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Internet Explorer 8 is removable in new interim Windows 7 build

Mar. 4, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Hm. It looks like Microsoft is taking steps to ensure it can comply with EU regulators just in case: I've heard from a few people via email that IE 8 is now fully removable in the latest leaked interim build of Windows 7 (Build 7048). I downloaded the build last night and hope to check this out soon myself. Could drive a stake into the heart of this EU silliness regardless, I guess.

Discuss this Article 23

kenmcnamee
on Mar 4, 2009
I installed build 7048 x64 into a VMWare instance last night and just confirmed that IE8 uninstallation is supported in the Control Panel. It is in the list of Windows features that you can turn on or off. After uninstallation the Internet Explorer directory in Program Files is still there so I'm sure the IE rendering engine is still made available to any other applications that depend on it. However, it appears that the iexplore.exe file is gone as well as all IE shortcuts in the taskbar and start menu. Of course, now I have now way to get online! I suppose I can open a cmd window and use ftp to get the latest firefox install. Nice going EU, way to protect the consumer! ;)
chipwinter
on Mar 4, 2009
It's too bad this is even news. All applications should be easily removable from an OS. Good for Microsoft.
kenmcnamee
on Mar 4, 2009
Here's the screenshot I took of the Windows Features dialog in build 7048. http://twitpic.com/1u7o6/full
subzerohitman721
on Mar 4, 2009
I've been writing, advocating, and proposing to Microsoft since the beta of Internet Explorer 7 that I.E. is not a critical component of the Windows Operating System and should be removeable. I've been writting on every blog post here, PC World, and the Engineering Windows 7, that I.E. should be a removeable component of the Windows OS because of the strong availability of portable storage media such as USB thumb drives, DVD's,. CD's, Smart Media chips, etc. It is so easy to download Firefox, Opera, Safari, Chrome, or whatever browser that suits your fancy. This really would put a dagger in the European Union's case, if all versions of IE 8 and all future versions of Internet Explorer are removeable and optional. I've been advocating that Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player should be added to the Windows Live Essentials suite. You can easily install a downloading manager or component that allows Windows to download these features. Also, Internet Explorer can be kept on the Windows Installation DVD as an option given or for folks to opt out. It levels the playing field for the others. I honestly wish Microsoft would create a competitor's marketplace as part of a proposal to settle the Anti-Trust case. Give Mozilla, Apple, and others a chance to be highlighted solutions side by side of Microsoft solutions. That way, there is a chance for them to compete.
CompactDstrxion
on Mar 4, 2009
Holy.... wow. Nice to see MS doing the right thing. Paul if Microsoft want to sell their products in the EU then surely it is only reasonable to expect them to comply with European law. I wouldn't call it silliness, we don't all live by the rules of the USA, thank goodness.
bradwestness
on Mar 4, 2009
It makes sense. Previously, removing Internet Explorer would have meant you no longer had access to Windows Update. Now that updating has (smartly) been decoupled from IE, why not let users remove it? Aside from the previously mentioned possibility of other applications needing the Trident engine, the only time I've ever purposely used IE in the last five years was to run Windows Update.
scarper
on Mar 4, 2009
I'm glad to see that IE will finally be removable. What they should do is provide, on first boot, a choice to download whichever default browser the customer wants just like you can currently choose which default search engine you want to use when you first start IE.
kenmcnamee
on Mar 4, 2009
It's interesting to note that the new Windows Features dialog also allows you to remove Windows Media Player. So maybe there will be no need for a Windows 7 'N' version. Other removable items are Windows Media Center, Windows DVD Maker, Windows Search and Windows Gadget Platform.
adamb1000
on Mar 4, 2009
Since IE is the file manager in Windows, how would removing that work? o.o
realtestman
on Mar 4, 2009
Yeah. I suppose this begs the question, why didn't Microsoft simply just do this in the first place? Yes, if ancillary files needed to be kept, then simply keep them on the system, but remove the icons and executable. Really wasn't hard, was it?
realtestman
on Mar 4, 2009
And adamb1000, IE IS NOT the file manager in Windows.
bradwestness
on Mar 4, 2009
I don't see why they should have to remove IE completely by default, nobody's calling on Apple to not bundle Safari with their OS. As stated above, it would make things needlessly complex as far as the initial getting online to download whatever apps you Actually Use. Anyone who is savvy enough/dislikes the bundled browser can go download one of the alternatives and remove it. It is interesting that this should allow OEMs to ship systems that come with pre-installed alternative browsers and IE already removed.
Ocean
on Mar 4, 2009
Epic win for the EU. Big win for consumers.
subzerohitman721
on Mar 4, 2009
@bradwestness, The reason why they are attempting to removie IE by default is because of the tight integration and interaction between IE and Windows. At the heart of the case between the European Union and Microsoft are a set of API's that Microsoft doesn't not wish to surrender to competitors. The problem also stems from browser maker's like Opera, who have not been competitive with IE or its competition for years. Yet they see this as an opportunity to stick it to Microsoft and get themselves back in the game. Most of the EU anti-trust case lately has been criticized by U.S. anti-trust regulators, politicians, and competition experts. Many feel its more protectionism and anti-Americanism in the disguise of official action and due diligence of their Anti-Trust Unit.
kenmcnamee
on Mar 4, 2009
Ocean: I'm not really sure how this is a "win for consumers". If a consumer wants to use a browser other than IE then they will simply use IE to download the browser and not use IE again after that. Are those consumers then going to go through the step of removing IE and rebooting? I highly doubt it. It is a win only in that it saves about 1mb of disk space. Big woop. And "epic "win for the EU?? They might try to play it that way but what they were really after is another billion dollar payday in Microsoft fines. Now they might get nothing other than a pat on the back from anonymous blog comments such as yours. Oh yeah, and they will also get to save 1mb of disk space. Epic!
Dyltone
on Mar 4, 2009
I say Microsoft should leave IE in the OS and not sell Windows in the EU. F'em... let them use Linux... freaking hippies!
CompactDstrxion
on Mar 4, 2009
kenmcnamee: For enthusiasts this is about being able to have a clean, streamlined system with only the apps you want on it.
kenmcnamee
on Mar 4, 2009
CompactDstrxion: As an enthusiast myself, and someone who reinstalls every few months to get back to a clean system, I can certainly appreciate the option to turn off various Windows features. However, I think the win there is purely for enthusiasts, not for ordinary consumers who are probably never going to mess with turning off Windows features. After they buy their crapware-infested machine from HPDellGateway, they're going to have a lot more to worry about than having IE installed on their system as the default browser. As for the context of this post, turning off IE in Windows 7 only seems to remove iexplore.exe and the IE shortcuts but leaves the DLLs that many apps and Windows rely on for rendering HTML. So the IE removal option doesn't really do much to give you a clean, streamlined system. You could remove the shortcuts yourself, use Firefox as your default browser and really achieve the same effect. I'm actually more interested in the ability to remove Windows Media Center and Windows Media Player since those serve no purpose for me. I will probably always keep IE around for one reason or another, if only for testing or accessing some features of corporate websites that still seem to like IE better. P.S. vLite has provided the ability to remove features from Windows prior to installation for a while now, although vLite is not the easiest tool to use. I do think that the new options in the Windows Features dialog are definitely a step in the right direction... for enthusiasts.
crashguy
on Mar 4, 2009
Everyone says this is a great thing. I do agree that you should have full control over what you can remove from your operating system without using 3rd party hacks. For me though.. people cry it's a win for the consumer, I think in reality this is only true if the consumer are the employee's of opera, mozilla and apple or geeks like us. Everyday i meet more and more people who are very basic computer users, and they simply want something that works. They like the fact that IE doesn't need to be touched or customised, it installs updates automatically through windows update (made easier with vista/7) and as i say, it just works. Can you imagine informing these people when they first configure there system (ala pre-built systems) that they need to select what browser they want to use standard? talk about an assault of information. I believe in the spirit of competition (in Australia we have a telco who owns a monopoly, and we all hate it) but i still do not believe that microsoft is required to assist it's competition. It is the job of that specific company (mozilla for example) to get the word out of it's advantages, why you should use it over it. From another side, showing people options? will make them chose something else, simply from the idea of 'ohhh it's different', in turn loosing market share for IE. Many will scream 'yay' but why should Microsoft destroy it's own business for the benefit of other companies? those of us who work in tech, would you do this to your business? Does apple promote other browsers with safari sitting happily in it's dock? P.S. As a final thought, I'm a Daily Firefox user, a web designer, and always fight against the evils of people using IE and yes, I am aware of the irony.
Lindy
on Mar 4, 2009
If you ever installed and used Windows 2008 you know that MS could have been doing this all along. All though I am not sure if IE is removed from it? In any case 2008 is stripped way down, and you have a very nice "Roles and Features" gui to add stuff, single items or clumps of stuff. Its possible to do and it makes adding what you want only a reality. This all begs the question.....why so many versions of 7? Have one, corporations will strip out what they dont want users to have before deploying. Now if you could just get Dell, HP, Sony, Acer and others to do the same with the craplets then maybe "I am a PC" would be worth saying.
Lindy
on Mar 4, 2009
@crashguy just make it installed with a default install by still give the option to remove it. Should satisfy everyone. Like I said corporations, if given the option of control will use it.
crashguy
on Mar 4, 2009
@Lindy That is an option, however if you install windows without a browser, you then have to assume that the person may not have a browser to install = not websites. A middle ground, is perhaps the Dell, HP, Sony, Acer etc could offer the previous comment of a choice of browser to install. I think if it's not put in specifically by Microsoft but the manufacturer that seems like an fair compromise? Corporations possibly will use such an option as you say, but at the same time a lot of those corporations still use IE6. So i question how fast they would be the adjust. Perhaps when a new roll out occurs it could be useful though...
whiplash55
on Mar 4, 2009
Opera will be a low single digit player in the market regardless of the pathetic EU. I remember my Win 95 and 98se machine shipped with Netscape installed, I don't see why the EU simply doesn't tell the PC makers to install an additional browser if it's such a BFD.

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