Internet Explorer 7 Issues

• Some problems have frustrated users of Internet Explorer 7. great grandmother computing. image by mdb from Fotolia.com

  Internet Explorer 7 was designed to provide new features and fix some of the security concerns that existed with older versions of the browser. It was initially released for Windows XP machines with Service Pack 2 installed, and could not be installed on older operating systems. Although IE7 offers users additional features from previous versions, it also created new concerns.

Installation Errors

• In any distribution of Internet Explorer 7, but more especially in beta versions and Release Candidate (RC) versions, installation errors may occur. If you experience an installation error, you will see a notice informing you that the installation failed. Microsoft recommends restarting your computer to undo any changes that may have been made by the partial installation.

Problems with Toolbars

• Internet Explorer 7 may have compatibility issues with certain browser add-ons, such as tool bars. For example, earlier versions of Google Desktop can cause Internet Explorer to stop responding when a new tab is opened. Installing the latest version of Google Desktop corrects this concern. Version 1.02 of the MSN tool bar also causes the browser to stop responding, and can be corrected by installing a newer version. If you use the Microsoft Developer Toolbar, you will also need to update this to its latest version for it to interact correctly with Internet Explorer 7. Otherwise, the tool bar may not display correctly and cause the browser to freeze or hang.

Websites That Only Work with Internet Explorer 6

• According to Microsoft, some websites host pages that are hard coded only to accept connections from users running Internet Explorer 6. Internet Explorer 7 has a workaround for this issue, called the User Agent Utility, in which you create a separate browser window that emulates the older browser and appears to these websites as if it were Internet Explorer 6.

Disruption of Other Programs

• Internet Explorer 7 can hinder some other programs while running, such as Windows SharePoint Services. While the browser is running, you will not be able to import spreadsheets into Sharepoint. The browser may also prevent certain other programs from loading. If you have installed Internet Explorer 7, you may find that Flight Simulator 2004 no longer responds. Microsoft recommends finding the oleacc.dll file in your Flight Simulator folder and renaming it to oleacc.old to allow the program to run again.