Upgrading to Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2

I am here to tell you how to upgrade to IE8 Beta 2. IE8 Beta 2 system requirements are the same as IE8 Beta 1 and it’s currently available in English, Chinese Simplified, German and Japanese. Stay tuned for more localized IE8 Beta 2 versions to be available shortly.

Windows XP or Windows Server 2003

Getting Ready

Before you start IE8 Beta 2 installation, there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

[*]Uninstalling IE8 Beta 1

If you have Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 installed, the IE8 installer will automatically uninstall any earlier versions and then install the latest version of IE8 Beta2 for you. You will be prompted to reboot twice. The first reboot is to remove IE8 Beta 1 from your machine and the second one to complete the IE8 Beta 2 installation. When you launch Internet Explorer, you can open the Help->About Internet Explorer dialog to see the version number 8.0.6001.18241.

[*]Getting required updates for IE8 Beta 2

There is 1 update required when running IE8 Beta 2 on multi-core XPSP2 x86 computers:

Knowledge Base Article 932823 or Knowledge Base Article 946501 - This update resolves a problem in which an access violation occurs when an application exists on a Windows XP SP2-based multi-core computer. It will be installed automatically if you select “Install the latest updates†option in Setup Wizard.

Windows XP Service Pack 3(SP3) users only

The only time we encourage you to manually uninstall Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 prior to upgrading to IE8 Beta 2 for Windows XP users is if you happened to install Windows XP SP3 after installing IE8 Beta 1.

To see if you need to manually uninstall IE8 Beta 1, check these things:

[*]Is your computer running Windows XP SP3?

Click on the Start Menu and then right click on My Computer and then click Properties

On the General Tab under System it’ll say Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3

[*]Is the remove option for IE8 Beta1 grayed out?

From the Start menu, open Control Panel and click Add or Remove Programs

Select Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 and you are unable to click on the Remove button.

If you answered yes to both questions, you will be able to install Internet Explorer 8 Beta2, but once installed, you will not be able to uninstall either IE8 or Windows XP SP3 later. The Setup Wizard will warn you prior to installation:

If you chose to continue, Windows XP SP3 and IE8 Beta2 will become permanent. You will still be able to upgrade to later IE8 builds as they become available, but you won’t be able to uninstall them.

To avoid getting into this situation, we strongly encourage you to follow these steps before installing Internet Explorer Beta 2:

1. Uninstall Windows XP SP3
2. Uninstall IE8 Beta1
3. Re- install Windows XP SP3
4. Install IE8 Beta2

See my earlier blog post on Internet Explorer and Windows XP SP3 for more information.

Windows Update

Internet Explorer Beta 2 will be offered to those Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems that have IE8 Beta 1 installed and have Automatic Updates turned on. A prompt in your Windows task bar will alert you when IE8 Beta 2 is ready for installation. The language version of IE8 Beta 2 offered is based on the your Windows Operating System Language version. For example, if your computer is running a Chinese Simplified or German version of Windows, you will be offered IE8 Beta 2 in Chinese Simplified or German respectively. For any other Windows languages, Internet Explorer 8 will be offered to you in English. Again, this only applies to those systems that have IE8 Beta 1 installed.

Localized Versions

When installing localized versions of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 on XP or Windows Server 2003 please remember that the base language of the operating system must match the IE8 language you are trying to install otherwise the Setup Wizard will display an error.

More information about installing localized versions of IE8 Beta 2 can be found in the release notes.

Uninstalling IE8 Beta 2

1. From the Start menu, open Control Panel and click Add or Remove Programs
2. Click Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 and then click Remove.
3. Your computer will be reverted to Internet Explorer 6 + previous IE6 security updates or Internet Explorer 7 + previous IE7 security updates depending on what you had before the upgrade.
4. You can confirm that by clicking Help, then About Internet Explorer next time you launch Internet Explorer.
5. Be sure to check for any new security updates.

Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008

Getting ready

Before you start installing Internet Explorer 8 beta2, there are a couple of things you need to do to prepare your computer:

[*]Uninstall Internet Explorer 8 Beta1

You need to manually uninstall earlier builds of IE8 before installing IE8 Beta 2.

[*]Open Control Panel and click Programs.[*]Click Programs and Features, and click View installed updates.[*]Wait for the full list to be populated and then select Windows Internet Explorer 8.[*]Click Uninstall this update.

After uninstall is complete, restart the computer. Your computer will be reverted to Internet Explorer 7 + previous IE7 security updates.

[*]Getting required updates for IE8 Beta 2

Knowledge Base Article 937287 - This update helps improve reliability and performance when you install or remove Internet Explorer 8 and future individual updates from Microsoft. Without this update, IE8 setup will be blocked: “Setup cannot continue because one or more updates required to install Windows Internet Explorer 8 are not present.â€

Knowledge Base Article 943302 – This update addresses known application compatibility issues in Windows Vista. It will be installed automatically if you select “Install the latest updates†option in the Setup Wizard.

Knowledge Base Article 957055 – This update addresses a known compatibility issue between RealNetworks RealPlayer 11 and Window Vista Service Pack 1. It will be installed automatically if you select “Install the latest updates†option in the Setup Wizard.

You are now ready to install IE8 Beta 2. After IE8 Beta 2installation is complete, the final screen of the Install Wizard indicates that Internet Explorer installation completed successfully.

After you restart your computer and launch Internet Explorer, you can open the Help->About Internet Explorer dialog to see the version number 8.0.6001.18241.

Localized versions

In Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, we significantly improved the installation experience for localized versions of Internet Explorer 8 beta 2. Unlike Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, the base language of Windows does not need to match the Internet Explorer 8 language version in order for a successful install. When your user active language matches the Internet Explorer 8 language you installed, then IE8 will appear in the desired language. You will still be able to use IE8 in all other scenarios, but it will appear in English as a fall back version.

More information about installing localized versions of IE8 Beta2 can be found in the release notes.

Uninstalling IE8 Beta 2

1. From the Start menu, open Control Panel and click Programs
2. Click Programs and Features and click View Installed Updates (located in the left side menu
3. Select Windows Internet Explorer 8 and Uninstall
4. Your machine will be reverted to IE7 + previous IE7 security updates
5. You can confirm that by clicking Help, then clicking About Internet Explorer next time you launch Internet Explorer.
6. Be sure to check for any new security updates.

What do I do when I run into issues installing IE8?

Check out the knowledge base article on Troubleshooting IE8 installation. If after trying the recommended workarounds you still can’t install IE8, go to the IE Beta Newsgroup to see if there are any known solutions available. Microsoft MVPs and IE Team members are monitoring this newsgroup and they will help address your issues.

Thank you,

Jane Maliouta

Program Manager

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