Some help with Internet Explorer problem

Factual Questions
1

I need to use a website that requires MS IE. This computer is only a couple of months old – I don’t recall if I never installed IE, or uninstalled it after I put on Chrome.

In any case, I went to the MS site to download it. When I tried to install it, it told me it couldn’t continue because I already have a never version installed. If so, it doesn’t show up in my list of All Programs, and when I looked at the list of programs that I could uninstall through the Control Panel it wasn’t on that list either.

But, using Explorer to look at the contents of my “Program Files” folder, Internet Explorer does indeed have a folder with files in it. There are two executable that I tried running. “ieinstal.exe” has no visible result at all. “iexplore.exe” opens a window that sure LOOKS like IE, but the window is an empty box and it closes after a few seconds with no error messages (or any other information for that matter),

One other thing – I’m not sure if it’s relevant. I can select IE as my default browser with no objections from the Control Panel, even though in other places it apparently doesn’t recognize that the program is even installed.

So, assuming I have some kind of corrupted version of IE installed, how do I uninstall it and reinstall it without using the Control Panel? Is it safe to just delete the IE folder that holds the files?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

2

Weird. Try this:

  • Go to Control Panel

  • In the upper right, change “View by:” to “small icons”

  • Select “Default Programs”

  • Select “Set Program Access and Computer Defaults”

  • Select “Custom” and see if “Enable Access to this Program” is checked for IE

3

The Windows update uses IE. Try to update manually and it should open IE to do so.

4

Not in Windows 7.

5

Yes, it is checked.

One other thing. I decided to delete the whole IE folder from program files, to see if I could then download and install it again.

Windows wouldn’t let me delete the folder. It said I require permission from something called “TrustedInstaller” to make any changes to the folder. FYI, I am the sole user of this computer, with full Administrator rights as far as I know. “TrustedInstaller” is… a mystery, also doesn’t show up on the list of programs I have, though there is one called “TrustedID”.

6

Yes, I use Windows 7. The computer has updated several times over the past couple months without any problems I’m aware of.

7

Ah, just found a page about TrustedInstaller. Apparently I, even as adminstrator, don’t own all the files on my computer.

8

You really shouldn’t even be trying to manually delete IE files or folders, that’s a no-no.

Try this:
Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files - Microsoft Support (Hopefully, just those first two steps should be necessary, don’t worry about the rest after that.)

And/or this:
http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/ (select “Internet Explorer” and follow the relevant prompts)

9

I’m real leery of these things. The last one I tried was on my previous computer, which was constantly telling me that Windows was unable to install updates that it had found. After I ran the “fixit” solution for that, my computer began to tell me that Windows couldn’t even search for upgrades, let alone install them. While it wasn’t really much different in outcome, it basically removed one function that had previously worked.

10

The Window check found no problems. I’m gonna cross my fingers and do the IE fixit option.

11

Thanks! That does seem to have fixed the problem.

12

You’re welcome, glad to help!

13

Internet Explorer is buried somewhere deep in the darker and more puzzling realms of my computer. If I need it for any reason, then clicking on “Windows Update” brings the blighter out of it’s slumber.

14

Now that it works, I put a shortcut on my desktop, so finding it won’t be a problem.