Fix Internet Explorer 8 Broken/Slow Tab Loading Issues

Ever wonder why Internet Explorer seems to keep on losing browser market share these past couple of years? The reason is because Internet Explorer is just a slower, buggier and heavier-on-resources browser compared to other browsers like Firefox, Chrome and even Maxthon, a browser which uses the same browser engine as Internet Explorer yet still outperforms Internet Explorer literally.

One of my issues with Internet Explorer 8 is its browser tab. I do not like how slow Internet Explorer is at preparing me a new tab. I also had a few experiences where other users of Internet Explorer 8 seems to be unable to perform multiple tab browsing because their browser tab function is broken. Luckily, there is a simple fix to this common problem.

For most users who experience the above two problems I mentioned, most likely there is an issue with one of the browser-related Dynamic Link Library (DLL) named actxprxy.dll which must either have failed to install properly during browser upgrading, is missing or is damaged.
Here’s how to fix this problem:

1. Open up elevated command prompt (You must be logged in as privileged administrator in Vista and 7)

2. On the Command Prompt window, type in ‘regsvr32 actxprxy.dll’ (without quotes) and hit Enter.


3. Restart computer and you’re done!

Finally, for advanced technical users who would like to understand more of what’s going on, here’s an explanation:

1. The command ‘regsvr32’ refers to a built-in program of Windows where users can register or unregister any Dynamic Link Libraries and ActiveX Controls.

2. The DLL ‘actxprxy.dll’ refers to a Dynamic Link Library which hosts the Microsoft ActiveX Interface Controller. The ActiveX-related DLL simply works by marshaling ActiveX Libraries sequentially. Along with DLLs like urlmon.dll and mshtml.dll, it is one of the core components of Internet Explorer.

3. Simply put, the command line shown above means that to fix the problem, we are actually calling for Windows to register the broken, missing or improperly configured actxprxy.dll!

After running the fix on my Vista, Internet Explorer 8 has been more responsive tab-wise.

Keep on learning…;-)