Windows XP SP3 – Can’t Uninstall IE7 or IE8 -YES YOU CAN!
Reader Anita asked in the comments section that she was unable to remove IE7 after installing SP3 for Windows XP. This is true. But Microsoft has posted a procedure that you can follow to roll back IE7 or IE8 after SP3 takes over. Here is what to do:
To uninstall Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8, follow these steps:
- Uninstall Windows XP SP3. For more information about how to uninstall Windows XP SP3, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
950249 How to remove Windows XP Service Pack 3 from your computer- Uninstall Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8. For more information about how to uninstall Internet Explorer 8, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
957700 How do I uninstall or remove Internet Explorer 8For more information about how to uninstall Internet Explorer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
927177 How to uninstall Internet Explorer 7Note The steps that are listed in KB 927177 also apply to Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1.
- Reinstall Windows XP SP3. For more information about how to install Windows XP Service Pack 3, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322389 How to obtain the latest Windows XP service pack
If you need further directions or assistance, go to the source link below.
9 Comments
Keith Stoneberger
April 8th, 2009
at 7:21am
Actually there is an easier way. I wrote an article about myself last year. http://www.jkstech.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=54&Itemid=70
Christopher
May 1st, 2009
at 3:47pm
Just get FireFox or Safari, IE isn’t worth these headaches.
Keith Stoneberger
May 26th, 2009
at 7:16am
Updated the link:
http://www.jkstech.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110:how-to-remove-ie8-beta&catid=65:better-computing&Itemid=73
Keith Stoneberger
August 16th, 2009
at 11:04am
Link updated… again
http://www.jkstech.com/2009/01/how-to-remove-ie8-beta/
connie
December 26th, 2009
at 5:46pm
If I want to uninstall IE7 today, do I uninstall the myriad updates first or does removing IE7 take care of all of those, too? This machine’s got a 40G hard-drive so I’d rather not have both 7 & 8 sitting on it.
thank you!
Ron Schenone
December 27th, 2009
at 6:49am
Hi Connie,
The uninstall should take care of it all at once.
Scott Huberty
December 30th, 2009
at 5:51am
I have tried every possible way to uninstall SP3 without success. I always get the error message “The system cannot find the file specified”. According to spuninst.log the missing file is $NtUninstallKB971930-IE8$. I went to the Microsoft Knowledge Base file KB971930 and downloaded the .exe file. After the download I clicked on the file but nothing seemed to happen. I still cannot get SP3 uninstalled since the system still cannot find the file. It is screwing up my entire PC. I must get SP3 off! What do I need to do? I am getting desperate.
Ron Schenone
December 30th, 2009
at 6:28am
You may try installing SP3 once again and than uninstall. Just a thought.
OR a repair of XP and reinstall of SP2.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
Scott Huberty
December 30th, 2009
at 7:41am
I found one more interesting fact. When I look in the Windows folder in Windows Explorer I find in the right pane 6 log files that end with -IE8, including 971930-IE8. But, none of those actual files appear in the sub folders under Windows in the left pane or right pane, only the logs, not the files. No doubt that is why the spuninst log says:
“191.672: Rename failed. Source path c:\windows\$NtUninstallKB971930-IE8$ does not exist.”
What can be done about this?