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I must admit that I tend to install a whole bunch of junk on my computer system. It is part of my day job as Director of Technical Services at a major company to review new software to determine if it may be of use. I just love to look at new ways to solve issues that people run up against all of the time. So I am always keeping a look out for the newest shareware and freeware and checking them out.

Over the years, I've found a few utilities that I have discovered which make my life easier. Thus, as I've moved from computer to computer I've tended to install these same programs without thinking, considering them to be "safe" as I've always had them.

About a year ago I started having problems with my computer system. Naturally, since I am an MIS professional, I don't follow the advice that I give everyone else: install one thing at a time so you know what to uninstall when there is a problem. Following this procedure makes it easy to troubleshoot problems when the occur - with Windows bluescreens and application issues are almost always the results of the last install. This is especially true if the system was stable before any new programs were added.

No, I'm so smart that I don't need to follow my own advice (notice the sarcasm here). What do I do? I get a new computer and install Windows NT with service pack 5 and Office 2000. So far so good (that's what I had before). Now I install my usual set of programs and everything is fine, then I have to go and add over two dozen new applications. The system appears to be stable, so I don't think much about it.

Over the next few months, I realized that Windows Explorer was crashing occasionally. This is very annoying, because it causes all browser windows to close and all of the tray icons to disappear. At this point I found I needed to log out and log back in. The system would remain stable for a while, then the same thing would occur. There was not a pattern to the failures that I could find.

After a while I had the bright idea of upgrading to Windows 2000 as it is a much more stable, clean operating system. I also acquired a brand new machine (933mhtz) with a lot more disk space. I quickly realized that Windows 2000 definitely was worth the hype - very clean, extremely fast and wonderfully full featured. I must admit that I fell in love with this operating system immediately and will never go back to Windows NT, 98 or 95 (I never used ME).

Except for one thing - Windows Explorer still crashed in exactly the same manner. Every once in a while (generally no more than once per day) all of my Internet Explorer windows would close, the tray icons would disappear and the desktop would be refreshed. This was getting very frustrating. At first I thought it was Internet Explorer 5.5, so I installed the earlier 5.01 version. The problem still occurred, but not as often.

I had already tried everything that I could think of. I had removed and re-installed as many applications as I dared. I had reinstalled the operating system, changed operating systems and even changed hardware. I searched Technet (Microsoft's knowledge base) and found nothing. I questioned other experts and they all came up blank.

I was getting very frustrated up until about a week ago. I am very good at this kind of thing, and to continue to have the same kind of issue without coming to a resolution was really annoying me.

Yes, believe it or not, there is a point to this story. Last week I stumbled across an article about Browser Helper Objects (also known as a BHO). This is the first and only time that I have heard this term, although I had been unknowingly using these little critters for years. A BHO is a piece of code which is installed in a special place known to Internet Explorer which adds additional features. Microsoft has kindly provided this function to allow third party companies to extend the browser without needing to provide access to the source code.

I'm absolutely sure that most of the readers of this article use at least one BHO at least occasionally. Some examples include Alexa, Gator, Flyswat, GetRight, Gozilla, RealDownload and Yahoo Companion. There are many, many more which are often made available for free in return for a name and demographic information. I'll bet that you have at least one of these installed on your system right now. All of these applications are extremely useful, and all of them extend the functionality of Internet Explorer. Each has been produced by a different company with different development, coding and testing standards.

Once I read the article something clicked and I went through my add/remove programs control panel and deleted the most useful BHO of them all - Gator. I love this application, but I had to see if this was the problem.

Well, it's been a week and my system has remained 100% stable since that time. Not one application freeze. Not one Windows Explorer crash. Not one problem of any kind.

I learned something - well, I relearned something that I already knew. Be conservative on the installs of new applications onto your computer. Nothing makes Windows more unstable than new installations. And once you're sure you've got a stable Windows system which does what you need, then by all means stop installing things. More than likely, it will remain stable - that is, until you find that perfect piece of software that you've just got to have.

When you do install something that modifies the behavior of Internet Explorer, remember this article. Perhaps you've added a Browser Helper Object. I would recommend that you go ahead and install it, then watch your system carefully for a week before making any other changes. This is really the only real way to be sure of where the new problem came from.

About the author:
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips: mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com