Windows – Websites not loading correctly since Windows 8.1 upgrade

browserfirefoxinternet-explorer-11windows-8.1-upgrade

I finally upgraded my work PC to Window's 8.1 Pro on Monday (from 8 Pro), but since then I have been having problems with websites not loading correctly. This issue is occurring in both Firefox 27.0.1 and IE11.

The website I'm trying to view does usually partially load but will not completely load. The spinner in the tab shows there is activity and clicking links does not work. In Firefox I see at the bottom the page Transferring data for www.wherever.com (IE doesn't show this though).

I use Firebug so have investigated the issue in Firefox with that, and it seems one of two things is happening –

  1. Not all scripts/styles/images/etc are loading and never do.
  2. All of scripts/styles/image/etc are loading but the HTML Response for the page I'm trying to view is truncated, with only a portion of the page making it to the browser.

I initially tried the obvious things –

  • Firefox -> History -> Clear Recent History…
    • Browsing and Download History
    • Form & Search History
    • Cookies
    • Cache
    • Active Logins
  • Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Internet options -> (General) -> Delete…
    • Temporary Internet files and website files
    • Cookies and website data
    • History
  • Disable all anti-virus

This didn't work so I tried reinstalling Firefox (and uninstalling IE11 entirely), but that also didn't work.

This is in a corporate environment where PFSense is used to manage the leased line connection that is being used, so there is no router in play that could be causing a problem. Besides, every other PC is connecting to these websites just fine (this is the only Windows 8/8.1 machine in the business).

I'm also fairly certain that it cannot be the network card as I have been successfully connected to several Terminal Servers since the upgrade without issue.

I'm now at a for what could be causing this, so I'd be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks.

Best Answer

I've had this same problem (in Chrome and IE) since upgrading from WIN 8 to 8.1 and have been looking for solutions on Google. In the comments of an article on this same problem, someone contacted Microsoft support on this and received the following answer (I have just tried it and the problem seems to be solved):

This is Toni from Microsoft Customer Service.

As discussed over the phone, your issue opening websites via Microsoft Internet Explorer 11

  1. Please press the Windows key and the letter W. This will open the Settings Search.

  2. On the Settings Search field, please type Control Panel and open the Control Panel interface on the left panel.

  3. On the Control Panel, please choose the Network and Sharing Center option. If you do not see the Network and Sharing Center on the list, you may need to click on Network and Internet first.

  4. Please click on the Change Adapter Settings option on the left panel of the Network and Sharing Center window. This will open the Network Connections window.

  5. Please right click on your active network connection and choose Properties.

  6. On the Networking Tab, please highlight the option for Internet Protocol Version 4 on the list and click on the Properties button.

  7. On the General tab of the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window, choose the option for Use the following DNS server addresses and set the Preferred DNS server as 8.8.8.8 and the Alternate DNS server as 8.8.4.4

  8. Click on OK and Close.

  9. After setting up the global DNS settings, please check if you can now open websites in Internet Explorer.

I don't know why this works, but it seems to have fixed the problem for me and for many other people in those comments. You can view the article here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Browsers-Not-Working-Properly-in-Windows-8-1-393582.shtml

Hope this helps others, since I had trouble finding a solution to this annoying problem.

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