How to uninstall Internet Explorer 5 Beta

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Summary

This article describes how to uninstall the Beta version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.

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When to Remove Internet Explorer 5

Remove Internet Explorer 5 before you perform any of the following actions:

Installing an earlier version of Internet Explorer (3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0, 4.01 or 4.01 Service Pack 1).
Restoring a registry (System.dat or User.dat) that was created before you installed Internet Explorer 5 (this applies to Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows 98 only).
Using a Windows NT Emergency Recovery Disk (ERD) you created before you installed Internet Explorer 5 (this applies to Windows NT only).
Reinstalling your operating system (Windows 95 or Windows NT).
Installing or uninstalling operating system upgrades (for example, Windows 95 Service Pack 1).
Installing the Windows Desktop Update component from Internet Explorer 4.x (this applies to Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 only).
Repairing Internet Explorer 5 does not succeed or does not correct the problem.

Uninstalling Internet Explorer 5 May Not Be Supported

There are some configurations in which uninstalling Internet Explorer 5 does not work. Uninstalling Internet Explorer 5 is not supported in the following situations:

Internet Explorer 5 is installed in multiple operating system installations (Windows 95, Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 or 2.5, Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0) on the same logical hard disk. If you need to run Internet Explorer 5 in multiple operating systems, you must install each operating system on a separate logical drive.
You have removed the Internet Explorer 5 backup files or the backup files are no longer on the drive. If you removed the backup files or they cannot be located, you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 5 without reinstalling Windows into a different folder.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
172919 Uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 option is missing

Before you uninstall Internet Explorer, quit all running programs.
For more information about problems that can occur if you do not quit all running programs before you remove Internet Explorer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

165646 Program settings are lost after Internet Explorer Setup or uninstall

To uninstall Internet Explorer 5 in Windows 95, Windows 98, or 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 you install or uninstall Internet Explorer 5.

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
In 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 Tool, and then click Add/Remove.
In the Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tool dialog box, click "Restore the previous Windows configuration," and then click Advanced to specify any additional components you want to remove.
Click OK. The Internet Explorer 5 Setup screen appears. This is referred to as the "Maintenance mode" portion of Setup.
When Setup starts, click OK to restore the previous version of Internet Explorer. You are prompted to verify that you are sure you want to restore the previous version. Click Yes to start the uninstall process. When the uninstallation is completed, you are prompted to restart. Click Restart Windows to complete the uninstallation of Internet Explorer 5.

Known Issues with Uninstalling

Microsoft Office 97 files may be removed after you uninstall Internet Explorer 5. This problem occurs only if you install Internet Explorer 5 before you install Office 97, and then uninstall Internet Explorer 5. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
174431 Problems occur after removing MS Internet
When you uninstall Internet Explorer 5, some user settings are returned to operating system defaults. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
173921 Uninstalling Internet Explorer restores default settings
You cannot uninstall Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 after uninstalling Internet Explorer 5. Using the Remove All option in Microsoft Plus! Maintenance-mode Setup results in the following error message:
Custom Action Error" The system cannot find the specified file.
For more information about uninstalling Microsoft Plus!, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
165623 Cannot remove Microsoft Plus! after installing Internet Explorer
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 were obtained prior to installing Internet Explorer 5 are not removed.
Some registry entries and files remain on your computer.
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. After uninstalling Internet Explorer 5, if a program does not work properly, 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.

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, try restarting your computer in Safe mode, and then use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel to uninstall Internet Explorer 5. To restart the computer in Safe mode, click Start, click Shut Down, click Restart The Computer, and then click Yes. 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, and then choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu.
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:

In the Program Files\Internet Explorer folder:

   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

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

   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 Ainfxxxx files in a Windows NT 4.0 installation. That information is kept in the Windows NT 4.0 registry.

   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 was installed before installing Internet Explorer 5 Beta. If the Windows Desktop Update was uninstalled before the installation of Internet Explorer 5 Beta, these files should not exist.

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

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Retired KB Content Disclaimer

This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.

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