In this article we are going to talk about Internet Explorer and if is needed to remain on a Windows install. Internet explorer is shipped and has always shipped stock with every version of the Windows operating system. Some of us use it faithfully while others of us want no part of it (I am included in that category). In theory many believe that if you download another browser like Maxthon or Firefox, you do not need to keep IE on your computer. This is not true at all. Even if you use a secondary browser like Firefox, Internet Explorer is still needed on your system. You do not have to use it and you can delete the icon but the core program must stay.
Internet Explorer is actually a division of your operating system. Think of it as an office with a server. You might never go in that office but the server is doing an essential job for your company. The same holds true for IE. Many of the core functions in Windows use Internet Explorer in an indirect way. If it were completely missing, some Windows operations would return errors and not work properly. Windows Help and Support is one such animal. Without IE, you would not be able to pull up any help documents from Windows.
Often times, Internet Explorer gets damaged. It is a very common problem. We see times where WebPages do not load properly and other times when Java or Flash ceases to function and be recognized. There usually is not an easy fix for many of these issues and often times just adding a new browser fixes everything. The problem with IE is that it is integrated part of the operating system and that is one of the reasons it is not always that easy to fix. Often times you can downgrade and then reinstall the latest version to fix the problems. Sometimes this will work and other times it will actually make the problem worse. If the issue gets too bad, sometimes it becomes necessary to reinstall the entire operating system.
The best way to avoid these issues is to use a secondary browser in place of IE. This not only will help prevent issues with Internet Explorer but in most cases, you will gain added security and speed. There are times where software venders make their products to work only with IE. If you are one of those people, you will have to use it since most of the third party browsers will not be compatible.
If you are having problems with IE the first thing you should try is to reset the browser back to factory settings. To do this, go to Control Panel and click on Internet Options. When the Internet Properties box opens, go to the Advanced Tab all the way to the right. Look for the button that says Reset. Click this button and follow the prompts. When you get all green checkmarks the job is done and you can close the window. Restart Internet Explorer to see if the problem is re4solved.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
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