To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run. The Run dialog box opens.
2. Type iexplore.exe –extoff, and then press ENTER. Note that Internet Explorer 7 opens without add-ons, toolbars, or plug-ins, but that you can still surf the Internet in this browser window.

Now that all toolbars and add-ons have been disabled, use this browser window to check whether the Internet Explorer problem is resolved. If you know that this problem occurred by visiting a particular Web page or by following certain steps, try doing that now to see whether the problem still occurs.

If you close the Internet Explorer window that you opened in step 1, repeat step 1 to reopen the window because you are checking whether the problem is resolved. Also, you might notice that some Web sites might not be displayed correctly and that some features might not be available in Internet Explorer now that add-ons have been disabled. But that is not important right now. So, as soon as you are finished checking, do one of the following based on what you found in your testing.

If the problem is resolved, continue on to step 3.
If the problem is not resolved, go to "Method 4 verification and next steps."

If the problem is resolved, we know that the problem was caused by at least one add-on that is either damaged or that conflicts with Internet Explorer 7. The next step is to determine which add-on or add-ons were causing the problem. To do this, we will ask you to enable your add-ons one at a time, and then to test again to see whether the problem still occurs. If the problem does not occur, we will ask you to enable another add-on and to test again. We will keep doing this until we have tested all the add-ons. How long this will take depends on how many add-ons you have installed on your computer. So, let's begin.

To isolate the problematic add-on or add-ons, follow these steps:

1. Start Internet Explorer the way that you usually start it. That is, do not start it the way that we asked you to start it in step 1 of this method.
2. On the Tools menu, point to Manage Add-ons, and then click Enable or Disable Add-ons. The Manage Add-ons dialog box opens.
3. In the Show box, click Add-ons that have been used by Internet Explorer.
4. Under Name, click an add-on in the list, and then under Settings, click Disable.
5. Repeat step D to disable all add-ons except one.
6. When you have disabled all add-ons except one, click OK.
7. Now, check whether the Internet Explorer problem still occurs when you have only this one add-on enabled.

• If the problem still occurs, you have identified a problematic add-on. To be able to use Internet Explorer problem-free, leave this add-on disabled for now. If the add-on is important to you, contact the manufacturer of the add-on to see whether the manufacturer has an update for the add-on that will make it behave correctly.


• If the problem does not still occur, you know that this add-on is not causing the problem. So, repeat steps B through F, but this time, keep another add-on enabled. And continue doing this until you have tested all the add-ons in the list.

If this method worked

• To prevent these problems in the future, go to "Prevention Tips."

If this method did not work

• If the problem is not resolved, continue on to method 5.