In many situations, it may become necessary to optimize Internet Explorer in order to resolve possible conflicts with various types of software and settings, get connected to the internet, and/or create an environment where your computer will run in the most effective manner possible. It seems that users who use Windows XP must do the steps to optimize their Internet Explorer more than users of other Windows expansions. In this article, we will be reviewing the steps to optimize Internet Explorer in Windows XP.
If you have Windows XP, you may have had some difficulties when connecting to the internet. Your computer may have started running more slowly. You may start seeing a lot more popups than usual. You may get error messages like: “…Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close….” If any of these issues sound familiar to you, then it may be necessary for you to optimize internet explorer. When you optimize Internet Explorer, you are ensuring that it is optimized for the best performance and that all the settings are appropriate and are not conflicting with each other.
Sometimes, Internet Explorer has obsolete settings and files that may start to conflict with newer settings and files. Optimizing Internet Explorer helps you to resolve these types of issues and gets your computer exactly where you need it to be, technically speaking. In Windows XP, this seems to be a common issue. In the next part of this article, we will be reviewing some basic steps that you can take to optimize Internet Explorer in Windows XP.
The first thing that you want to do when optimizing Internet Explorer is to make sure that your computer is turned on and there are no programs running. Make sure all Internet Explorer windows are closed prior to beginning optimization of Internet Explorer. Once you have established all of this, you will want to start by doing the following:
1) Click on “Start” in the lower left hand side of your screen. While this area is designated as the most common area for the “Start” button, the button may be located in other areas on the screen if the Taskbar has been moved around. The “Start” button that we are referring to is the button you press to see a list of your programs, or to shut your computer down.
2) After you click on “Start”, you should then find the “Control Panel”. Once you open the Control Panel, you will see that the screen is in either Classic View, or Category View. Most Computers with Windows XP is set up to display Category View. You can usually determine what view you are in by looking at the color of the screen. If it is blue, more than likely, you are in Category View. If you see a white screen, then you are probably in Classic View. Another way you can tell what view you are in is by looking to the left hand side of the screen, if you see “switch to Classic View”, then you are in Category View, and vice versa. For the sake of this tutorial, we will want to be in Category View.
3) Once you are in Category View in the Control Panel, you will want to click on the icon that says “Network and Internet Connections” Another screen will open. Scroll towards the bottom of that screen and select “Internet Options”.
4) Once you select Internet Options, a box will pop up. This box will be called “Internet Properties”. You want to ensure that you are on the tab listed “General”.
5) Once you ensure that you are on the General tab, scroll down to where it says “Browsing History”.
6) On Browsing History, click “delete”. Once you do, another box should open up.
7) The box that opens will be labeled “Delete Browsing History”.
8) This box will give you the options to delete internet files, cookies, history, and so on. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Delete All”. Once you start this process, it will ask if you are sure, click yes, and understand it may take a few minutes to complete.
9) Once all has been deleted, click the box to close the screen. You should now be back on the Internet Properties box. You should click on the “Advanced” tab and scroll down to “reset”, and press that.
10)Once you have finished doing all of these steps, you may close all the windows and boxes that are open and open an Internet Explorer page.
11)It is a good idea to go to the Microsoft Windows Update Page and scan for any updates that you may need. If asked, turn on Automatic Updates so that you may keep with this without having to go to the website each time. You can set a time each day or week for these updates to take place.
By optimizing Internet Explorer in Windows XP, you will find that you have fewer errors pop up regarding Internet Explorer and it runs more smoothly with less catches.
