RSSFirst Windows 7 RC patch turns off 'hang time' correction in IE8
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published May 6, 2009, 10:53 AM
Perhaps Google Chrome's most innovative architectural feature is the way it relegates Web page tabs to individual processes, so that a crash takes down just the tab and not the whole browser. In addressing the need for a similar feature without overhauling their entire browser infrastructure, the engineers of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 added a simple timeout mechanism that gives users a way to close a tab that appears unresponsive.
As it turns out, there's quite a few legitimate reasons why a Web page might appear unresponsive although it's really doing its job. One of them concerns debugging with Visual Studio, as this user of StackOverflow.com discovered.
When a tab goes dead in IE8, not only is a message sent to the user giving her a way to dismiss either the tab or the message, but another message is sent to Microsoft as well -- and that's one of its indicators of how well IE8 is performing. In a blog post Monday, IE8 engineers reported an uptick in the number of hung tab reports it received from users of the Windows 7 Release Candidate, one day before the general public got its turn.
"Based on the initial, Microsoft-internal, data after putting this in the product, we thought the experience was unobtrusive and overall better for users because it provides more information to improve the product," the team wrote. "As more data has started to come in from external Win7 users, we've seen an increase in reports. We're watching the data very closely to understand how well this works for the larger set of users. If we see data that makes us think this is not a good experience, then we'll release an update to address it."
Just hours after the RC's public release (keep in mind how long it takes general users to download and install the system), Microsoft acted by first official Win7 RC update: a patch that turns off the hanging tab reporting feature, along with an alternative method for folks familiar with managing the System Registry. "On low performance computers or on computers under high load conditions, the time-out value is frequently exceeded. Therefore, you frequently receive the error message...described," reads Microsoft's Knowledgebase explanation, using language that does not sound like it passed through the marketing division first.
Serious Win7 RC testers may want to consider not applying this update, especially as later updates and possible performance enhancements may be handed down, unless these error messages happen so frequently that using IE8 becomes impossible. (Note to the "Experience" team: Consider putting a variable countdown on your timeouts next time.) Registry veterans can resolve the issue (conveniently leaving open a way to un-resolve it for later testing) by creating the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN!HangResistance as a DWORD value set to 0.
I assume you meant:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\HangResistance
but then again, anyone messing with the registry could have figured that one out.
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|It's kind of funny, I'm having all kinds of java errors with ie8 in hotmail
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|I've tried RC1 out and I'm sick of too many crashes caused by software not being compatible. I've been using 64 bit and after the last crash, I reformatted my dual boot computer (Vista 64 bit and Win 7 RC1 64 bit) and put on Vista 32 bit (no dual boot). I want a little stability for awhile. So far I haven't had but one BSOD. I used to be a Vista believer but it's starting to look like Windows Me. The longer you use it, the worse it gets. I was hoping Windows 7 would be the answer but until all the software developers get us some drivers or updates I'm not so sure.
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|64-bit RC 7 and all my 32-bit apps work fine. I use about 20 core apps and another 15 supplemental/rarely used. The only thing I noticed different is no 7zip explorer context, then I remembered that 7-zip has a 64-bit version and then it showed up.
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|I may have been premature in my assessment. I think I may have a bad motherboard. After a clean install of Vista 32 bit I was still having problems, constant rebooting, hanging, etc. So I an sending the computer back from whence it came for aseesment (barebones). Actually it'a relief in a way. I was becoming disillusioned and thought all OS' were a piece of crap. So I will try Win 7 RC1 on this one and see what transpires.
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|This worked...this never really was an issue to me, it happened couple of times...but it's nice to MS being so proactive on user experience...
and @Bill Gates...Safari sucks big time...it's probably the most boring interface I have seen in a long time...and this post is to discuss about IE8's workings and improvements...so sell your crack elsewhere....
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|Hey Java Volt - try apple Safari 4. Fastest and most compatible browser yet. Even in beta. And a pretty good UI to boot. kicks IE8's butt.
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|Safari 4 isn't good. The UI sucks compared to the last version, and it still has no comparable unique features to any other web browser at the moment.
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|I saw this condition under XP and Vista as well as 64-bit 7 RC install. It is rather frustrating when one is forced to use this browser...
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|thanks for the registry tweak. it worked.
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|I hate IE8 so bad that I am seriously considering taking it off and installing IE6 or 7 stand alone. This hanging issue is the worst. Thanks for the Registry tweak I will try it.
I don't care for Chrome, Firefox or Opera although I have them and have been using then since this IE8 thingy.
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|"seriously considering taking it off and installing IE6 or 7"
Considering how this article pertains to Windows 7 RC, good luck with that.
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