Microsoft KB Archive/293907

= How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 6 =

Article ID: 293907

Article Last Modified on 7/26/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0
 * Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

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This article was previously published under Q293907





SUMMARY
This article describes how to uninstall Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 and return to your previous version of Internet Explorer on computers that are running any of the following operating systems:
 * Microsoft Windows 2000
 * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
 * Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
 * Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 98
 * Microsoft Windows Advanced Server Limited Edition

NOTE: Internet Explorer 6 is preinstalled by default in all versions of Windows XP. To provide computer manufacturers greater flexibility in configuring desktop versions of Windows XP, Microsoft has made it possible for OEMs, administrators, and users to remove user access to Internet Explorer while leaving the Internet Explorer code intact and fully functional to ensure the functionality of programs and operating system functions that rely on it. For example, Windows XP supports an &quot;IEAccess=off&quot; switch in the Unattend.txt file, and Internet Explorer has been added to the Add/Remove Windows Components section of the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.

For additional information on how to repair or reinstall Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

318378 How to Reinstall or Repair Internet Explorer and Outlook Express in Windows XP



MORE INFORMATION
Windows 2000 contains an earlier version of the Internet Explorer components than Internet Explorer 6. Before you upgrade from Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows NT to Windows 2000, Microsoft recommends that you uninstall Internet Explorer 6. During the upgrade, you may receive the following message: &quot;This program may not run correctly because of new features in Internet Explorer 4.0. You may need to obtain an updated version of this program.&quot; Although this message is misleading, you can click Details for a more accurate description of the problem.

NOTE: It is not necessary to remove Internet Explorer 6 before you upgrade an operating system to Windows XP. However, if an Internet Explorer Service Pack is installed, Internet Explorer 6 must be reinstalled.

If you have already installed Internet Explorer 6 in Windows NT 4.0 and you want to install the Windows Desktop Update component from Internet Explorer 4.x, you must uninstall Internet Explorer 6, install Internet Explorer 4.01 SP2 with the Windows Desktop Update component, and then reinstall Internet Explorer 6. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

165695 How to Add or Remove Windows Desktop Update

Microsoft also recommends that Windows NT 4.0 users uninstall Internet Explorer 6 before uninstalling Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6a (SP6a).

NOTE: Before you uninstall Internet Explorer 6, quit all running programs. After you uninstall Internet Explorer 6, you cannot uninstall the previous version of Internet Explorer that remains on the computer. If you uninstall Internet Explorer 6, visit one of the following Microsoft Web sites to download any security updates that are needed for the version of Internet Explorer that remains on the computer:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 6
Use the following steps to uninstall Internet Explorer 6 from a computer that is running Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows Me.

NOTE: You must have administrative privileges to install and uninstall Internet Explorer 6 in Windows NT and Windows 2000. This includes having administrative privileges the first time you start your computer after you install or uninstall Internet Explorer 6.  Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools in the list of installed programs, and then click Add/Remove.

NOTE: Internet Explorer is not listed in the Add/Remove Programs tool if you delete the uninstall (or backup) information for the previous version of Internet Explorer. In Windows 2000, installing a service pack also removes Internet Explorer from the Add/Remove Programs tool (but uninstalling the service pack restores Internet Explorer to the Add/Remove Programs tool). For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

277624 Updated Versions of Internet Explorer Not Listed in Add/Remove Programs

NOTE: Reinstalling a Windows 2000 service pack removes the ability to uninstall Internet Explorer. The Windows 2000 Service Pack team no longer recommends reinstalling service packs as was recommended for Windows NT 4.0 because Windows File Protection prevents corruption of system files.

If Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools is missing from the list of installed programs and you did not delete the uninstall information or install (or reinstall) a Windows 2000 service pack, run Setup.exe from your Internet Explorer\Setup folder. If you are running Windows 2000, run the w2kexcp.exe /u command from your Internet Explorer\IE Uninstall folder. If this does not work, you need to reinstall Windows. For Windows 98 and Windows Me, renaming the Iemigrat.dll file and reinstalling Windows restores the version of Internet Explorer that was included with that version of Windows. For Windows 2000, reinstalling Windows restores the version of Internet Explorer that was included with Windows 2000. For Windows NT 4.0, and other versions of Windows if the above procedures are not successful, reinstall your version of Windows on an empty hard disk. Note that you should reapply any service packs or other patches, updates, or hotfixes after you reinstall Windows.

 Click Restore the previous Windows configuration (or click Advanced to specify any additional components you want to remove), and then click OK. The Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools Setup dialog box appears. This portion of Setup is referred to as Maintenance mode. When Setup starts, click OK to restore the previous version of Internet Explorer and shared components. You are prompted to verify that you want to restore the previous version. Click Yes to start the uninstallation process. When the uninstallation process finishes, click Restart Windows when you are prompted to do so.

For additional information about issues related to uninstalling Internet Explorer 6, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

296822 Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 Does Not Appear in Add/Remove Programs List

How to Repair or Return to Previous Internet Explorer Installation
If the Internet Explorer Repair Tool Verification does not work, or if Internet Explorer 5 is not listed in the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel, you may be able to start the Internet Explorer Repair tool from a command prompt. To do so, click Start, click Run, and then in the Open box, type the following command, and then click OK:

rundll32 setupwbv.dll,IE6Maintenance &quot;C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Setup\SETUP.EXE&quot; /g &quot;C:\WINDOWS\IE Uninstall Log.Txt&quot;

NOTE: This command is case sensitive.

If you need to replace a bad file from the original Internet Explorer or Windows media, use either the System File Checker (SFC) tool or the Extract tool to extract the file. For information about these tools, view the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

System File Checker (SFC)
185836 Description of the System File Checker Tool (Sfc.exe)

Extract Tool
129605 HOW TO: Extract Original Compressed Windows Files

Additional query words: manually oe6 winxp

Keywords: kbhowto kbsetup KB293907

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