[GUIDE] Increase Internet Explorer Performance

[addictivepixels]

This is a repost from my guide at XDA, figured I'd try to spread it around to various surface communities.
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Since we're restricted to Internet Explorer, I figured I would try to find some ways to make it a little more tolerable. These are the changes that I've made, and for me its made my Internet Explorer a little faster. Your milage may vary.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage, issues, plagues, fires, diarrhea, or any thing else that may result from using these tips!

Be very careful when editing the registry. If you don't know how to edit the registry, you may not want to attempt those tips.

Now that that's out of the way, here's what I've done:

Diable Automatic Configuration
Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings. Uncheck all the boxes under Automatic Configuration.

Change Cache Size
Tools > Internet Options > General > Settings > Set space to use to 50
* You may want to increase this depending on your browsing habits. I wouldn't exceed 250mb.

Set Homepage To about:blank
Tools > Internet Options > General > Type about:blank in the homepage address.
* Not having to load a homepage every time you launch IE makes the app launch time lower and decreases the time it takes for IE to become responsive.

Disable Accelerators
Tools > Manage Addons > Acceserators > Disable Everything

Use Tracking Protection
Tools > Manage Addons > Acceserators > Tracking Protection > Get a Tracking Protection List online > in the new window add in a few of the more popular lists.
* This also blocks advertisements, so if its blocking ads on some of your favorite sites be sure to donate to those sites.

Increase Connection Limit
Locate the following key in the registry:
* If your browser puts a space in MAXCONNECTIONSPERSERVER make sure you do not enter it when making/editing the key.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry values:
Value name: MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
Value data: 10
Base: Decimal

Value Name: MaxConnectionsPerServer
Value data: 10
Base: Decimal

Locate the following key in the registry:
* If your browser puts a space in MAXCONNECTIONSPERSERVER make sure you do not enter it when making/editing the key.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_MAXCONNECTIONSPERSERVER
On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry values:
Value name: iexplore.exe
Value data: 10
Base: Decimal

Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
* If your browser puts a space in MAXCONNECTIONSPERSERVER make sure you do not enter it when making/editing the key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\MAIN\FeatureControl\FEATURE_MAXCONNECTIONSPER1_0SERVER
On the Edit menu, point to New, click DWORD Value, and then add the following registry values:
Value name: iexplore.exe
Value data: 10
Base: Decimal

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Reboot your device after making these changes so they take effect.
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Got any additional tips? Let me know.

 

[pderosa]

Thanks. The registry tweaks definitely make a noticeable difference in the load times for web pages.

 

[popartist]

Haven't done the registry edits yet (want to plug a mouse in before doing that) but wow, adding Tracking Protection lists does speed it up considerably.

 

[addictivepixels]

Glad to hear it.

Reducing the amount of items and wasted bandwidth on items on items that IE has to load def helps the surface/windows rt performance.

The reg edits will increase the amount of connections IE will make while gathering items from sites that it has to load, so you should see even more of a performance increase from it.

 

[Gken]

sweet now I can browse even faster, not that I was complaining before!

 

[VidJuhEffex]

For those adding tracking protection lists DO NOT ADD the truste list. It is a list of trusted site TO ALLOW to advertise to you, stick to easy list, ******, and abine.

 

[VineRider]

An easier way to set maxconnectionsperserver is below ( from How do I configure Internet Explorer to download more than two files at one time? )
[h=4]How to configure the connection limit by using Group Policy[/h]

1. Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK.
2. Expand User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, expand Internet Explorer, expand Security Features, and then expand AJAX.
3. Set the Maximum number of connections per server (HTTP 1.0) and Maximum number of connections per server (HTTP 1.1) options to the settings that you want. You must update policies or restart the computer to apply these changes.

 

[johnbash612]

I'm not very tech savvy, do I want more connections or less connections to make ie run faster? What about the other options in the group policy editor, will those do anything to boost performance or speed?

 

[VineRider]

Increase the numbers to increase the number of connections. The theory is that more connections can increase performance. I would set them to about 10 or 12 to start with. As for the other settings, I'd recommend leaving those as is.

 

[ZombieBacchus]

Anyone know if any of these tweaks help improve the time it takes to reload a page when you click the back button in IE? That is the one thing that really slows me down when surfing.