IE9 to IE8 rollback does not work

[nspatel112]

Hello,

I recently upgraded to SP1 via Windows Updates. Also, IE was upgraded from 8 to 9 around the same time. Ran a disk cleanup, and removed SP1 backup files. Tried to rollback from IE9 back to 8. IE9 is successfully removed but 8 does not come back. I cannot find a standalone installer for IE8 for Windows 7 either.

An upgrade install of Win7 Ultimate SP1 x32 fixes this issue, but since it is an upgrade, I can no longer sysprep. Being able to sysprep is a requirement. Therefore, I cannot do an upgrade install.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Shadowjk]

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/112121-internet-explorer-9-uninstall.html - Try this

It should work because Windows 7 SP1 comes pre-installed with IE8

 

[nspatel112]

I did try the rollback of the IE9 update. That successfully removed IE9 but IE8 did not reappear. The shortcut for it appeared but it did not launch anything.

 

[Shadowjk]

Okay Roll back IE9 then Try to manually open Internet Explorer 8 by Clicking start and then type "run"

Once the run command has been launched type the following in and then press enter

iexplore.exe

It should Open IE8

Josh

 

[nspatel112]

The task manager shows iexplore but no IE windows. From another forum, removing SP1 backup files causes this issue.

 

[Shadowjk]

Follow this to Uninstall Service Pack 1 - How to uninstall Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

Once that is done see if IE8 will load

 

[gregrocker]

I wonder if IE8 rollback is forbidden after SP1. It is not as secure so it would be like allowing user to run MSE with only older definitions. MS takes security very seriously on its browser and doesn't much want us using the older ones.

I would strongly consider this even if it is not the specfic cause.

There's also always Firefox, which is just as chary about using older versions.

 

[Bill2]

Try running a sfc scan.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

[nspatel112]

Update from rolling back IE9 - Removed from installed updates. After restarting, I received the following error:

Windows cannot find 'C:\Windows\system32\ie4uinit.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly and try again.

Ran SFC /SCANNOW after this error message. It did not find integrity violations.

Uninstalling SP1 is not allowed. I tried both methods suggested. From within the Control Panel, when SP1 is selected, there is no uninstall button. When using the cmd prompt method, the response received is that SP1 is required by the system and it cannot be uninstalled.

 

[kegobeer]

From what I've read, unless you can replace the SP1 backup files, you might be unable to do anything about the problem. There are quite a few threads that you can read if you google for 'cannot find "C:\Windows\system32\ie4uinit.exe"'.

 

[gregrocker]

This is a good example where with backup imaging you could have swapped in the most recent Win7 with IE8 in 20 minutes, saving a reinstall as that may well be your only option if you are that game for having an older browser version.

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