# IE8 and other computer questions. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151 "2011-04-20T23:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/1 "2011-04-20T23:18:25Z")
Gateway Model E2000 Operating System: MS Windows XP Home 32-bit SP3 Browser: Internet Explorer 8 RAM: 768MB SDRAM @ 133MHz (3-3-3-6) The computer is 8.4 years old. **Black bars on IE8** This started about 2 months ago and I have no idea why. The menu & favorites bar appear black [(see image)](http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j327/foghome/blackbar.jpg). A quick Google search shows that this is a know glitch. I did find these instructions to fix it, but it’s not a permanent fix, you have to do it each time it happens. > [@](#): > > 1. Press “WIN” and “R” at the same time. Type “services.msc” into the “Run” Dialog box and Press “Enter”. Scroll down the list of services until you see “Themes” service. Stop it by right-clicking it and selecting “Stop”. This forces the visual effects for Windows to be disabled temporarily. > > 2. Close any Internet Explorer windows that may be open. In the “Services” list, right-click “Themes” and select start. This will reset and re-enable visual effects for the Windows operating system. > > 3. Right-click the desktop and select “Properties”. In the “Properties” dialog box, click the “Themes” tab if it is not selected. On the drop down list, change the theme to an alternative item on the list. Click “Apply”. Once the theme has changed, click the drop down list again and change it back to the original theme. Click “OK” to any open dialog boxes. > > 4. Open up Internet Explorer to test the browser. If the toolbar appears normal, the issue has been resolved. If they still appear black, reboot the computer and test Internet Explorer again. I found it easier to just restart my computer when it happens. This doesn’t affect performance, it’s just annoying. It doesn’t happen all the time. I can go days with out it happening, then there are days like today where it has happen 3 times. Does anyone know of a permanent fix? **Upgrading memory.** Memory Type SDRAM Size 768 MBytes DRAM Frequency 133.3 MHz Slot #1: Size-256 Mbytes Slot #2: Size-512 Mbytes As I said this computer is over 8 years old and I’m reluctant to spend money I don’t really have to add more memory, but then my frustration with its sluggish performance is getting, well really frustrating. So it would cost about a hundred dollars to max the memory out at 2 Giga bytes. I can’t do that at one go, so I buy one module now and another in a few months, but is it worth it? I hate to have had spent the money and then have some part fail. Which leads to… **Recommend a good cheap new computer.** If I can’t really afford to buy memory why even think about a new computer? Well it’s mostly at my mother’s insistence. Which is funny since we both get the exact same amount from Social Security, her - retirement, me - disability. But she wants to help and has been gently nagging me to find how much a new computer would cost. So any recommendations on a good, cheap and upgradeable computer? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/2 "2011-04-21T06:58:05Z")
Obvious things to try would be using an alternate browser (Firefox) or upgrading to IE9 (free). I would definitely NOT put a dime into your existing PC. Check out [Surplus Computers](http://www.surpluscomputers.com/featured-systems/cg-77/tower-desktop-pcs.html). I’ve bought stuff from them and not had any problems. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/3 "2011-04-21T07:06:37Z")
Have you updated your graphics card with the latest drivers? It’s probably addressed elsewhere and determined to not be the culprit, but I’ve often found glitches like this get fixed that way. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/4 "2011-04-21T12:47:57Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Obvious things to try would be using an alternate browser (Firefox) or upgrading to IE9 (free). I would definitely NOT put a dime into your existing PC. I don’t believe IE9 will work on anything before Vista, so that won’t be an option here. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/5 "2011-04-21T18:09:30Z")
First off, everything I’ve read about this says it is a video driver problem. Assuming you’ve not added separate graphics card, this is [Intel’s page](http://www.intel.com/p/en_US/support/highlights/graphics/intel845g) on your graphics chip. It has an automatic tool, as well as a link to try to get the driver manually. Get the latest version and try that. However, some reports say that this did not fix the problem on older graphics cards. So I have another, more experimental idea. I don’t have IE8, so I can’t test this, but, if themes are the problem, perhaps disabling them completely will eliminate the problem. Just do that first step in your quote, except choose Properties. Then, in the dialog box that appears, change the Startup type to Disabled. Now restart Windows, and then see if any programs you normally run have problems. Since you are using the Windows Classic theme, it shouldn’t change how programs look, but it’s possible some programs require themes to be enabled to work, and it’s very possible that IE8 is one of those programs. But it’s worth a shot. But try the graphics card thing first. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/6 "2011-04-21T18:11:13Z")
IIRC, IE8 will work with themes disabled. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/7 "2011-04-21T23:13:09Z")
You might score a freebie memory upgrade or even system by advertising locally - people will be chucking out PC-133 memory. You may still be able to get 20"+ CRTs too. I’d be very hesitant to spend serious money on that system, even though 2 GB RAM, Windows 7, and a DX9 video card would do it a power of good. It’s quite likely that your motherboard or CPU will fail soon. Popped capacitors are a common failure. For a replacement system, you need to think about what you currently do and what you want to do. Once you’ve told us that, we can advise you appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/8 "2011-04-21T23:37:38Z")
If all you want to do with the computer is web surf, stream video, and listen to music and other basic stuff like that, I got a very similar if not the same computer as [this Acer from Newegg for $430](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103352), about a year ago (I paid $420 then). I guess it’s considered a low-end manufacturer, but I’ve been extremely happy and satisfied with it, and it has worked perfectly. I didn’t need a new monitor for it, it’s hooked up to my living room TV and entertainment center. I use it every day. I’m not a techie, but if you’re doing basic web stuff I’m not sure you could build something similar for the money. If you need a new monitor and peripherals, though, someone else with more tech savvy may have a better solution for you. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/9 "2011-04-22T04:10:58Z")
> [@Foggy](#): > > **Upgrading memory.** > Memory > Type SDRAM > Size 768 MBytes > DRAM Frequency 133.3 MHz > Slot #1: Size-256 Mbytes > Slot #2: Size-512 Mbytes > > As I said this computer is over 8 years old and I’m reluctant to spend money I don’t really have to add more memory, but then my frustration with its sluggish performance is getting, well really frustrating. So it would cost about a hundred dollars to max the memory out at 2 Giga bytes. I can’t do that at one go, so I buy one module now and another in a few months, but is it worth it? I hate to have had spent the money and then have some part fail. Which leads to… What CPU does this system have in it (Control Panel/System)? That system probably isn’t going to perform well no matter what you put into it. The issue is whether there will be enough of an improvement _for you_ to make it worth maxing out the memory. Other contributing factors are CPU speed and hard disk capacity/speed. I’d say that if you won’t be able to replace the system within a year, you might want to consider upgrading the memory. That’s an older technology memory - [CPU-Z](http://www.cpuid.com/) will tell you exactly what kind. You might be able to get a better deal on some used memory sticks at a local computer store, rather than purchasing “new” ones (which may be unused New Old Stock because I don’t think that type of chip is still made). As an example, I just sold 35 pounds of assorted memory for scrap value (they reclaim the tiny amount of gold on the connector fingers). I think the largest module in the box was 512MB. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2011, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ie8-and-other-computer-questions/579151/10 "2011-04-22T06:54:27Z")
> [@Terry\_Kennedy](#): > > What CPU does this system have in it (Control Panel/System)? Should be a 2 GHz Celeron.