Internet Explorer 8 waits until page is completely rendered and javascript is executed

Question

We have a pretty big web page with a bunch of javascript. When loading it in Firefox/Chrome, the page gets loaded gradually. First the html that already is received is rendered and shown and then the javascript gets executed.

Internet Explorer 8 however waits until the request is completely received and its javascript executed before it shows. This gives the impression that the application is unresponsive for a short period.

We have one laptop on which IE8 loads the page like Firefox/Chrome and we've been searching for a setting on IE8 to indicate that it doesn't have to wait until all javascript is executed before showing the page or part of it.

Does anyone have a clue if there is such a setting and where it can be found? We checked that the Chrome frame for Internet Explorer is not installed.

Update: For more clarification, as @Thariama points out in the comments I also thought that IE8 always waits to render the entire page but seeing this laptop render it I am pretty sure that it loads the 'Firefox-way'. The laptop had half the RAM and CPU power a comparable desktop had and it looked and feeled faster (because of the rendering).

Answer 1

If people use IE and it always does that, they've gotten used to this 'unresponsive' idea, whenever I zap open IE to check for compatibility, I just accept the fact that all pages look 'unresponsive' for a while.

It's part of IE, people that live in ignorance are used to that, they won't click away.

Not as much a solution to your problem, which is probably not there as telling you it's not that much of a problem. I don't think there is a way to give a browser instructions to adjust its rendering model for you though, and there shouldn't be, users should be able to adjust rendering models though, but not sites. Those things are a gateway to virus.