-did you try disabling ZoneAlarm for awhile to see if the error still appears?

-is your Norton Antivirus up to date? What version are you running (there has been documented issues with some of the older versions and WinMe - v6.0 for example).

-what are you doing when you get the error message?

-the error message will probably give you more than posted and it was perceived through your post that you had more info but did not want to type it all out. An error message will usually give the name of the program/system file that is giving the trouble in the blue bar of your error message window. In a blue screen, you will see the same file/program or some type of error exception code that would be helpful. Can you give us that information?

If you are able to continue without shutting down windows, then most likely, it is not very serious. Explore.exe just restarts and in the process, drops a few programs that are running. Obviously, Explorer.exe needs to be running at all times.

Another option to narrow down programs that might be running in the background is to do a 'control-alt-del' and find programs that you are not sure that should not be running. Only do this if you are familiar with Windows and the programs that run on your comptuter.

If you want, you can capture your screen during the error message but clicking 'alt-print screen'. I would be happy to take a look at it if you want to email it to me.

Sorry, I could not be of more help. If you post back with the answers to my question or send me a copy of the error message via email, I might be able to provide more help.

computerpilot@hotmail.com

And, to answer an earlier question, it did start happening more frequently when I obtained a new DSL connection. This I should have said upfront, but I really did not think that was the error (being kind of a novice I assumed it was Internet Explorer causing the problem).

I'll send off an email describing the problems to my new DSL carrier and see what happens. The support/FAQ page only shows IE 5 info, not ver 6 (?). So, I'll see what happens with that.

Thanks again for all of your advice.

:
: I just thought of something that might be causing your problem. As a matter of fact, I am almost sure this is it!

: When you first installed Zone Alarm, were you conservative or libral with allowing programs to access the Internet? I never installed Zone Alarm for this very reason. Zone Alarm is only as good as your knowledge of networking. If you are conservative about allowing program access to the Internet (selecting no access to programs when it asks) then you can loose the ability for Windows ME and Internet Explorer to access the Internet while you are browsing. This results in critical system files crashing. I know someone else that said their OS was giving a lot of different error messages while browsing the Internet and she uninstalled the Zone Alarm software, and everything worked again.

: If you really want my advice, I would uninstall Zone Alarm and pick up a personal firewall software at your local Computer Store for $40. These software firewalls are designed so that critical system files are still allowed access to the Internet. I would recommend Norton's personal firewall as it has gotten high ratings. I personally do not use it but think that Symantec really knows what they are doing. I use dialup at home so I really don't care enought about the firewall. However, if I had DSL at home (or cable) I would purchase Norton instead of Zone Alarm. I have had too many headaches working on home computers with the software and usually recommend this to friends. I have disabled Zone Alarm with no effect until I actually uninstalled the software.

: Try this before reinstall of OS. Don't reinstall until you have tried everything.

: Let me know of your success/failure.

: Computerpilot@hotmail.com

Considering that Explorer.exe is crashing and not IExplorer.exe, this would indicate your OS is crashing, not Internet Explorer. The error message does not report a known program which would also indicate that the program is not identified with the registry. This would tip me off to look at small 'add-ins', freeware, or shareware that I might have recently installed. It also appears that this program uses the Internet is some way.

I see only two possiblities here:

1) A program that is Internet Explorer-related is crashing or causing a conflict. Try to remember when the computer started having these issues and what programs (even shareware-freeware)that you installed the time you started getting these errors. Uninstall these programs and you should get rid of you problems.

2) A hacker has been sucessful in gaining access to your computer. Typically, a hacker will install a program in the background that will not show up and will allow the hacker access to your computer (usually not in the registry). This is easy when you have a static IP address. I know you have Zone Alarm but it is not successfull in weeding out incomming attacks because it always asks you to allow or disallow entry. If you are not sure, you might tell it to allow the entry. Also, Zone Alarm has been a popular personal firewall for awhile now and hackers have developed ways around it.

Another thing to take a look at:

Did you start receiving these error messages after you installed DSL? I believe that your current configuration is a telephone line into a modem in your computer. Is this correct? It could be possible that this software is conflicting with your computer. You would know this if you problems started occuring after you got DSL.

I never like to recommend this but if all else fails, you know what you have to do...

reinstall ME

I appologize that I recommend this because usually, there should be a fix available to get rid of a problem. However, an IT friend of mine once joked (seriously, though) that you should reinstall a Microsoft OS every 6 to 12 months. My experiences with windows ME, 2000, and XP (so far) has told me that these OS's should outlast his theory.

You have my email address so if you discover anything new, let me know. I might be of more help.

Computerpilot@hotmail.com

When you first installed Zone Alarm, were you conservative or libral with allowing programs to access the Internet? I never installed Zone Alarm for this very reason. Zone Alarm is only as good as your knowledge of networking. If you are conservative about allowing program access to the Internet (selecting no access to programs when it asks) then you can loose the ability for Windows ME and Internet Explorer to access the Internet while you are browsing. This results in critical system files crashing. I know someone else that said their OS was giving a lot of different error messages while browsing the Internet and she uninstalled the Zone Alarm software, and everything worked again.

If you really want my advice, I would uninstall Zone Alarm and pick up a personal firewall software at your local Computer Store for $40. These software firewalls are designed so that critical system files are still allowed access to the Internet. I would recommend Norton's personal firewall as it has gotten high ratings. I personally do not use it but think that Symantec really knows what they are doing. I use dialup at home so I really don't care enought about the firewall. However, if I had DSL at home (or cable) I would purchase Norton instead of Zone Alarm. I have had too many headaches working on home computers with the software and usually recommend this to friends. I have disabled Zone Alarm with no effect until I actually uninstalled the software.

Try this before reinstall of OS. Don't reinstall until you have tried everything.

Let me know of your success/failure.

The first occured while browsing the MSN updates site (the irony). The second occured in Hotmail (I think).

I emailed the first error and the other info you requested below.

Thanks for the input.

: Well, the error message is giving your more than you indicated in your post. The error you are receiving is explorer.exe and Internet Explorer shutting down (from your discription). This would indicate that it is not just Internet Explorer-related. Here would be some other things that I would ask:

: -did you try disabling ZoneAlarm for awhile to see if the error still appears?

: -is your Norton Antivirus up to date? What version are you running (there has been documented issues with some of the older versions and WinMe - v6.0 for example).

: -what are you doing when you get the error message?

: -the error message will probably give you more than posted and it was perceived through your post that you had more info but did not want to type it all out. An error message will usually give the name of the program/system file that is giving the trouble in the blue bar of your error message window. In a blue screen, you will see the same file/program or some type of error exception code that would be helpful. Can you give us that information?

:
: If you are able to continue without shutting down windows, then most likely, it is not very serious. Explore.exe just restarts and in the process, drops a few programs that are running. Obviously, Explorer.exe needs to be running at all times.

: Another option to narrow down programs that might be running in the background is to do a 'control-alt-del' and find programs that you are not sure that should not be running. Only do this if you are familiar with Windows and the programs that run on your comptuter.

: If you want, you can capture your screen during the error message but clicking 'alt-print screen'. I would be happy to take a look at it if you want to email it to me.

: Sorry, I could not be of more help. If you post back with the answers to my question or send me a copy of the error message via email, I might be able to provide more help.

: computerpilot@hotmail.com