Sun, the Java continues to function and IE7 is back to the original speed. I now can view Java pages with normal speed. Hopefully this helps some of you.
January 14th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
Re: IE7 Rant Part of a Large Chorus
Andy Beal’s IE7 Rant echoes the sentiments of many of us who were sucker-punched by an automatic update setting on MS IE6.
I’m tired of fighting Microsoft for control over my “Home Page” … my button bars, my menu bars, my default search engines, my Desktop settings, my comings and goings on the Web.
This might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for MS IE. I once was a devout Netscape user till AOL trashed it. Then IE made some improvements I could live with. Till now hadn’t really thought of looking into Mozilla Firefox or Opera as alternatives.
Now it’s time to make a serious change. I am determined that Gates is not going to put a ring through my nose and tell me where to go everytime I get on the Internet. That avaricious, gluttonous, megalomaniac control freak just lost a lot of default users, who will now be motivated to get up off their rumps and find a more user-friendly, more powerful browser for their web needs.
Bruce From New York
“Now Up Off His Rump”
January 15th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Hi Guys,
Whew - I’m glad it wasn’t just me! I thought my personal supercomputer/high speed internet connection had developed senility.
Here’s some helps;
1. To get back IE 6 (provided it was on the machine before IE 7), Go to “Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs” Windows Internet Explorer 7. Click “Remove.” Let it do it’s thing, reboot, and VIOLA!
2. If you really wanna tough it out with IE7, try; a. reduce the cache size in “Internet Options/General/Browsing History/Settings. I think the default is 1024mb, I was down to 256mb, but it really helped b. Turn OFF the phishing filter (under “tools” menu). Overall, IE 7 seems pretty cool for about the first hour, after that the honeymoon is OVER once you try to type in form information (forget web e-mail), or browse beyond a few more URL’s and the scrollbars freeze.
3. When you get so frustrated with IE 7’s lost typed in characters, the stuck windows and scroll bars; Install Firefox 2
Have fun
January 15th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
It seems to me that here’s another case of Microsoft trying to rip off and make their own copy of a free program that works wonderfully. I ran the update to install IE7 and immediately noticed the tabbed windows like firefox has and despite any and all efforts I could not get IE7 to connect to any website even the built in IE7 product tour. I ran the diagnostic tool and it said that there was a problem with the winsock so while that was up I opened firefox and went to microsoft’s website and googled it some to see what the problem was. It seems it’s another case of Microsoft pushing something out that’s crap and doesn’t work. If they don’t get it fixed really quickly alot of people will switch to firefox and microsoft will have helped create the problem they were trying to prevent.
January 16th, 2007 at 6:03 am
i got internet explorer 7 even tho i didnt want it fanx to stupid norton!!! Now wen ever i connect to the internet and use ie 7 it turns off my internet connection?!?! fank god for firefox or id b fucked!!!
January 17th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I have IE7… the thing is I like to open pages in new window.. but when I close the new page it also closes the main window and the rest of the windows i opened using the “open in new window”…I sometimes have 3-4 windows open .. it is a pain going back to the main site and doing the whole process again…
does anyone’s IE7 do the same?r
January 17th, 2007 at 11:09 am
Sahith, the problem can be handled ( I think) by just closing the window tab which is located on the tool bar rather than the window per se, which is ocated in the upper right hand portion of the window. The problem I’ve found is that when you browse - IE7 sometimes opens a new tab instead of a new, independent window, but there doesn’t seem to be a consistent rule for when one or the other occurs. Just one more thing. Hope this helps!
January 17th, 2007 at 11:43 am
I had to try to test software we’ve developed. While they fixed a few things that didn’t work with IE6, there we still a number of issues. And its SLOW. Really slow.
I also don’t find it very intuitive. I’m always hunting for the right button or menu. I would rather have IE6 back myself. In fact, I’ve avoided upgraded my other machines.
I agree with a previous poster, I think this will backfire on MS and will push more people to Firefox.
January 17th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
Hey guys, I’m not tech savy. I think that IE 7 is a piece of shittles, but I can’t seem to reinstall my IE 6. My comp says that I ‘have the latest Internet Explorer version’ and it wont let me go back. Can anyone offer some advice, this IE is killing me…
January 17th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
“1. To get back IE 6 (provided it was on the machine before IE 7), Go to “Control Panel/Add or Remove Programs†Windows Internet Explorer 7. Click “Remove.†Let it do it’s thing, reboot, and VIOLA!”
January 18th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
I will never download an update again!! Just once would I like to be able to close IE7 without being told there is an error and sending the error message to microsoft. Why have they done this to us! I cannot even turn my computer on without being told I have a problem with a programme. I Know I have a problem, it is called IE7!
January 19th, 2007 at 12:43 pm
If you think I did a search for IE 7.0 sucks because I hate MS, you are wrong. I am searching because I just found out today why my HP SCanner wasn’t loading properly, my music playback was messed up and why I coundn’t view videos well.
This thing is seriously a piece of crap. The search bar sucks, cannot get rid of it. I enjoyed IE 6.0, but this is junk.
And WHY ON EARTH would a WEB browser for God’s sake interfere with my scanner software? How do those two relate? I need my scanner for my work and for two weeks I had to run across the hall to another company and use theres.
I call HP and the dude just says, “oh yeah, we’ve known since this fall that certain HP Scanner software won’t work with IE 7.0.” Well thanks for telling me Bill. I have wasted about 15 hrs trying to install/uninstall my scanner software and searches for solutions.
I haven’t heeded any of the warnings about IE until now. So this amazing, the very thing MS develops to defeat Firefox is the VERY same thing that made me go to it.
YOu don’t have to change the world Bill, just don’t screw it up.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
Ok I really need help… I just updated to IE 7 and now I can’t surf the web. Something is stopping me. I’m connected to the internet but I just can sign on to my aim or even surf the web. What is stopping me. I’m so mad its on my brand new laptop and now I have to use my desktop because its not letting surf on my laptop but it will let me on my desktop. And they use the same connection. PLEASE will somebody help get the thing off of my computer that is stopping me from using the internet.
January 21st, 2007 at 8:50 am
I am on my third try at IE7 and my browser has to close and send an error report about 5 times a day.I never get a report from microsoft of what is wrong.
My first try was with ie7 beta 2, I did not realise I had a problem till I reported to microsoft that my game “combat flight simulater 3″ was not working,[this is a microsoft game].Their reply was ie7 beta interferes with Cfs3, well done microsoft.
When ie7 came out I installed it and uninstalled it having the same problems as now.
I have a feeling that what is causing the problem is all the browser and active X objects have been carried over from ie6 and dont work with ie7.
Any one out there brave enough to delate the lot and re-download as the need arises?
Bill
January 21st, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Please ignore my last gripe, have tried firefox and it is fantastic. Good by, or should I say, good ridance IE7.
Bill
January 21st, 2007 at 10:48 pm
IE7 is giving me nothing but problems… What is the solution? Hello to a new browser!!!
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:31 am
For me, in IE7 when I have multiple windows open, and I close just one window, the whole IE application crashes and all windows close. For the first time I chose ‘Send error report’, and have done so a couple of times after that. Not only that, the browser is slow and not user-friendly, the familiar layout of IE6 is jumbled up.
I have never used Firefox before, but when I voiced my frustration to a friend, he suggested I use Firefox instead. Now that I’ve discovered how quick Firefox is, I am kissing not just IE7 but previous IE versions goodbye.
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:06 am
IE7 worst crap I have seen.Spent two hours with so called technician left my system in worse shape. Hext call tech tolm he’d call back in ten minutes-never called back. Sp far has spoken with rour techs. Most cannot speak english properly!! calls originate from Maryland.Have been told by tech that removing IE7 will mess up my whole windows system. Usual crappy microsoft screwing the public
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:07 am
IE7 worst crap I have seen.Spent two hours with so called technician left my system in worse shape. Hext call tech told he’d call back in ten minutes-never called back. Sp far has spoken with rour techs. Most cannot speak english properly!! calls originate from Maryland.Have been told by tech that removing IE7 will mess up my whole windows system. Usual crappy microsoft screwing the public
January 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
Hi Jean-Claude & All,
I’ve removed IE7 three times, re-installed in hopes of better results twice, then for good third time. No matter how many times I tried, IE7 was terrible and I simply gave up.
My machine easily rolled back to IE6 (your mileage and results may vary), then I installed Firefox 2 - All is well again!
January 22nd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I installed IE7 in December, and immediately my computer was beset with problems. I only just now did a search for this program and noticed all the issues. I literally cannot use my computer now! Everything freezes, word cannot open, and I can’t play music or video without complete system shutdown. Add my voice to the complaints!
January 24th, 2007 at 2:25 am
Ever since I got Internet Explorer 7, my computer crashes about 3 times a day.. I constantly have to restart as the whole system freezes :(. I dislike having to use firefox as I like using Internet Explorer. The new program (IE) is really shit, and I dislike the design of the new browser. The older design is so much better. Why did they release it, when the older version was obviously superior..
January 24th, 2007 at 6:02 am
Kerry,
have you tried removing IE7 in add or remove programs? if you do you will automaticly revert back to IE6,
If that dont fix your PC try system restore if you have it
Bill
January 25th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
This thing is BAD-I work from home and access my company’s secure websites from there. I thought it was a fluke at first, but EI7 has completely blown me out of the browser several times a day, especially at crucial times, when I’m uploading a document or setting notifications, or refreshing. I look up & my browser is GONE. Every time I lose what I’m working on. I’m not crazy about Firefox, but I’ll learn to love it at this rate.
January 25th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I have IE7 for my laptop and it has given me no problems what-so-ever but at the work computers it just plain sucks!
I only use wireless internet on my laptop. I wonder if the only way IE7 will work is in wireless mode.
January 25th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I have used IE7 now for over a month….with NONE of the problems that everyone is having here.
Love the tabbed browsing…way to steal an idea Bill. Also use FF….I keep coming back to using IE7 fulltime though…cant get enough….
January 26th, 2007 at 5:21 am
Please continue to keep me updated with your experiences. I no longer use IE7 just IE6 and Firefox with my browser set to Firefox.
If IE7 ever gets properly fixed I’ll look again but my concern is Vista and not IE7 now. I am concerned that Vista is a pile of poo and that it will seriously damage my online experience.
Mods. Please email me when there is a thread about Vista as I will no doubt contribute there too.
January 26th, 2007 at 9:54 am
i downloaded ie7 and it totally crashed out my computer.. it took a tech guy hours and cost me 600 bucks just to get back into my computer… which is still so messed up that im giving up and buying a new one..
January 26th, 2007 at 11:54 am
which will come with IE7 preinstalled
January 26th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Creating a functional IE6 from remnants on your hard disk after it has been emasculated by IE7
I have used IE versions since Internet Explorer first appeared. Firefox looked good when it came up, but I continued to work with IE because it was better (at least up to IE6) for various professional tasks. All of that changed with IE7, which is basically not yet mature, as most of you have also observed.
Thanks to IE7, Firefox is now becoming the much better choice, except for certain applications such as web mail via Microsoft Exchange, where IE supports rich Outlook options, of which the separate reading pane is probably the most desirable. Other non-MS browsers support a simpler variant of Outlook, which does not offer a separate reading pane.
As a result, FireFox is relatively inefficient compared to IE6, if you want to scan your emails quickly. When IE7 came along, it too of course supported the rich Outlook options for Microsoft Exchange driven web mail, at least in the minds of its creators. In practice, IE7 tends to crash or lock up when used with Microsoft Exchange mail servers, one of the several reasons to go back to IE6.
One option would be to follow instructions provided by Microsoft Help and Support (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/293907), which start with “How to uninstall IE6â€, but also include a paragraph on “How to repair or return to previous IE installationsâ€.
A simpler option would seem to be: uninstall IE7 and download IE6 from various sources, including Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/downloads/default.mspx) and tucows (http://www.tucows.com/get/193778_118217).
However, when you try to install IE6, Windows XP informs you that it cannot proceed because Setup has detected a newer IE version already installed on your computer. You can try to hunt down remnants of the IE7 that you just uninstalled (or perhaps there are later versions of IE6.x residing somewhere) but these are not easy to find. I have not been able to find anything relevant in C:\Program Files or in other partitions that I usually reserve for programs. Nor have I seen anything useful listed in the Add or Remove Programs panel(start > control panel > add or remove programs), either in the general list, or in the Windows Components list.
A better option turns out to be to search for iexplore.exe (go to My Computer > Search > All files and folders > type iexplore). At Look in: select > My computer. This is useful to insure that you look everywhere. Select the More advanced options and tick system folders, hidden files and subfolders. Click on Search. After a while several instances of iexplore.exe (ca. 90 KB) come up, among others in c:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386 (for Windows XP SP2); or in c:\Windows\$NtServicePackUninstall$ (for Windows XP, SP1); or possibly among the C:\Program Files\… (despite the fact that there might be no obvious program listings in the Add/Remove panel or elsewhere…).
Right-click any one of these iexplore.exe files and select: Pin to Start Menu. Alternatively, you can create a shortcut for the Desktop or Quick Launch Taskbar. Click on any of these shortcuts, and up comes IE6.
There are several other folders in the original fully installed IE6 folder (Connection Wizard, MUI, Plugins, Signup, and a few files, plus subsequent security updates, totaling about 2.5 MB for my system). All of these program components are located in multiple directories (ServicePackFiles\i386; $NtUninstall…; SP2; and again, remnants of program files). When the modest iexplore.exe application (only 90 KB) is launched, it obviously finds the needed components. Thus, there appears to be no need to bring these folders together, although doing so and putting your newly constructed IE6 folder in C:\Program Files might speed IE6 up a bit.
On another note, as mentioned by several of you, if you do not want IE7 to install automatically on top of your newly functional IE6, go to Start > Control Panel > Automatic Updates. In the Automatic Updates menu, remove the tick from Automatic (recommended by Microsoft), and instead, tick one of the other 3 choices. If you leave Automatic Updates ticked, the installation files of IE7 will be downloaded and installed as a highly recommended Express update. If you select one of the other 3 options, you will be able to see a list with downloaded or available updates, and you can then unselect installation of IE7. You will be asked whether you do not wish to have IE7 installed, and if this is the case, Microsoft promises not to offer it to you in the future. That sounds reasonable.
Finally, to check how it might interfere with IE6, I installed IE7 once again. It looked good for about 10 minutes, but again fell apart when linked to web mail from my university Microsoft Exchange server, followed by a request from me for a print preview and a print command. It was still possible to then open IE6, which was however contaminated by several IE7 features. Uninstalling IE7 with the Add/Remove feature was fast and effective, and as soon as it was gone, IE6 once again was fully functional.
The only thing I find surprising in all this is that Microsoft sounds so upbeat about IE7. In any case, the Internet Explorer website (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.mspx) contains a good download of IE6 as well, so the two will probably coexist for a few years.
January 28th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
IE7 is a horrible disaster! I have cable and normally get speeds from 2000 to 3000. Since IE7 was installed without my permission, the speed tests I have run have been 129, 89, 83 and down to 29K today. Have to keep signing in to every site I am a member of because Auto Complete has been affected. Yesterday, everything froze. Called Dell and they said hundreds of people are calling because of this crap 7.0. Dell did a restore back to 6.0, but I still have terrible problems. Speeds are only in the dial up realm, pages take forever to load and I still have to sign into the member sites over and over. Even going back to 6.0, there has been hardly any improvement. I am very, very angry about this! A class action lawsuit should be brought against Bill Gates.
January 29th, 2007 at 10:09 am
The only reason I can think of behind the release of IE 7.0 is to force owners of older computers to upgrade to compensate for the HUGE slow down that IE 7.0 creates on the web browsing experiences.
Because there’s absolutely no way that Microsoft’s in house testers or external beta testers would not have noticed load times being 3-5 times longer than with the previous IE 6.0 version.
I “had” blazingly fast page load times on Cable Modem prior to the IE 7.0 “update”. Now like many of the previous posters, I feel like I’m on a dial up connection again.
It’s also par for the course that Microsoft sent out this slow POS to it’s customer’s without providing any plan whatsoever for it’s users to return to IE 6.0 if they didn’t like it.
Looks like I’ll be forced to use Firefox until Microsoft provides a bug fix for their latest global release of the “IE 7.0 Virus” that’s being masqueraded as an “update”.
January 29th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I have used Windows Internet Explorer 7 since beta. I have the public release running on 3 computers (work, laptop & home pc). Do I think it sucks? No, because I don’t slap a label on something before I understand what could be causing the problem. It’s not slow, infact it opens faster than Firefox 1.5/2. It’s more secure than firefox 2, which has had 7 security flaws (5 of which were critical) IE7 so far has had none. It scales webpages for printing, it has a protected mode (in Vista) restricting access to the OS. With an updated IE coming in July I fully expect it to reclaim its place as the worlds best web-browser. Anything contrary is just opinion.
*Candice a few posts above me, if IE7 was your problem, then reverting to IE6 should have fixed it, since it didn’t obviously you have a different problem.
*Dennis a few more posts up, spent $600 to fix his computer after installing IE7. Booting into safe mode or using system restore would probably undo any of the effects of installing the software, otherwise simply reinstall Windows. Don’t complain to MS that you spent $600 because you can’t use your own computer and don’t back up your own files.
I wonder how many of the above “experts” can verify the stability and sanitation of their Windows XP installation before IE7.
January 30th, 2007 at 1:26 am
Hey Everyone,
I’m back and as You know, no one has been more upset about the new IE-7 Browser than I have.
Here is what I’ve done to become more convince that
IE-7 is on the right track. Here is what we Discovered, I Did this and no Browser crashes since
and speed is restored. Suggest that if You have
IE-7 Browser, Don’t shut it off- learn this:
http://upperroom.wordpress.com/ Later Jim…
January 30th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
IE7 is an ugly crap machine.
January 31st, 2007 at 2:55 am
HI ALL
Please dont install IE7 in any of your 2000 or2003 servers, it will screw up your FTP settings and you will not be able to bring the serverup again for http://FTP.
All clients whose desktops are updated to IE7 Try connecting to any of the FTP sites you will come to know the exact problem.
Regards
Sree
February 1st, 2007 at 8:22 am
I would suggest that IE 7 be fixed before it is rolled out and Firefox be used with the IE tabs addon to make a website think you are using IE. I use this addon with firefox portable and it is great.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:13 am
I installed IE7 today as I need to test web development on it as practically everyone in the western world will have it soon.
It crashes every single time I start it (unless I start it with no page).
Luckily for me I use FireFox 2 which has not yet crashed once (FF1 did quite a bit) and because there is an IE7 tab plugin available, I always use this (in case you get one of these IE only pages).
Well lo-and-behold, an page running through IE7 will open and function within FireFox fine. I just can’t use the IE7 browser itself.
What a load of old toss.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:39 am
I would have to agree with Sarah on her post above when she states….
“I wonder how many of the above “experts†can verify the stability and sanitation of their Windows XP installation before IE7.”
We have deployed IE7 accross our LAN with little or NO problems….and by lan, this numbers over 200 pc’s….
February 1st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Using FireFox 2 now and have no problems at all. When I try to go back and use IE 7, it doesn’t remember me when I log into any of the member sites. I have to keep signing in. Also freezes up. Speeds are at a snail’s pace. Went into the system to rectify and changes/corrections won’t take. Next door neighbor is a professor (computer technology) and said most of the computers at the University crashed when IE 7 installed. He said there are using FireFox until they make a final decision. Thanks to all of you for the useful information and for recommending FireFox.
February 3rd, 2007 at 11:30 am
Opera is the fastest web browser I’ve found and prefer it to ie. I am running the beta version of vista with ie7 so I cannot uninstall it and go back to version 6. IE7 is excruciatingly slow, but I thought it was just a bug with vista beta, apparently not. Firefox is good, but give Opera a try if you haven’t yet.
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I am about 3 minutes away from getting IE6 back on to my computer and installing Firefox. I had no (major) problems with IE7 until recently. Now, when any program (with the exception of MSNmsg, surprise surprise) tries to open up an IE window, it crashes that program. I have a brand new computer. I’m not willing to mutilate it with this trash any longer.
February 5th, 2007 at 5:29 am
Have had a few issues with IE7 since it was forced upon me by a ‘critical update’, but not any I couldn’t fix or work around. But today I went to YouTube to look at a video a friend of mine posted and it took FOREVER to load. Thought it was unusual, so I viewed several different videos, all of which had ridiculous loading times. I have never had a problem with videos loading on YouTube, they’ve always loaded lightning fast!
Would anyone happen to know how to fix this?
Looked everywhere, Googled ’til my finger tips are bleeding for a solution.
Anyway… Apart from the tabs feature, IE7 SUCKS
February 5th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Hey Amanda,
And Those of us having our struggle with IE-7, Jim
wrote about what I did to get BETTER control of my situation. This allows a better experience with the
IE-7 Browser Application if You are using Windows XP Home Edition, try this, it what I did until the
geeks fix any bugs that my be left in using IE-7.
http://upperroom.wordpress.com/
February 6th, 2007 at 11:35 am
My daughter has a Dell about a year old, and it has always been a pain to keep XP Home running at a useable speed. I recently did a full system restore off the hidden partition onthe hard drive. I got everything running great. Then last week XP’s automatic updates installed IE7. All of a sudden the machine slowed to a crawl. She can type about one full line ahead in Word before the text even appears in the document. Everything takes minutes to load. The computer will not shut down, well it might if you wait 3 hours. Restarts are more than twice as long as before IE7 was installed. Luckily I was able to uninstall IE7. For those that haven’t found it yet go to control panel Add/modify windows componets on the left side. There should be an uninstall/remove icon for IE7 in the list.
Once I removed IE7 the computer seems better, still probably a little slower than before. I then turned off automatic updates, since obviously the idiots at Microsoft don’t know what they are doing.
February 7th, 2007 at 11:08 am
Ok my problem with all this is that I run IE7 on my old desktop without ONE, not ONE single issue.