Browsers freeze (Firefox, Opera, and Safari)

[fanh]

Hello, I'm having some problems with my internet browsers (Firefox, Opera, and Safari). Let me tell you what happened.

So I was reading manga on onemanga.com when suddenly Firefox froze. I didn't know why, so I just restarted it, but it didn't work. I tried restarting the computer but no luck. So I decided to download Safari and Opera to see if things would work out. But no. Later I noticed that my browsers freeze when visiting sites with flash (I'm not really sure about this though). I tried reinstalling Adobe Flash and Firefox, but it didn't work either. When I disabled plugins in Safari, this browser stopped freezing when visiting sites.

I scanned my computer with Symantec Anti-Virus but didn't find anything.

I'm using Windows XP (SP 1), with 1 GB RAM, and I still have about 80GB of free space in my hard disk.

So, can anyone tell me what the problem is and how to fix it? Thank you!

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Does this still happen in Safe Mode

[patio]

Any reason SP2 isn't installed ? ?

It's kind of an important OS update sort of...

[mcxeb52!]

Any reason SP2 isn't installed ? ?

It's kind of an important OS update sort of...

I believe that microsoft does not support windows XP SP1 anymore, you have to have SP2 installed.

And yeah, why no SP2?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

It looks like someone else has been abducted....

[fanh]

@ patio and mcxeb52! : My dad gave me this computer, and it was SP1 in the first place. And I don't want to reinstall Windows.

@ Carbon Dudeoxide: I read the page you gave me, but didn't understand much. Can you explain, please?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

And I don't want to reinstall Windows.

Don't worry. Upgrading to SP2 (or SP) won't need you to reinstall Windows. Thinking of this as an update for a program.

Can you explain, please?

Yes. Safe Mode is basically a way of starting your computer with only the Windows default drivers, settings, services and processes. This is like a debugging/diagnostic mode.

To get into Safe Mode, turn off the computer. When you turn it on, keep pressing F8 on the keyboard until you come across a menu. Use the arrow-keys and highlight Safe Mode with Networking. Press Enter.

Now, a whole load of code should appear and freeze for about 20 seconds. This is perfectly normal. When you get onto Windows, try running your Internet Browsers and see if your problem continues.

[fanh]

Carbon Dudeoxide: Upgrading to SP2 and get into Safe Mode won't damage any of my personal files and programs, right? Sorry if I sound stupid, I'm just worried ._.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Don't be. 

Just like how many of us here in ComputerHope have upgraded to SP3, no files or settings have been changed.

Same goes with Safe Mode. It's just another way to start your computer. Nothing will be lost.   

[fanh]

I see  I will go try it now, thank you heaps!

[fanh]

My browsers still freeze in Safe Mode ... Do you have any other solutions?

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Is there any specific page you're viewing that causes this to freeze?

[fanh]

Is there any specific page you're viewing that causes this to freeze?

Do you mean in Safe Mode? Well, it's just like in Normal Mode. If you are asking about specific pages ...

When I log in to my Gmail account, Firefox freezes for a while (it freezes when loading the Chat feature), and Safari simply shuts down. My browsers also freeze when visiting sites with Flash.

*I've noticed that Safari (the browser I'm using now) freezes even with Plugins disabled when visiting deviantart.com

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

Yeah.

Okay, we've tested Safe Mode now, back to Normal Mode we go.

Download CCleaner.
Get it to run a cleanup of your temporary files.

I suggest using the following settings




Another question;
When did this problem start?

[fanh]

Downloading ...

Like I said in my first post, this problem started when I visited a site called Onemanga (onemanga.com). I don't remember the exact date. I've visited that site many times before, but this one time when I visited it my Firefox froze (before freezing, all the text and all the links turned to the 'default' one, the ones in Times New Roman font in blue and underlines). Tried restarting Firefox and my computer but it didn't work.