Eliminating Internet Explorer 8 Crashes

If you find that Internet Explorer 8 crashes persistently, especially when navigating to different pages, try the following procedures.

Disable Add-ons Some Add-ons held over from Internet Explorer 6 or 7 are incompatible with Internet Explorer 8. Try removing all Add-ons (or sets of add-ons) then re-accessing the problematic site(s). If Internet Explorer 8 no longer crashes, put your Add-ons back one-by-one (or in sets) until the problem resurfaces. In this way, you can identify the problematic Add-on(s) and eliminate it.

Start by quitting Internet Explorer 8, then right-clicking its icon in the Explorer and selecting “Start Without Add-ons.” If the problem is gone, quit Internet Explorer again, then follow the process below to remove/disable individual add-ons.

You can remove Add-ons by clicking “Tools” in the Command bar and selecting “Manage Add-ons”. Highlight the Add-on and select Remove. Alternatively, you can choose Disable to deactivate the Add-on but leave it installed.

Reset Internet Explorer Next, you can try resetting Internet Explorer as described in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article. This will not only disable all Add-Ons, but also clear our other potentially problematic data, including toolbars, ActiveX controls and more. Beware, however, because resetting Internet Explorer will also delete browsing history, appearance settings and other customization you may wish to retain.

Downgrade to Internet Explorer 7 As a last resort, you can try downgrading to Internet Explorer 7, as described in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article.