Memory usage increases in the Iexplore.exe process when you refresh a Web page that contains XML content in Internet Explorer 7

You use Windows Internet Explorer 7 to view a Web page that contains XML content. When you refresh the Web page, you experience the following symptoms:

�	Memory usage increases in the Iexplore.exe process.
�	If you use a tool such as Windows Task Manager to view information about the Iexplore.exe process, you see that the number of handles for the process increases.

Additionally, if you refresh the Web page several times, Internet Explorer 7 becomes unresponsive, and content is no longer displayed on the Web page.

This problem occurs because of a reference counting issue in the Mshtml.dll module that occurs when you use the Microsoft XML viewer to view XML content.

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, it is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Microsoft service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

Prerequisites

You must be running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) to install this hotfix.

Restart requirement

You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Internet Explorer 7 for Microsoft Windows XP with SP2

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time	Platform
Mshtml.dll	7.0.6000.20519	3,580,928	22-Jan-2007	18:55	x86

Internet Explorer 7 for Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with SP1

File name	File version	File size	Date	Time	Platform
Mshtml.dll	7.0.6000.20519	3,580,928	20-Jan-2007	02:50	x86

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

For more information about XML technologies, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: