The next time you get one of the smaller windows, maximize it by clicking on the 'maximize' button on the top-right of the window. Once you have the window maximized, hold down the shift key, then while holding down the shift key, close the window by clicking on the 'close' button on the top-right of the window. Proceed to close all of your other IE windows as well. If all goes well, the next time you get a webpage link it should be maximized.