How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 5

ID: Q217344

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows 98
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows 95
Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows NT 4.0

SUMMARY

This article describes how to uninstall Internet Explorer 5.

MORE INFORMATION

Before you uninstall Internet Explorer 5, quit all running programs. For information about problems that can occur if you do not quit all running programs before uninstalling Internet Explorer 5, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q165646 Program Settings Lost After Internet Explorer Setup or Uninstall

When you uninstall Internet Explorer 5, you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 4. The only supported way of uninstalling Internet Explorer 4 is to manually uninstall it. For information about how to manually uninstall Internet Explorer 4, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q174265 How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0

This information only applies to Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 for Windows 95 and NT 4.0. To uninstall Internet Explorer 5 in Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, use the following steps.

NOTE: You must have administrative privileges to install and uninstall Internet Explorer 5 in Windows NT. This includes having administrative privileges the first time you start your computer after installing or uninstalling Internet Explorer 5.

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click Add/Remove Programs, and then click the Install/Uninstall tab.

In the list of installed programs, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools, and then click Add/Remove.

Click Restore the previous Windows configuration, or click Advanced to specify any additional components you want to remove.

Click OK. The Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools Setup screen appears. This portion of Setup is referred to as the 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 uninstall process. When the uninstall process is completed, click Restart Windows when you are prompted to do so.

Known Issues with Uninstalling Internet Explorer 5

Microsoft Office 97 programs may have problems with Internet functionality after you uninstall Internet Explorer 5. These problems occur only if you install Internet Explorer 5 before you install Office 97, and then uninstall Internet Explorer 5.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q174431 OFF97: Problems Occur After Removing MS Internet Explorer 4.0

When you uninstall Internet Explorer 5, any certificates obtained after you installed Internet Explorer 5 are removed. If new certificates were added after installing Internet Explorer 5, a warning dialog box appears indicating that you will lose the new certificates if you proceed. You are then given the option of continuing to uninstall or canceling the process and manually exporting the new certificates to a file. Certificates that obtained prior to installing Internet Explorer 5 are not removed.

Some registry entries and files remain on your computer (for example, Microsoft Office 2000 may not work after uninstalling Internet Explorer 5). To resolve this behavior, install Internet Explorer 5.

All components may not be uninstalled. You can uninstall individual components by double-clicking Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, clicking the program in the list of installed programs, and then clicking Add/Remove.

If you install Internet Explorer 5, install a program, and then uninstall Internet Explorer 5, some programs may not work properly. If a program does not work properly after uninstalling Internet Explorer 5, reinstall the program.

If you uninstall Internet Explorer 5, Internet icons may remain in other programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. If you click these icons, nothing happens because no browser is installed.

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 5 deletes the contents of your Temporary Internet Files folder.

After you run Microsoft Windows 98 Setup, you are unable to uninstall Internet Explorer version 5.

For additional information about how to uninstall Internet Explorer after you install Windows 98, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q222564 Unable to Uninstall Internet Explorer After Windows 98 Setup

General Troubleshooting

If Maintenance-mode Setup does not work or you cannot run Setup, try one of the following methods:

In Windows 95 and Windows 98, restart your computer in Safe mode, and then use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel to uninstall Internet Explorer 5. To restart your computer in Safe mode, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart, and then click OK.

When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, or press and hold the CTRL key in Windows 98 when the computer restarts.

Choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu, and then press ENTER.

Reinstall Internet Explorer 5, and then uninstall it.

Reinstall your operating system and previous browser in a new folder, or restore from a complete system backup made before installing Internet Explorer 5.

Additional Information

All uninstall information, including the Uninstall folder, is hidden. The ATTRIB command must be used to remove the hidden attribute from the files before they can be viewed.

This is a list of the possible Internet Explorer uninstall information files, their locations, and a general description of their purpose:

Files in the Program Files\Internet Explorer folder:


   File name    Description
   -----------------------------------------------------------------

   Ie5bak.dat   Backed up core files replaced by Internet Explorer 5
   Ie5bak.ini   List of items in the Ie5bak.dat file
   Ie4regun     Backed up core registry entries modified by Internet
                Explorer 5

Files in the Program Files\Internet Explorer\Uninstall Information folder:


   File name    Description
   -----------------------------------------------------------

   Ainf0000     Backed up registry entries of modified add-ons
   Ainf0001     Backed up registry entries of modified add-ons
   Ainf0002     Backed up registry entries of modified add-ons
   Ainf0003     Backed up registry entries of modified add-ons

NOTE: There are no Ainfnnnn files in a Windows NT 4.0 installation. Instead, the information is kept in the Windows NT 4.0 registry.


   File name               Description
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

   Ie5bakex.dat            Backed up VB and OnLine Service Provider files
   Ie5bakex.ini            List of files in the Ie5bakex.ini file
   Ie5extra.dat            Backed up FTP folders and TrueType font files
   Ie5extra.ini            List of files in the Ie5extra.dat file
   mobile Option Pack.dat  Backup of subscription manager and channels
   mobile Option Pack.ini  List of files in Mobile Option Pack.dat file
   Mstask.dat              Backed up Task Manager files
   Mstask.ini              List of files in the Mstask.dat file

NOTE: The following files exist only if the Internet Explorer 4 Windows Desktop Update component is installed before you install Internet Explorer 5 Beta.


   File name     Description
   -----------------------------------------------------------------

   Integr~1.dat  Integrated Browser backup of previous shell files
   Integr~1.ini  List of files in Integrated Browser.dat file

Additional query words: remove 5.0


Keywords          : kbenv kbsetup msiew95 msient msiew98 kbfaq 
Version           : WINDOWS:5
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbhowto

Last Reviewed: June 15, 1999