Delayed Response When Editing Internet Explorer Forms and Outlook Express May Take a Long Time to Start

When you type information in a form in Internet Explorer, there may be a delay or hesitation before the insertion point appears in a text box and the text that you type is displayed. There may also be a long delay or hesitation when you move the insertion point from one box to another (the delay may be from 5 to 20 seconds).

In addition, Microsoft Outlook Express may take a long time to start.

This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons:

• The AutoComplete history may be corrupted.
• The Pstores.exe and associated .dll files may be corrupted or their versions may be incorrect.
• The ProtectedStorage registry key may have incorrect parameters.

To resolve this behavior, use the appropriate method.

Clear Forms and Passwords Information in the AutoComplete History

To clear forms and passwords information in the AutoComplete settings in Internet Explorer:

1. Start Internet Explorer.
2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
3. On the Content tab, click AutoComplete.
4. Click Clear Forms, click Clear Passwords, and then click OK.

Export and Delete the ProtectedStorage Value

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

1. Export and then delete the ProtectedStorage key from the following:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
2. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.
3. Type the following command:
   c:\windows\system\pstores.exe -install
   This command replaces the correct ProtectedStorage registry key.
4. Quit all programs and restart the computer.

Search the hard disk for the Pstore.log file. If the file exists, there may be a problem with the ProtectedStorage registry key.