Member Avatar for Hoggy12

Hi all,

Hope someone might know something I dont.
Recently IE 6 has been taking an age to start up after cliking on the desktop Icon or going through the start menu.

I know its not relevant to this thread, but explorer, either through start menu or by right clicking on start button is also very slow to start up.

Does anyone know of anything that might be casuing this or how to fix it.

Thanks
Hoggy

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Dani AI

Generated

Both Internet Explorer 6 and Windows Explorer starting very slowly usually indicates a system-level issue rather than a single browser preference. As observed, malware or excessive background processes are common causes; because reports delays for both the browser and the shell, focus should include shell extensions, startup/services, network timeouts (mapped drives, printers, proxy or a network homepage), and possible profile corruption.

Recommended quick checks (low risk):

  • Boot into Safe Mode with Networking to see whether the delay persists. If it goes away, a third‑party driver/service is likely.
  • Start IE without add‑ons: 
    Start > Run: iexplore.exe -extoff

    If IE opens quickly, disable non‑Microsoft toolbars/Add‑ons.

  • Test with a new temporary user account to determine whether the problem is per‑profile.
  • Use msconfig to selectively disable non‑Microsoft startup items and services before rebooting.

Deeper diagnostics and fixes:

  • Inspect Event Viewer for Explorer/IE errors: 
    Start > Run: eventvwr.msc
  • Check shell extensions and context‑menu handlers (common cause of Explorer hangs) using a utility such as ShellExView or Autoruns; disable non‑Microsoft handlers and retest.
  • Remove/disconnect mapped network drives and network printers temporarily (network timeouts often manifest as long startup delays).
  • Verify disk and system integrity: run chkdsk /f (may require reboot) and sfc /scannow; check SMART with the drive vendor’s tool.
  • Monitor processes with Task Manager or Process Explorer to spot CPU, memory, or I/O bottlenecks during the slowdown.

Useful diagnostic output to gather: msconfig startup list, Event Viewer application/system errors, and a short snapshot of running processes while the delay occurs. If malware scans, add‑on isolation and startup cleanup don’t resolve it, consider repairing the OS or migrating to a fresh user profile as a last resort.

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Member Avatar for dlh6213

It could be a virus, too many processes running, a hardware problem, or a number of other things.

As a starting point, I suggest you get the self-extracting version of HijackThis from here (in line 2):
http://www.malwareremoval.com/downloads.html

Close any open browser windows, 'Scan and Save Log' with hijackthis, copy the log and paste it into a new thread in the Virus forum (this is the only forum where hijackthis logs are to be posted).

Member Avatar for Hoggy12

Hi Dlh6213,

Thanks for that, I have posted my hijackthis log in the virus forum.

Thanks
Hoggy :D

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