How to Improve Browsing Performance in Internet Explorer

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0, 4.0 for Windows 95

SUMMARY

This article describes how to improve browsing performance in Internet Explorer.

MORE INFORMATION

The most common cause of poor performance in Internet Explorer is large pictures, sounds, videos, or other multimedia files that appear or are played automatically when you access a Web page. If you are using a slow connection to access the Internet, these files may take a long time to appear or be played.

To improve browsing performance in Internet Explorer, you can prevent pictures, sounds, videos, and other multimedia files from appearing or being played automatically when you access Web pages. To do so, follow these steps:

Internet Explorer 4.0

1. Start Internet Explorer, and then click Internet Options on the View menu.

2. On the Advanced tab, click one or more of the following check boxes in the Multimedia area to clear them:

       - Show Pictures (prevents pictures from appearing automatically)
       - Play Sounds (prevents sounds from being played automatically)
       - Play Videos (prevents videos from being played automatically)
   

3. Click Apply.

4. Click the Security tab, click Custom, and then click Settings.

5. Click Disable for or more of the items in the following Active Content areas:

       - ActiveX Controls And Plug-ins (prevents Internet Explorer from
         automatically using items that show active content)
       - Java (prevents Internet Explorer from viewing Java programs
         automatically)
       - Scripting
   

6. Click OK.

Internet Explorer 3.0

1. Start Internet Explorer, and then click Options on the View menu.

2. On the General tab, click one or more of the following check boxes in the Multimedia area to clear them:

       - Show Pictures (prevents pictures from appearing automatically)
       - Play Sounds (prevents sounds from being played automatically)
       - Play Videos (prevents videos from being played automatically)
   

3. Click the Security tab, and then click one or more of the following check boxes in the Active Content area to clear them:

       - Allow Downloading Of Active Content (prevents Internet Explorer
         from loading animations and other multimedia files automatically)
       - Enable ActiveX Controls And Plug-ins (prevents Internet Explorer
         from automatically using items that show active content)
       - Run ActiveX Scripts (prevents ActiveX scripts from running
         automatically)
       - Enable Java Programs (prevents Internet Explorer from viewing Java
         programs automatically)
   

4. Click OK.

REFERENCES

For additional information about stopping sounds and videos from being played in Internet Explorer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q153775
   TITLE     : How to Not Play Sounds and Videos in Internet Explorer