Understanding and Troubleshooting Unrecoverable Errors (Faults) in Internet Explorer

This article provides information to help you diagnose and resolve issues that occur when you receive an unrecoverable error (fault or exception) message when you use Windows-based Internet Explorer.

Unrecoverable errors are also known as user-mode faults or exceptions. Programs such as Internet Explorer run on your computer in what is known as user-mode (or Ring3). Processes that run in user-mode do so in their virtual address spaces and do not have direct access to hardware or memory that was not allocated to them. Because user-mode processes are effectively isolated from the system and other user-mode processes, they do not interfere with these resources. Therefore, they do not compromise the integrity of your computer. For example, if a process tries to read or write to a memory location that has not been allocated to it, the result is an unrecoverable error (in this case, an exception). When these unrecoverable errors occur, you must close the affected program or process to maintain your computer�s integrity.

Note that most programs interact with other user-mode processes. You can extend some programs by using add-on features that share their memory space. In the case of Internet Explorer, ActiveX Controls, Browser Helper Objects, tool bands, and other components can add custom functionality to the browser, such as additional toolbars, wallpaper or banner ads. These components run in the same memory space as the browser, and may generate faults or exceptions on Internet Explorer or one of its components. Like most programs, Internet Explorer also interacts with other parts of your computer. For example, you use your display driver, display hardware, and installed fonts to display Web pages. You use your printer driver and hardware to print Web pages. Other programs may also interact with Internet Explorer. These interactions with other software or services can also cause unrecoverable errors in Internet Explorer.

Troubleshooting Unrecoverable Errors

To troubleshoot unrecoverable errors in Internet Explorer, follow these steps. After you perform each step, stop and test to see if the issue is resolved. If not, continue troubleshooting with the next step.

1. Use the Microsoft Internet Explorer Error Reporting tool. To do so, click Send Error Report when you are prompted to send the error report to Microsoft. If a fix or workaround is available, click the More information link after you send the error report to Microsoft to obtain the fix or information about how to work around the issue.
   
   By default, the Internet Explorer Error Reporting tool is installed with Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and later and Windows XP and later. If you are running Internet Explorer 5.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or earlier on Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000, you can add the Internet Explorer Error Reporting tool from the Windows Update Web site or by upgrading to Internet Explorer 5.5 SP2 or later. For more information about the Internet Explorer Error Reporting Tool, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   276550 Description and availability: Internet Explorer error reporting
   For more information about how to obtain the latest Internet Explorer 6 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   328548 How to obtain the latest Internet Explorer 6 service pack
   For additional information about how to obtain the latest Internet Explorer 5.5 service pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   267954 How to obtain the latest Internet Explorer 5.01 service pack
2. Click the click here link on the Internet Explorer Error Reporting dialog to view the error details. You then see error signature information similar to the following:
   
   AppName: Iexplore.exe AppVer: 6.0.2600.0 ModName: module.dll ModVer: 5.0.1.10 Offset: 0007d934
   
   
   If the module listed for ModName is not a Windows or Internet Explorer file, you may be able to isolate the issue by removing or disabling any programs, services, or drivers that are associated with the affected module. To do so, locate Module.dll on your hard disk, right-click the file, click Properties, on the Version tab, and then view the Company box to verify that the file is a Microsoft file. If not, the Company and Product Version boxes may indicate which program, service, or driver the file is associated with. If not, try searching the Internet for information about the file. When you determine which program, service, or driver the file is associated with, remove the program, service, or driver to see if the issue is resolved. For example, to remove a program or service, use the Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel, or contact the manufacturer of the program or service for information about how to remove it.
3. If you have the Internet Explorer Repair Tool, use it to locate Internet Explorer files that are out of date or incorrectly registered.
4. Disable third-party browser extensions. For more information about how to disable third-party browser extensions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   298931 How to Disable third-party tool bands and browser helper objects
5. Incompatible or conflicting software that is running at the same time as Internet Explorer may cause some faults. To determine if this is causing the issue, perform a "clean boot" of Windows. A clean boot helps you to isolate the issue by temporarily eliminating items in your computer configuration that do not help to start Windows and Internet Explorer.
   
   To perform a clean boot, view the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Microsoft Windows XP

   310353 How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP

   Microsoft Windows 2000

   281770 How to perform clean-boot troubleshooting for Windows 2000

   Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)

   267288 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows Millennium Edition

   Microsoft Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition

   192926 How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98

   Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows 95 OEM Service Releases

   243039 How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 95
   If the error messages do not occur in a clean boot configuration, a conflict between Internet Explorer and some of your installed programs, drivers, or services is causing the issue. In this case, add items back to your configuration one-by-one or in groups until the issue returns. When you have isolated the conflicting program or service, contact the manufacturer for information about known issues or possible updates.
6. If the fault only occurs when you visit certain Web sites, then the issue may be related to damaged Internet Explorer favorites, cookies, history (including AutoComplete), temporary Internet files, or ActiveX Controls. To resolve this issue, delete each of these items. To do so:
   1. Export your cookies and favorites by using the Import/Export Wizard in Internet Explorer. For more information about using the Import/Export Wizard, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
      221523 Description of the Import/Export Wizard that is included with Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
      Note: If this step does not resolve the issue, you can now use the Import/Export Wizard to restore your favorites (from Bookmark.htm) and cookies (from Cookies.txt).
   2. Delete your cookies. For more information about how to delete cookies, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
      278835 How to delete cookie files
      If the issue occurs when you click an item in Favorites, delete your favorites.
   3. Delete all the Temporary Internet Files. To do so:
      1. Start Internet Explorer.
      2. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
      3. On the General tab, click Delete Files, and then click to select the Delete all offline content check box.
      4. Click OK.
      If this does not resolve the issue, move your Temporary Internet Files folder to another location, delete the old folder, and then (if you want to) move your Temporary Internet Files folder back to the original location. For more information about this procedure, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
      301057 Temporary Internet files use more disk space than specified
   4. Remove all ActiveX controls. For more information about how to remove ActiveX controls, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
      154850 How to remove an ActiveX control in Windows
7. Reinstall Internet Explorer. If you are using the version of Internet Explorer that was included with your operating system or an operating system service pack, repair or reinstall your operating system or reinstall your operating system service pack. For more information about how to determine which version of Internet Explorer you are using, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   164539 How to determine which version of Internet Explorer is installed

Unrecoverable Error Messages

Unrecoverable errors in Internet Explorer generate different error messages depending on whether Internet Explorer Error Reporting is installed and enabled.

Windows 98 Without Internet Explorer Error Reporting

Windows Millennium Edition Without Internet Explorer Error Reporting

Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 Without Internet Explorer Error Reporting

Windows XP and Earlier Windows Versions With Internet Explorer Error Reporting

Note: Although the following articles are sorted by the appropriate version of Internet Explorer, some information may apply to more than one version of Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer 6

Internet Explorer 5.5

Internet Explorer 5

Internet Explorer 4

Non-specific Version of Internet Explorer