Strange error message after upgrading to Win 8.1

BrianT · February 16, 2015

I'm not sure if I hit a wrong button somewhere but my computer decided it was going to upgrade from Win 8.0 to Win 8.1. Ok. I wasn't intending to, but once it started, I figured, why not.

Mostly, I don't have any issue with it. I do like that it has a "window" in the bottom left of the screen that toggles between the desktop and the start screen. It works pretty well for me.

One thing I haven't been able to figure out, though, is that Internet Explorer (IE11) is giving me error messages. "Internet Explorer has stopped working...". Most of the time, it really hasn't stopped working at all and when I hit the little "x" to close the window, all continues just fine. Not always, but mostly.

I've tried the Reset button in the advanced menu of IE. No change.

I do find that if I start the computer and try to pull up IE quickly, it sometimes really does not load and will IE will shut down. Moving on and using another browser for a few minutes will usually see IE working pretty much as expected with the exception of the occasional error message mentioned.

What I find particularly interesting is that I've restarted the computer and deliberately used another browser, either Chrome or Firefox and did NOT start Internet Explorer. When I do that, I STILL get the little error message that "Internet Explorer has stopped working."

Anybody else seen this one? It's a little pesky but not impossible to live with.

Oh, yes, I did ALL of the updates and have kept them current. After it updated to Win 8.1, I think it took me the better part of a day to get them all loaded but I did get them done. And I've also run full scans with Defender, Malwarebytes and ran CCleaner, too.

Not a huge deal. But I doubt I'm alone.

Medico · February 16, 2015

It seems to be a bug. Hope it eventually will be fixed. Perhaps if these messages are sent often enough to MS they will correct it.

BrianT · February 16, 2015

Thanks, Medico. It doesn't seem like it's a bug that's all that recent. I Googled it and did a good bit of reading and it seems to be one of the more pesky problems that doesn't appear to have a good answer or a whole lot of interest in fixing it. Maybe that's because it's not so obnoxious as some problems.

I've seen that little error message box about 7 or 8 times this morning but have never had any real issues with the actual functioning of Internet Explorer that I could tell. It never froze up or quit working at all, and if it did, it was so brief that I never noticed it.

About the only thing I haven't explored thoroughly is whether there might be a conflict with Services.

Chris-n-Dennis · February 16, 2015

The IE mess was injected in one of the patch Tuesdays about 3-4 weeks ago. The only way I could fix mine was to uninstall IE, then reinstall with the latest version. Of course this was after 2 days of using various 4 letter words.

Interestingly enough, it wasn't an IE patch that caused this. I have a sneaky hunch it was a net framework issue.

BrianT · February 16, 2015

Thanks, NadaThing. You might very well be right about the net framework thought. It's definitely been difficult to nail down.

Maybe someone can correct me if I'm mistaken about this but I had thought that in Windows 8.1, a person cannot uninstall IE11, that they would have to do a complete reinstall of Windows. Actually, it's something I've considered because there really isn't a whole lot on this particular computer that I couldn't easily put onto a big memory stick or an external hard drive. Mostly just a few pictures and some PDF files and some specialized movie files that I really could download from the net again if need be. So a wipe out and reinstall isn't out of the question. I don't feel like doing it today but it wouldn't be as awful as it might be for some.

HappyKayakers · February 16, 2015

Another option you may consider is starting IE with add-ons disabled. If that solves your problem, you can enable each add-on individually until you find the one that was causing the problem.

RV_ · February 17, 2015

Brian I have been having some of the same access issues with IE lately. They messed up some patches two months ago and are busily fixing things that pop up like a game of "Whack-A-Mole." I am using Aviator but it has Flash issues for security but it can drive ya nuts too. The plus side is that they are aware of the issues and are fixing it all for Windows 10. This had better be a near perfect release because even folks like me are getting a bit frustrated with all the glitches as they bring the new leaner meaner more responsive MS. But there is no excuse and I'm not making any. If their next release, 10, is glitch full, then we will just have to see how long it takes to dress it up.

What really torqued my jaws was that I liked Windows 8 and 8.1 was a bit of an improvement. But some interim changes to assuage the folks that are stuck in desktop mode thinking, despite many of us finding it easy to navigate with keyboard and mouse, are driving more changes.

BrianT · February 17, 2015

Thanks, Derek. I do hope they'll get it worked out. I really do like the feel of IE... when it works right. So far, there's nothing I can't live with.