# Uninstalling Internet Explorer 7 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 13, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924 "2007-12-13T23:07:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/1 "2007-12-13T23:07:34Z")
I’ve decided to give up on Internet Explorer 7 or the “Send Error Report Generator” as I have come to think of it. I can find no way to get rid of it after exhausting the methods here: [http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927177](http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927177) Method 1 doesn’t work because because instruction “C” tells me to locate IE7 in Add/Remove. It doesn’t appear there on my computer. Apparently it only appears there on some peoples’ computers and I’m not one of those people. Method 2 doesn’t work because doing Step 2 part “C” results in a Run error box which says that this command refers to a location that is unavailable, blah, blah, blah. There are additional commands here to try: > **[Release Notes for Internet Explorer 7](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/aa740486(v=msdn.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN)** none of which work any better. YES! YES! YES! I HAVE FIREFOX. I EVEN HAVE OPERA. They are much better and only idiots don’t know this and want to use Internet Explorer. YES! YES! YES! I know Windows sucks and I should get a Mac. I have one of those too. With that out of the way, does anybody know of a method for uninstalling IE7 and reverting back to IE6 that doesn’t involve a complete re-install of WindowsXP? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/2 "2007-12-13T23:23:51Z")
[QUOTE=randwill] With that out of the way, does anybody know of a method for uninstalling IE7 and reverting back to IE6 that doesn’t involve a complete re-install of WindowsXP? [/QUOTE] IE and windows are very tightly integrated, stripping out IE in any way shape or form is not really feasible. That said, most of the problems I have encountered with IE7 involved machines that had problems when the IE7 upgrade occurred or had browser plugins that were incompatible with IE7. I do the IE7 loads as a normal part of all system reloads in my shop and the only problem I have ever had is with a customer who then tried to reload her old SBC setup disks triggering the well documented psaspi.dll disaster after I had already reestablished her internet connection under IE7 correctly so she would not need to perform that task. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/3 "2007-12-13T23:59:07Z")
Do a search for the file spuninst.exe and run it from wherever you find it (it should be in \Windows\ie7\spuninst\ - but it might be somewhere else, which could be why method 2 didn’t work for you (set a system restore point first). Or just leave IE7 in place and use firefox. It’s better anyway. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/4 "2007-12-14T00:52:34Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Do a search for the file spuninst.exe and run it from wherever you find it (it should be in \Windows\ie7\spuninst\ - but it might be somewhere else, which could be why method 2 didn’t work for you (set a system restore point first). Or just leave IE7 in place and use firefox. It’s better anyway. [/QUOTE] Thanks but Search found 24 apps named “spuninst.exe.” I don’t know enough to start clicking on them. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/5 "2007-12-14T01:24:19Z")
I did something like put 00.00.00 in the address under network settings and set it to port 80 on my other machine. It pretty much disables IE. … Oh, wait, here are the instructions. I gotta say, it’s like not having IE at all, yet no risk of screwing up the rest of Windows. This has completed restored my happiness. I use Firefox, but my wife took her PC and had to use IE to display some school stuff properly, and bingo, all sorts of hijacks, redirects, pops, slow performance…until I disabled it as noted below. Several simple, popular methods exist to disable IE. The easiest way to remove users’ ability to browse with IE is to add a bogus proxy server to IE’s Internet Settings. Follow these steps: 1. In IE, go to Tools | Internet Options. 2. On the Connections tab, click the LAN Settings button. 3. In the resulting dialog box, select the following check box in the Proxy Server section: Use a Proxy Server For Your LAN (These Settings Will Not Apply To Dial-up Or VPN Connections). 4. Enter 0.0.0.0 in the Address text box. 5. Enter 80 in the Port text box, and click OK. [http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1009\_11-5838360.html](http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-1009_11-5838360.html) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/6 "2007-12-14T01:32:21Z")
Oh, wait, I re-read the OP. So, you want to ‘upgrade’ back to an older more reliable version…as the Windows PC PR spokeswomen would say. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/7 "2007-12-14T02:18:54Z")
Did you check the “Show Updates” box at the top of the Add/Remove Programs window? Perhaps IE7 is considering itself an “update” and that’s why you can’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uninstalling-internet-explorer-7/429924/8 "2007-12-14T04:49:52Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Did you check the “Show Updates” box at the top of the Add/Remove Programs window? Perhaps IE7 is considering itself an “update” and that’s why you can’t find it. [/QUOTE] Yes “Show Updates” is checked. It does not show up in the Add/Remove list.