IE7 failure after uninstalling IE8 (final version)

[floringeorge2001]

On March 19, 2009 I have installed the final version of IE8 on my Windows XP
Professional SP3 (Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop). Please note also that the SP 3
was installed AFTER I previously installed IE7 . There was no noticeable
difference in terms of browsing speed and more over IE8 seemed to me too
sophisticated. So I decided to uninstall it. THIS was the START of my
problem. After I uninstalled IE7 the system reverted to an IE7 that was
totally non-functional ( hang-up / freezing ) . I tried everything:
uninstalling and reinstalling IE7, to uninstalling and reinstalling SP3
(both in normal and safe mode) even under the guidance of a representative of
Microsoft support representative in Romania to whom I granted remote access
to my laptop. The same negative result was obtained when , as suggested by
the Romanian Microsoft Support representative I uninstalled the Norton
Internet Security 2009 and the Spybot Search and Destroy and I even performed
a repair install of my Windows XP professional but everything was in vain.
Now I am able to browse the Internet using IE6 .
Therefore I am open to any suggestion that could bring IE7 to a functional
state on my laptop.

Thanks

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

[Crossposted to IE General newsgroup]

Where to begin?...

Please confirm that you're currently running IE6, that SP3 is installed, and
that the machine is fully-patched at Windows Update (other than installing
IE7 or IE8)?

Was NIS 2009 running in the background when you installed/uninstalled IE8
and/or WinXP SP3? Are you aware that your version of NIS 2009 may not be
supported in IE8?

Did you (1) de-Immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3?

Which was uninstalled first, Spybot or NIS 2009?[

Did you download/run the Norton Removal Tool after you'd uninstalled NIS
2009? Has NIS 2009 been reinstalled?

Did you (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
uninstalled Spybot?

 

[Andrew E.]

So much for the "XP repair" time that one spends...What you should have
done,or should do,is perform a clean installation of xp.If you have saved
youre
user profile with FTW or similar,the time between a repair & new installation
is minimal.....

 

[Daave]

On March 19, 2009 I have installed the final version of IE8 on my
Windows XP
Professional SP3 (Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop). Please note also that
the SP 3
was installed AFTER I previously installed IE7 . There was no
noticeable
difference in terms of browsing speed and more over IE8 seemed to me
too
sophisticated. So I decided to uninstall it. THIS was the START of my
problem. After I uninstalled IE7 the system reverted to an IE7 that
was
totally non-functional ( hang-up / freezing ) . I tried everything:
uninstalling and reinstalling IE7, to uninstalling and reinstalling
SP3
(both in normal and safe mode) even under the guidance of a
representative of
Microsoft support representative in Romania to whom I granted remote
access
to my laptop. The same negative result was obtained when , as
suggested by
the Romanian Microsoft Support representative I uninstalled the Norton
Internet Security 2009 and the Spybot Search and Destroy and I even
performed
a repair install of my Windows XP professional but everything was in
vain.
Now I am able to browse the Internet using IE6 .
Therefore I am open to any suggestion that could bring IE7 to a
functional
state on my laptop.

Wow.

This is why many of us recommend imaging the hard drive. That way,
whenever something this disastrous happens, you can revert to your
slightly older, yet working, system in less than an hour.

You now know that it is recommended to install SP3 *before* upgrading
IE6. It's not your fault you did it the other way. Still, you now know
what is safer.

You *could* spend lots of time troubleshooting and repairing, but I'm
wondering if a Clean Install might wind up taking you less time and
effort.

 

[floringeorge2001]

The answers to your questions:

1. Until today I have been running IE6 with SP3 and all updates installed.
Today, out of curiosity, I tried to install again IE8 to see if it wil work
and..it did work. So , currently I am running IE8 + SP3 with all related
updates installed except for the " .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and
..NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847)" update.

2. The NIS 2009 was running in the background when I installed and
uninstalled IE8 with the WinXP SP3. I am not aware that NIS 2009 version may
not be
supported in IE8 and, in this respect, I think that the IE8 page on the
Microsoft website should have contain such warning regading the NIS 2009
incompatibility with IE8.

3. I did not (1) de-immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
I installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3. I uninstalled first the NIS2009
and the the Spybot.

4. On March 19, when my problem occured, I did not download/run the Norton
Removal Tool after I uninstalled NIS. Today, after reading your post I have
run the Norton Removal Tool (while using the IE6) . I have not reinstalled
NIS 2009 so far.

5. I did not (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
uninstalling Spybot. Two days ago I remebered that the "restricted sites" tab
in the internet options contains bad sites loaded by the Spybot imunization.
I reinstalled Spybot and I did the de-immunization. Today , with no sites in
the "restricted sites" tab and after running the Norton removal tool I tried
to reinstall IE7 but the result was the same as the one in March 19: IE7
freez-up a few seconds after the Microsoft website page opened. (I set my
home page www.microsot.com)

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such
recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

[Crossposted to IE General newsgroup]

Where to begin?...

Please confirm that you're currently running IE6, that SP3 is installed, and
that the machine is fully-patched at Windows Update (other than installing
IE7 or IE8)?

Was NIS 2009 running in the background when you installed/uninstalled IE8
and/or WinXP SP3? Are you aware that your version of NIS 2009 may not be
supported in IE8?

Did you (1) de-Immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3?

Which was uninstalled first, Spybot or NIS 2009?[

Did you download/run the Norton Removal Tool after you'd uninstalled NIS
2009? Has NIS 2009 been reinstalled?

Did you (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
uninstalled Spybot?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile=8E87AD9E-5D84-45B5-9B6A-D04AAA41556E

On March 19, 2009 I have installed the final version of IE8 on my Windows
XP
Professional SP3 (Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop). Please note also that the SP
3
was installed AFTER I previously installed IE7. There was no noticeable
difference in terms of browsing speed and more over IE8 seemed to me too
sophisticated. So I decided to uninstall it. THIS was the START of my
problem. After I uninstalled [IE8?] the system reverted to an IE7 that was
totally non-functional ( hang-up / freezing ) . I tried everything:
uninstalling and reinstalling IE7, to uninstalling and reinstalling SP3
(both in normal and safe mode) even under the guidance of a representative
of Microsoft support representative in Romania to whom I granted remote
access to my laptop. The same negative result was obtained when , as
suggested by the Romanian Microsoft Support representative I uninstalled
the Norton Internet Security 2009 and the Spybot Search and Destroy and I
even performed a repair install of my Windows XP professional but
everything was in vain. Now I am able to browse the Internet using IE6 .
Therefore I am open to any suggestion that could bring IE7 to a functional
state on my laptop.

 

[floringeorge2001]

I am not sure I understand your proposed approach.. A clean install would
mean to back-up all the files in My Documents folder (which , in my case ,
has around 40 GB size) , then do the Windows XP reinstallation and then copy
again the files from the back-up, which al in all would take much more time
then the repair install.. Anyway , I was thinking that this IE7 failure
should have had a solution other then that of a repair install or clean
install. Otherwise I would have expected that the un-installation of IE8 to
be as much as easy as the un-installation of IE7 (in the past two years I did
a couple of IE7 uninstalling and the system reverted with no problem to the
previous version i.e. IE6).

 

[floringeorge2001]

What exactly means "imaging the hard drive"? What are the steps to do this?
Otherwise I do, indeed, know NOW that "it is recommended to install SP3
*before* upgrading the IE7 . But I strongly believe that on the IE8 page of
the Microsoft website a such recommendation as well as the recommendations
presented by PA Bear SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO THE SIMPLE USERS.

And ANYWAY on the support pages in the Microsoft website should have been
presented a solution for the problem I am currently facing !!!

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such

recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

I agree with you here (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malware-Applications.aspx).

If you did a Repair Install without having first uninstalled IE7 [1], which
in your case would have required first uninstalling SP3 [2], your only
option now is to format & reinstall Windows (AKA a clean install).

Best of luck & sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

==============
[1] How to perform a repair installation of Windows XP if a later version of
Internet Explorer is installed
["Before you perform a repair installation of Microsoft Windows XP, you must
uninstall Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Windows Internet Explorer 8 from
the Windows XP-based computer. If you perform a repair installation of
Windows XP when a later version of Internet Explorer is still installed,
Internet Explorer will not work after the repair is completed."]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964

[2] http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx
--
~PA Bear

The answers to your questions:

1. Until today I have been running IE6 with SP3 and all updates installed.
Today, out of curiosity, I tried to install again IE8 to see if it wil
work
and..it did work. So , currently I am running IE8 + SP3 with all related
updates installed except for the " .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and
.NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847)" update.

2. The NIS 2009 was running in the background when I installed and
uninstalled IE8 with the WinXP SP3. I am not aware that NIS 2009 version
may
not be
supported in IE8 and, in this respect, I think that the IE8 page on the
Microsoft website should have contain such warning regading the NIS 2009
incompatibility with IE8.

3. I did not (1) de-immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer
before
I installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3. I uninstalled first the
NIS2009 and the the Spybot.

4. On March 19, when my problem occured, I did not download/run the Norton
Removal Tool after I uninstalled NIS. Today, after reading your post I
have
run the Norton Removal Tool (while using the IE6) . I have not reinstalled
NIS 2009 so far.

5. I did not (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
uninstalling Spybot. Two days ago I remebered that the "restricted sites"
tab in the internet options contains bad sites loaded by the Spybot
imunization. I reinstalled Spybot and I did the de-immunization. Today ,
with no sites in the "restricted sites" tab and after running the Norton
removal tool I tried to reinstall IE7 but the result was the same as the
one in March 19: IE7 freez-up a few seconds after the Microsoft website
page opened. (I set my home page www.microsot.com)

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such
recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

[Crossposted to IE General newsgroup]

Where to begin?...

Please confirm that you're currently running IE6, that SP3 is installed,
and that the machine is fully-patched at Windows Update (other than
installing IE7 or IE8)?

Was NIS 2009 running in the background when you installed/uninstalled IE8
and/or WinXP SP3? Are you aware that your version of NIS 2009 may not be
supported in IE8?

Did you (1) de-Immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
you
installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3?

Which was uninstalled first, Spybot or NIS 2009?[

Did you download/run the Norton Removal Tool after you'd uninstalled NIS
2009? Has NIS 2009 been reinstalled?

Did you (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
uninstalled Spybot?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002

On March 19, 2009 I have installed the final version of IE8 on my
Windows
XP
Professional SP3 (Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop). Please note also that the
SP
3
was installed AFTER I previously installed IE7. There was no noticeable
difference in terms of browsing speed and more over IE8 seemed to me too
sophisticated. So I decided to uninstall it. THIS was the START of my
problem. After I uninstalled [IE8?] the system reverted to an IE7 that
was
totally non-functional ( hang-up / freezing ) . I tried everything:
uninstalling and reinstalling IE7, to uninstalling and reinstalling SP3
(both in normal and safe mode) even under the guidance of a
representative
of Microsoft support representative in Romania to whom I granted remote
access to my laptop. The same negative result was obtained when , as
suggested by the Romanian Microsoft Support representative I uninstalled
the Norton Internet Security 2009 and the Spybot Search and Destroy and
I
even performed a repair install of my Windows XP professional but
everything was in vain. Now I am able to browse the Internet using IE6 .
Therefore I am open to any suggestion that could bring IE7 to a
functional
state on my laptop.

 

[Daave]

What exactly means "imaging the hard drive"? What are the steps to do
this?

You need a third-party program to do this. Many here, myself included,
are partial to Acronis True Image. If you want something free,
DriveImage XML is very good (its major downside is that it cannot make
incremental images like Acronis).

When you image your hard drive (you can make images of specific
partitions, too), what you are doing is creating a file which you may
store anywhere (e.g., on an external hard drive or even a DVD or series
of DVDs) that is a snapshot of the entire drive. This image archive can
later be restored by the same program that made it, recreating what the
drive was like *in its entirey* at the moment the image was made. So,
say you image your hard drive on Monday and on Tuesday an installation
or update goes terribly awry, resulting in disaster (or it could be
because of a virus or other malware or perhaps the drive itself
physically died). All you need to do is run your imaging/restoration
program and your hard drive returns to its Monday (working) condition.
If you need to replace the hard drive, it doesn't matter. Again, restore
the image and the new drive is back to how your old drive was on Monday.

Some prefer cloning to imaging. Anna, one of the regulars here, is a big
cloning advocate. She specifically likes the program Casper. When you
clone a drive, it's just what it sounds like. You first need another
hard drive. Then you make that other drive an exact replica of the
source drive. Since it's a perfect copy, you could swap drives and boot
up and that's that. It's a personal preference. I wind up restoring an
image (which does take some time -- about 37 minutes for me) maybe twice
a year, tops. So I don't mind. For those who do extensive testing or
perhaps day trading, etc., cloning would make more sense. And if you
have the cloned drive inside the same PC (or if you use an external
eSATA drive), you don't even need to open the case and swap!

Otherwise I do, indeed, know NOW that "it is recommended to install
SP3
*before* upgrading the IE7 . But I strongly believe that on the IE8
page of
the Microsoft website a such recommendation as well as the
recommendations
presented by PA Bear SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED TO THE SIMPLE USERS.

I agree with you. Microsoft should encourage everyone (and make it clear
and easy) to read about the best-practices method for installing IE7
and/or IE8 and/or SP3. Looking at this from a purely economic point of
view, there is a less than a critical mass of customers having the type
of experience you are reporting. Not to say it's a small number! But
still, less than a critical mass where profits would be affected
significantly.

And ANYWAY on the support pages in the Microsoft website should have
been
presented a solution for the problem I am currently facing !!!

It might be there for all I know. Then again, even if it is, it's
probably not easy to find. My heart goes out to you!

Do yourself a favor. Get an imaging program. I like Acronis, but if your
budget is tight right now, DriveImage XML will do the job. After you
perform the clean install and install the updates, programs, data, etc.,
image your hard drive. And continue to image it regularly. Always make
an image before a major change (like IE7 or IE8 or SP3). Trust me,
you'll be happy you did!

 

[floringeorge2001]

Thanks, Dave, for the information. It's good to know about such preventive
measures using the "hard drive imaging". However I think this is only a
radical solution of last resort. What I really need is a solution, maybe
directly from Microsoft , that identifies and explains the causes of this
problem and provides also an easy solving of this problem.

 

[floringeorge2001]

Thanks, PA Bear, for the information. However I think that your suggestion
represents only a radical solution of last resort. What I really need is a
solution, maybe directly from Microsoft , that identifies and explains the
causes of the problem and provides also an easy solving of this problem.

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such
recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

I agree with you here (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malware-Applications.aspx).

If you did a Repair Install without having first uninstalled IE7 [1], which
in your case would have required first uninstalling SP3 [2], your only
option now is to format & reinstall Windows (AKA a clean install).

Best of luck & sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

==============
[1] How to perform a repair installation of Windows XP if a later version of
Internet Explorer is installed
["Before you perform a repair installation of Microsoft Windows XP, you must
uninstall Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Windows Internet Explorer 8 from
the Windows XP-based computer. If you perform a repair installation of
Windows XP when a later version of Internet Explorer is still installed,
Internet Explorer will not work after the repair is completed."]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964

[2] http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx
--
~PA Bear

The answers to your questions:

1. Until today I have been running IE6 with SP3 and all updates installed.
Today, out of curiosity, I tried to install again IE8 to see if it wil
work
and..it did work. So , currently I am running IE8 + SP3 with all related
updates installed except for the " .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 and
.NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847)" update.

2. The NIS 2009 was running in the background when I installed and
uninstalled IE8 with the WinXP SP3. I am not aware that NIS 2009 version
may
not be
supported in IE8 and, in this respect, I think that the IE8 page on the
Microsoft website should have contain such warning regading the NIS 2009
incompatibility with IE8.

3. I did not (1) de-immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer
before
I installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3. I uninstalled first the
NIS2009 and the the Spybot.

4. On March 19, when my problem occured, I did not download/run the Norton
Removal Tool after I uninstalled NIS. Today, after reading your post I
have
run the Norton Removal Tool (while using the IE6) . I have not reinstalled
NIS 2009 so far.

5. I did not (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
uninstalling Spybot. Two days ago I remebered that the "restricted sites"
tab in the internet options contains bad sites loaded by the Spybot
imunization. I reinstalled Spybot and I did the de-immunization. Today ,
with no sites in the "restricted sites" tab and after running the Norton
removal tool I tried to reinstall IE7 but the result was the same as the
one in March 19: IE7 freez-up a few seconds after the Microsoft website
page opened. (I set my home page www.microsot.com)

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such
recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

[Crossposted to IE General newsgroup]

Where to begin?...

Please confirm that you're currently running IE6, that SP3 is installed,
and that the machine is fully-patched at Windows Update (other than
installing IE7 or IE8)?

Was NIS 2009 running in the background when you installed/uninstalled IE8
and/or WinXP SP3? Are you aware that your version of NIS 2009 may not be
supported in IE8?

Did you (1) de-Immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
you
installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3?

Which was uninstalled first, Spybot or NIS 2009?[

Did you download/run the Norton Removal Tool after you'd uninstalled NIS
2009? Has NIS 2009 been reinstalled?

Did you (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
uninstalled Spybot?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002

floringeorge2001 wrote:
On March 19, 2009 I have installed the final version of IE8 on my
Windows
XP
Professional SP3 (Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop). Please note also that the
SP
3
was installed AFTER I previously installed IE7. There was no noticeable
difference in terms of browsing speed and more over IE8 seemed to me too
sophisticated. So I decided to uninstall it. THIS was the START of my
problem. After I uninstalled [IE8?] the system reverted to an IE7 that
was
totally non-functional ( hang-up / freezing ) . I tried everything:
uninstalling and reinstalling IE7, to uninstalling and reinstalling SP3
(both in normal and safe mode) even under the guidance of a
representative
of Microsoft support representative in Romania to whom I granted remote
access to my laptop. The same negative result was obtained when , as
suggested by the Romanian Microsoft Support representative I uninstalled
the Norton Internet Security 2009 and the Spybot Search and Destroy and
I
even performed a repair install of my Windows XP professional but
everything was in vain. Now I am able to browse the Internet using IE6 .
Therefore I am open to any suggestion that could bring IE7 to a
functional
state on my laptop.

 

[Mike Torello]

Thanks, PA Bear, for the information. However I think that your suggestion
represents only a radical solution of last resort. What I really need is a
solution, maybe directly from Microsoft , that identifies and explains the
causes of the problem and provides also an easy solving of this problem.

Don't hold your breath.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

I'd say KB917964 (see previous reply) explains what caused the problem
(i.e., doing a Repair Install without having first uninstalled IE7).

The only solution now is a clean install.

This is not new in Windows architecture: A Repair Install in WinME requires
uninstalling IE6 before proceeding. Similarly, a Repair Install in Win2K
requires (a) uninstalling any Service Packs that had been installed after
IE6 has been installed and then (b) uninstalling IE6 before proceeding.

Of course you could install an alternate brower as your default and continue
on your merry way but Windows will never work properly without a
fully-functional IE. And the only way for you to have a fully-functional IE
now is to "wipe & reload."

Again, best of luck to you.

PS: Please don't kill the messenger. <wink>
--
~PA Bear

Thanks, PA Bear, for the information. However I think that your suggestion
represents only a radical solution of last resort. What I really need is a
solution, maybe directly from Microsoft , that identifies and explains
the
causes of the problem and provides also an easy solving of this problem.

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such
recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

I agree with you here (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malware-Applications.aspx).

If you did a Repair Install without having first uninstalled IE7 [1],
which
in your case would have required first uninstalling SP3 [2], your only
option now is to format & reinstall Windows (AKA a clean install).

Best of luck & sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

==============
[1] How to perform a repair installation of Windows XP if a later version
of Internet Explorer is installed
["Before you perform a repair installation of Microsoft Windows XP, you
must uninstall Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Windows Internet Explorer 8
from the Windows XP-based computer. If you perform a repair installation
of
Windows XP when a later version of Internet Explorer is still installed,
Internet Explorer will not work after the repair is completed."]
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964

[2] http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx
--
~PA Bear

The answers to your questions:

1. Until today I have been running IE6 with SP3 and all updates
installed.
Today, out of curiosity, I tried to install again IE8 to see if it wil
work
and..it did work. So , currently I am running IE8 + SP3 with all related
updates installed except for the " .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
and
.NET Framework 3.5 Family Update (KB951847)" update.

2. The NIS 2009 was running in the background when I installed and
uninstalled IE8 with the WinXP SP3. I am not aware that NIS 2009 version
may
not be
supported in IE8 and, in this respect, I think that the IE8 page on the
Microsoft website should have contain such warning regading the NIS 2009
incompatibility with IE8.

3. I did not (1) de-immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer
before
I installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3. I uninstalled first the
NIS2009 and the the Spybot.

4. On March 19, when my problem occured, I did not download/run the
Norton
Removal Tool after I uninstalled NIS. Today, after reading your post I
have
run the Norton Removal Tool (while using the IE6) . I have not
reinstalled
NIS 2009 so far.

5. I did not (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
uninstalling Spybot. Two days ago I remebered that the "restricted
sites"
tab in the internet options contains bad sites loaded by the Spybot
imunization. I reinstalled Spybot and I did the de-immunization. Today ,
with no sites in the "restricted sites" tab and after running the Norton
removal tool I tried to reinstall IE7 but the result was the same as the
one in March 19: IE7 freez-up a few seconds after the Microsoft website
page opened. (I set my home page www.microsot.com)

Anyway I think that the IE8 page on Microsoft should contain such
recommendations as the ones described by you in your answer to my post.

:
[Crossposted to IE General newsgroup]

Where to begin?...

Please confirm that you're currently running IE6, that SP3 is
installed,
and that the machine is fully-patched at Windows Update (other than
installing IE7 or IE8)?

Was NIS 2009 running in the background when you installed/uninstalled
IE8
and/or WinXP SP3? Are you aware that your version of NIS 2009 may not
be
supported in IE8?

Did you (1) de-Immunize Spybot and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before
you
installed/uninstalled IE8 and/or WinXP SP3?

Which was uninstalled first, Spybot or NIS 2009?[

Did you download/run the Norton Removal Tool after you'd uninstalled
NIS
2009? Has NIS 2009 been reinstalled?

Did you (1) de-Immunize and (2) disable Spybot Tea Timer before you
uninstalled Spybot?
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002

floringeorge2001 wrote:
On March 19, 2009 I have installed the final version of IE8 on my
Windows
XP
Professional SP3 (Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop). Please note also that
the
SP
3
was installed AFTER I previously installed IE7. There was no
noticeable
difference in terms of browsing speed and more over IE8 seemed to me
too
sophisticated. So I decided to uninstall it. THIS was the START of my
problem. After I uninstalled [IE8?] the system reverted to an IE7 that
was
totally non-functional ( hang-up / freezing ) . I tried everything:
uninstalling and reinstalling IE7, to uninstalling and reinstalling
SP3
(both in normal and safe mode) even under the guidance of a
representative
of Microsoft support representative in Romania to whom I granted
remote
access to my laptop. The same negative result was obtained when , as
suggested by the Romanian Microsoft Support representative I
uninstalled
the Norton Internet Security 2009 and the Spybot Search and Destroy
and
I
even performed a repair install of my Windows XP professional but
everything was in vain. Now I am able to browse the Internet using IE6
.
Therefore I am open to any suggestion that could bring IE7 to a
functional
state on my laptop.

 

[Daave]

Don't hold your breath if you expect such things from Microsoft; ain't
gonna happen.

I'm not sure why you would see imaging as a radical solution of last
resort. If you regularly image your drive, you cover all the bases --
even if Windows is working swimmingly (e.g., if your hard drive dies,
you're still covered). Imaging at this point won't fix your problem, of
course; I'm just recommending it to you if you want to save yourself
headaches in the future and if you want to guarantee that all your data
get backed up regularly.

Hopefully, you might come up with a solution to this particular problem.
Then again, the solution might be to perform a Clean Install. If that's
what you wind up doing, make sure you upgrade to SP3 before upgrading
IE6. And if you choose to regularly image your hard drive, you won't
find yourself in this pickle again!

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Repost:

I'd say KB917964 (see my previous reply) explains what caused the problem
(i.e., doing a Repair Install without having first uninstalled IE7).

The only solution now is a clean install.

This is not new in Windows architecture: A Repair Install in WinME requires
uninstalling IE6 before proceeding. Similarly, a Repair Install in Win2K
requires (a) uninstalling any Service Packs that had been installed after
IE6 has been installed and then (b) uninstalling IE6 before proceeding.

Of course you could install an alternate brower as your default and continue
on your merry way but Windows will never work properly without a
fully-functional IE. And the only way for you to have a fully-functional IE
now is to "wipe & reload."

Again, best of luck to you.

PS: Please don't kill the messenger. <wink>

 

[floringeorge2001]

The problem was not caused by a "Repair Install without having first
uninstalled IE7".
As I explained in my initial post THE PROBLEM OCCURED AFTER I HAVE
UNINSTALLED IE8. When I did the IE8 uninstall this generated a reversion to
an IE7 which was totally not-functional (freezing-up / hanging-up a few
seconds after it opened the home page of my browser - www.microsoft.com) .
Anyway what I need to understand is THE CAUSE of this problem and HOW IT CAN
BE SOLVED without having to do a clean reinstallation of windows xp or using
the backup of mirror imaging the hard drive. These last two solutions of last
resort are not actually solving my problem represented by the fact that
UNINSTALLING IE8 DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY REVERT TO A FUNCTIONAL IE7. What if,
after I am doing a clean reinstallation of windows xp or using the backup of
the hard drive mirror imaging I will be facing the same problem when
uninstalling the IE8 ??
Anyway I did a lot of research on the net and among other I found out this
article on “IE and Windows XP Service Pack 3 â€
blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx . After reading this
article I am wondering wheter IE8 has installed also a file that blocks the
normal reverting to a functional IE7 after uninstalling IE8. I am wondering
this due to the fact that when reinstalling IE8 this is working fine.
=====================================================
I wonder if it will be possible / useful for you if I post here a HijackThis
log file? Or maybe you could tell me on what site it would be most
recommended to post a such HijackThis log file??

 

[floringeorge2001]

The problem was not caused by a "Repair Install without having first
uninstalled IE7".
As I explained in my initial post THE PROBLEM OCCURED AFTER I HAVE
UNINSTALLED IE8. When I did the IE8 uninstall this generated a reversion to
an IE7 which was totally not-functional (freezing-up / hanging-up a few
seconds after it opened the home page of my browser - www.microsoft.com) .
Anyway what I need to understand is THE CAUSE of this problem and HOW IT CAN
BE SOLVED without having to do a clean reinstallation of windows xp or using
the backup of mirror imaging the hard drive. These last two solutions of last
resort are not actually solving my problem represented by the fact that
UNINSTALLING IE8 DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY REVERT TO A FUNCTIONAL IE7. What if,
after I am doing a clean reinstallation of windows xp or using the backup of
the hard drive mirror imaging I will be facing the same problem when
uninstalling the IE8 ??
Anyway I did a lot of research on the net and among other I found out this
article on “IE and Windows XP Service Pack 3 â€
blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx . After reading this
article I am wondering wheter IE8 has installed also a file that blocks the
normal reverting to a functional IE7 after uninstalling IE8. I am wondering
this due to the fact that when reinstalling IE8 this is working fine.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

George, I am not trying to "rub your nose in it" here. I'm simply
documenting why you ended up in your current predicament ("THE CAUSE of this
problem"). In chronological order:

1. You installed IE7 in WinXP SP2.

2. You installed WinXP SP3.

3. You installed and then uninstall IE8 Final [note than in your first post
here you errantly said, "After I uninstalled IE7..."] and ended up with "an
IE7 that was totally non-functional (hang-up / freezing)."

4a. You attempted to uninstall/reinstall IE7 (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx).

4b. You attempted to uninstall/reinstall SP3.

5. You had not disabled (a) NIS 2009 or (b) Spybot's SDHelper and Tea Timer
prior to any of the installs/uninstalls above (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malware-Applications.aspx).

6a. You uninstalled NIS 2009 but did not run the Norton Removal Tool &
reboot after doing so (cf. http://windowssecrets.com/comp/080207#story1).

6b. You uninstalled Spybot but you did not disable Tea Timer nor undo
Spybot's Immunizations before doing so.

7. You affected a Repair Install of WinXP with IE7 (and SP3, apparently)
still installed (cf. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964).

UNINSTALLING IE8 DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY REVERT TO A FUNCTIONAL IE7

Not in the environment in which you uninstalled (and originally installed)
it, no. See #5 above.

As for "HOW IT CAN BE SOLVED," I can assure you that the only way you're
going to have a fully-functional, fully-updated WinXP again is by backing up
your personal data and then doing a format & clean install of Windows.

After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so
take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting
the machine to the internet or a network and before using a USB key and/or a
CD/DVD that isn't brand-new or hasn't been freshly formatted:

5 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/advanced/xppc.mspx

Best of luck to you.

 

[floringeorge2001]

Robear, first of all I would like to thank you for all your answers. I do
appreciate your suggestions and therefore it is out of the question the ideea
that you are "rubbing my nose".
I fully understand your final suggestion but , as I previously mentioned , I
believe there is no guarantee for me that after doing a clean install of
Windows XP I will not face the same problem after installing and uninstalling
the IE8. Therefore, for the time being , I will try to find the cause that
lead to this problem and a viable solution.

To recap and to "quote" you, the problem was as fallows:

1. I "installed IE7 in WinXP SP2".

2. I "installed WinXP SP3".

3. I "installed and then uninstall IE8 Final" [you were right , in my first
post
here I errantly wrote, "After I uninstalled IE7..."] and ended up with "an
IE7 that was totally non-functional (hang-up / freezing)."

The recap should stop HERE and the deriving questions are :
a) WHY THE IE8 UNINSTALLATION DID NOT LEAD TO A NORMAL REVERT TO IE7 ?
b) WHY THE IE8 UNINSTALLATION HAS LED TO A TOTALLY NON-FUNCTIONAL IE7 ?

Another remark: you mentioned the possible incompatibility of IE8 with
Norton Internet Security 2009. Therefore , other questions derived from this
statement are:

c) WHY IE8 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH NIS 2009 CONSIDERING THE FACT THE NIS 2009
WAS COMPATIBLE WITH IE7
d) WHY IE8 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH NIS 2009 CONSIDERING THE FACT THE LONG
PERIOD OF IE8 TESTING (the prerelease IE8 version, the final candidate IE8
version) AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT NIS 2009 WAS ACTUALLY RELEASED IN 2008 ?

Other weird issues that I noticed are as follows:

i) When I first uninstalled IE8 and reverted to that non-functional IE7 I
noticed that on the top blue bar of the microsoft web page (my home page)
contained only the IE icon (the blue "e" letter ) BUT NO TEXT (like Windows
Internet Explorer)


ii) When running IE6 (as I am currently doing ) the IE icon on the desktop
is not functional: when I click on it NOTHING HAPPENS
iii) When running IE6 (as I am currently doing) , when I activate the
“Links†button on the Internet Explorer bar I see the buttons “Free Hotmailâ€
, “Suggested sites†and Web Slice gallery†and I know that the last two of
them actually belong to IE8 ( !? )

iv) After reinstalling IE7 (which , as I already mentioned, is not
functional ) the “Internet options†icon in the “Control panel†appears
INCOMPLETE, i.e. without the text “Internet options†underneath the
respective icon (due to this fact it is listed first on the Control panel) .
After uninstalling IE7 and reverting to IE6 the respective “Internet optionsâ€
icon appears normally (i.e. WITH THE TEXT “Internet options†underneath the
respective icon) and it is listed normally , in alphabetical order (i.e.
between the icons “Intel (R) GMA Driver for mobile†and “Javaâ€)

v) When I examined the “Windows components Wizard†of the “Add/Remove
windows components†I noticed that although the box of the “Internet
Explorer†component is ticked its size is 0.0 MB (!?)


Anyway, as I already mentioned at the beginning of this message, for the
time being I will continue to find a solution to this problem and if this
will not happen I will either reinstall IE8 (which is working fine - I
already tested once this) or will do a clean install of windows XP.

One last question for you: when doing a repair install of Windows XP, the
registry does remain unaffected / unchanged (remains the same as before the
respective install repair)?? In my case it was not affected by the repair
install.

Thanks again for your past and future answers and feed-back !

Florin

George, I am not trying to "rub your nose in it" here. I'm simply
documenting why you ended up in your current predicament ("THE CAUSE of this
problem"). In chronological order:

1. You installed IE7 in WinXP SP2.

2. You installed WinXP SP3.

3. You installed and then uninstall IE8 Final [note than in your first post
here you errantly said, "After I uninstalled IE7..."] and ended up with "an
IE7 that was totally non-functional (hang-up / freezing)."

4a. You attempted to uninstall/reinstall IE7 (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx).

4b. You attempted to uninstall/reinstall SP3.

5. You had not disabled (a) NIS 2009 or (b) Spybot's SDHelper and Tea Timer
prior to any of the installs/uninstalls above (cf.
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malware-Applications.aspx).

6a. You uninstalled NIS 2009 but did not run the Norton Removal Tool &
reboot after doing so (cf. http://windowssecrets.com/comp/080207#story1).

6b. You uninstalled Spybot but you did not disable Tea Timer nor undo
Spybot's Immunizations before doing so.

7. You affected a Repair Install of WinXP with IE7 (and SP3, apparently)
still installed (cf. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917964).

UNINSTALLING IE8 DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY REVERT TO A FUNCTIONAL IE7

Not in the environment in which you uninstalled (and originally installed)
it, no. See #5 above.

As for "HOW IT CAN BE SOLVED," I can assure you that the only way you're
going to have a fully-functional, fully-updated WinXP again is by backing up
your personal data and then doing a format & clean install of Windows.

After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so
take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting
the machine to the internet or a network and before using a USB key and/or a
CD/DVD that isn't brand-new or hasn't been freshly formatted:

5 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/advanced/xppc.mspx

Best of luck to you.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002

The problem was not caused by a "Repair Install without having first
uninstalled IE7".
As I explained in my initial post THE PROBLEM OCCURED AFTER I HAVE
UNINSTALLED IE8. When I did the IE8 uninstall this generated a reversion
to
an IE7 which was totally not-functional (freezing-up / hanging-up a few
seconds after it opened the home page of my browser - www.microsoft.com) .
Anyway what I need to understand is THE CAUSE of this problem and HOW IT
CAN
BE SOLVED without having to do a clean reinstallation of windows xp or
using the backup of mirror imaging the hard drive. These last two
solutions
of last resort are not actually solving my problem represented by the fact
that UNINSTALLING IE8 DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY REVERT TO A FUNCTIONAL IE7.
What if, after I am doing a clean reinstallation of windows xp or using
the
backup of the hard drive mirror imaging I will be facing the same problem
when uninstalling the IE8 ??
Anyway I did a lot of research on the net and among other I found out this
article on “IE and Windows XP Service Pack 3 â€
blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx . After reading
this
article I am wondering wheter IE8 has installed also a file that blocks
the
normal reverting to a functional IE7 after uninstalling IE8. I am
wondering
this due to the fact that when reinstalling IE8 this is working fine.

 

[Daave]

Robear, first of all I would like to thank you for all your answers. I
do
appreciate your suggestions and therefore it is out of the question
the ideea
that you are "rubbing my nose".
I fully understand your final suggestion but , as I previously
mentioned , I
believe there is no guarantee for me that after doing a clean install
of
Windows XP I will not face the same problem after installing and
uninstalling
the IE8. Therefore, for the time being , I will try to find the cause
that
lead to this problem and a viable solution.

To recap and to "quote" you, the problem was as fallows:

1. I "installed IE7 in WinXP SP2".

There is no need to go any further. *That* was the mistake. (And as I
have stressed in other posts, you are not to blame! It wasn't discovered
until later what the "best practice" was.) One should not upgrade IE6
until Windows XP is at SP3. Sure it's possible to do this. And, sure,
most people don't wind up with problems if they do it this way. Still,
that is the reason you are having problems. And I'm pretty sure PA Bear
is right on the money: a clean install just may be the only way out at
this point.

2. I "installed WinXP SP3".

Had you installed SP3 *after* IE6 was upgraded, you wouldn't be having
these problems. And now that IE8 has entered the equation, I'd venture
to say that one should not install SP3 until IE6 (or IE7) has been
upgraded to IE8!

3. I "installed and then uninstall IE8 Final" [you were right , in my
first
post
here I errantly wrote, "After I uninstalled IE7..."] and ended up with
"an
IE7 that was totally non-functional (hang-up / freezing)."

The recap should stop HERE and the deriving questions are :
a) WHY THE IE8 UNINSTALLATION DID NOT LEAD TO A NORMAL REVERT TO IE7 ?

Windows is buggy IMO. :-( Or perhaps I should say it's "particular."

b) WHY THE IE8 UNINSTALLATION HAS LED TO A TOTALLY NON-FUNCTIONAL IE7
?

See above. Had you done the following:

1. Install SP3.

2. Upgrade from IE6 to IE7.

3. Upgrade from IE7 to IE8.

4. Uninstall IE8 *while in a Clean Boot environment with no Norton crap
running*, thereby reverting to IE7.

.... you wouldn't be having any problems at all.

Another remark: you mentioned the possible incompatibility of IE8 with
Norton Internet Security 2009. Therefore , other questions derived
from this
statement are:

c) WHY IE8 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH NIS 2009 CONSIDERING THE FACT THE
NIS 2009
WAS COMPATIBLE WITH IE7
d) WHY IE8 IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH NIS 2009 CONSIDERING THE FACT THE
LONG
PERIOD OF IE8 TESTING (the prerelease IE8 version, the final candidate
IE8
version) AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT NIS 2009 WAS ACTUALLY RELEASED IN
2008 ?

Norton is just not compatible with Windows *period* if you ask me! It
even prevents Windows System Restore from working. It's bloatware that
literally gets in the way of Windows.

Other weird issues that I noticed are as follows:

i) When I first uninstalled IE8 and reverted to that non-functional
IE7 I
noticed that on the top blue bar of the microsoft web page (my home
page)
contained only the IE icon (the blue "e" letter ) BUT NO TEXT (like
Windows
Internet Explorer)


ii) When running IE6 (as I am currently doing ) the IE icon on the
desktop
is not functional: when I click on it NOTHING HAPPENS
iii) When running IE6 (as I am currently doing) , when I activate the
"Links" button on the Internet Explorer bar I see the buttons "Free
Hotmail"
, "Suggested sites" and Web Slice gallery" and I know that the last
two of
them actually belong to IE8 ( !? )

iv) After reinstalling IE7 (which , as I already mentioned, is not
functional ) the "Internet options" icon in the "Control panel"
appears
INCOMPLETE, i.e. without the text "Internet options" underneath the
respective icon (due to this fact it is listed first on the Control
panel) .
After uninstalling IE7 and reverting to IE6 the respective "Internet
options"
icon appears normally (i.e. WITH THE TEXT "Internet options"
underneath the
respective icon) and it is listed normally , in alphabetical order
(i.e.
between the icons "Intel (R) GMA Driver for mobile" and "Java")

v) When I examined the "Windows components Wizard" of the "Add/Remove
windows components" I noticed that although the box of the "Internet
Explorer" component is ticked its size is 0.0 MB (!?)

None of the above surprises me. Instead of trying to find explanations,
you might want to stop worrying and obsessing at this point. All of the
above are signs of a borked Windows environment. I really believe you
will be much happier if you let it go!

Anyway, as I already mentioned at the beginning of this message, for
the
time being I will continue to find a solution to this problem and if
this
will not happen I will either reinstall IE8 (which is working fine - I
already tested once this) or will do a clean install of windows XP.

Please refresh my memory. If IE8 was working fine, then why did you
uninstall it?! That's what I was referring to earlier when I said that
"most people don't wind up with problems if they do it this way." That
is, if they don't attempt downgrades of any kind (IE8 to IE7 or SP3 to
SP2), they don't experience any negative issues.

One last question for you: when doing a repair install of Windows XP,
the
registry does remain unaffected / unchanged (remains the same as
before the
respective install repair)?? In my case it was not affected by the
repair
install.

The Windows portions of the registry *do* change in that case.