IE7 won't open

Problems like this can often be traced back to bad or corrupted Add-ons, like BHOs, (Browser Helper Objects), ActiveX and 3rd party toolbars like Google, Yahoo, etc.

IE7 has a safe mode option where it can be opened without any add-ons installed. Either right click your IE7 icon on the Desktop and select the 'No add-on' option, or if that option is not there, goto Start > All programs > Accessories > System Tools, then Internet Explorer (No add-ons).

IE7 will open without add-ons. You can surf the internet like that but since many web sites nowadays use add-ons to enhance the browsing, some web page may not behave as they should.

But that doesn't matter because the test is to see if IE7 works without Add-ons. If it does, then your next task is to find the offending add-on and eliminate it, (IE > Tools > Manage Add-ons).

Alternatively, you can take the brute force method and return IE to its default state. This will remove all add-ons, but will also remove all Favorites, all history, cookies, and any web site login and passwords that you have saved into IE. To do that, in IE goto Tools > Internet Options, then the Advanced tab, and click the Reset button.

You can backup your favorites beforehand, and restore them afterwards.

Mark

I suggest upgrading to IE8. IE8 is faster and safer than IE 7. It is also compatible with more sites than any other browser. If you are concerned with the way IE 8 will interact with sites you are visiting, you should check out Compatibility Mode which allows you to view sites as they would appear in IE 6 or IE 7, with the added security and speed of IE 8. Here's some more information: http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2009/02/16/just-the-facts-recap-of-compatibility-view.aspx

Here is a link to get you started:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx?ocid=ie8_sm_a

Hope this helps! Let me know if that fixes your problem.

Cheers,

Bryn
IE8 Outreach Team