IE7 browser windows open then disappear??

[727stretch]

This is a good one - I've looked all over the net and seen other people with the problem but no solutions other than "switch to ____" (insert Firefox, Opera, etc.)... Before someone suggests it, I need to use IE7 for work and switching is not an option.

Since my install of Vista Ultimate 32, I've occasionally experienced the IE7 browser randomly disappearing. It's not a crash per se, because there's no freeze or error message - the whole window(s) just go away quickly. The only common theme I've noticed is what prompts the disappearing seems to be some sort of scripting, and even that's a wild guess. The websites that typically crash it are AOL's Radio applet and all myspace pages. I also installed Trend Micro's "TrendSecure" toolbar, which is like McAfee's Site Advisor - it is supposed to tell you if sites are safe or not - and since installing it, upon opening IE7, I see the browser for a split second and then it disappears as with the other sites I mentioned. If I disable the TrendSecure toolbar, then I have no problems opening IE7 windows. I guess I have to narrow it down to what sort of programming is used in the TrendSecure toolbar and what the common denominator is with the other sites (i.e. I know that most myspace pages have all sorts of flashy stuff on them, be it music players, animated icons etc.)

I tried resetting all of my IE settings, disabling the Google toolbar (the only other one I have installed), reinstalling Flash & Shockwave, updating Java, checking the event viewer, and making sure I have all Windows updates. I do not have this problem w/ my laptop which has almost an identical software installation, so it has to be something unique to my desktop.

Any suggestions for me? This is getting so annoying lately that I'm getting ready to wipe the PC and start over, but I'd really like to prevent that :)

Thanks a lot for any info.

727

[xxmikexx]

727stretch,

You've researched this problem in depth and are probably correct that it's something to do with the configuration of your desktop versus that of your laptop.

So let's talk about that. For example, how much RAM does each machine have, and what are the settings of the sizes of the paging files? (And what's the maximum available paging file size on Vista 32?) Are both machines running the same OS and same version of the OS? And so on. Let's try to identify a core OS-related issue where the machines differ.

(By the way, if you look in the upper left corner of this post you'll see that I too am a 727-200 fan. The panel shown is the Rich Probst FS2004 panel.)

[727stretch]

Another 727 fan? No way! LOL :) Great plane. My best memory was a KIAD-KBOS flight on UAL, and just before takeoff, smoke started coming out of the overhead vents... Everyone was freaking out. Except the Captain, apparently. He came on - very nonchalantly - and said over the PA that an a/c pack had overheated and he turned it off. We still had one left, but we had to fly at 12,000 ft. up to Boston. It took us about two hours for a flight that normally takes less than 60 min. LOL. Good times.

Anyhow, just to let you know, I tried so many things with this issue and never got it resolved, so I ended up reformatting my hard drive. I think it had something to do with Flash ; possibly a conflict with another part of IE. And now I'm using Firefox 3, which blows IE7 out of the water. Glad I tried it.

727