How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0

MORE INFORMATION

Before you uninstall Internet Explorer, quit all running programs. For information about problems that can occur if you do not quit all running programs before uninstalling Internet Explorer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: NOTE: When you upgrade a Windows 95-based computer that has Internet Explorer 4.0 or 4.01 installed to Microsoft Windows 98, the Ie4.txt file is not removed from your computer. The Ie4.txt file documents how to remove Internet Explorer, however, these instructions do not work because Internet Explorer is an integrated part of the operating system and cannot be removed from Windows 98.

To uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 in Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, follow these steps:

NOTE: You must have administrative privileges to install and uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 on Windows NT. This includes having administrative privileges the first time you start your computer after you install or uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0.

1. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and then click the Install/Uninstall tab.
2. In the list of installed programs, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, and then click Add/Remove.
3. In the Internet Explorer 4.0 Active Setup dialog box, click "Uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0 and all its components," and then click Advanced to specify any additional components you want to remove.
4. Click OK.
5. When Setup starts in Maintenance mode, click Remove All.
   
   If there are any files in the Recycle Bin, you receive the following message:

   Internet Explorer 4.0 has modified the format of the Recycle Bin.
   
   If you want to keep any of the items currently in the Recycle Bin, open the Recycle Bin and move the items to a different location.
   
   To permanently delete all items from the Recycle Bin and continue, click OK.

   Click OK after checking that there are no files in the Recycle Bin that you want to restore.

Known Issues with Uninstalling

• Office 97 files may be removed after you uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0. This problem only occurs if you install Internet Explorer 4.0 before you install Microsoft Office 97, and then uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0.
  
  For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  174431 OFF97: Problems Occur After Removing MS Internet Explorer 4.0

• When you uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0, some user settings are returned to operating system defaults. For additional information about this problem, see the following 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 4.0. 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 additional information about uninstalling Microsoft Plus!, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  165623 Cannot Remove Microsoft Plus! After Installing Internet Explorer

• When you uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0, any certificates obtained after you installed Internet Explorer 4.0 are removed. Certificates obtained prior to installing Internet Explorer 4.0 are not removed. For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  174920 Uninstalling Internet Explorer 4.0 Removes Certificates

• Some registry entries and files remain on your computer.
• All components may not be uninstalled. You can uninstall individual components by 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 4.0, install a program, and then uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0, some programs may not work properly. After uninstalling Internet Explorer 4.0, if a program does not work properly, reinstall the program.
• If you uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0, 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, try restarting your computer in Safe mode, and then use the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel to uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0. 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, and then choose Safe Mode from the Startup menu.
• Reinstall Internet Explorer 4.0, and then uninstall it.
• In Windows 95, restore a registry created before installing Internet Explorer 4.0, and then use the Ieremove tool to restore your shell files. For more information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  166313 Removing Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows 95 Using Ieremove.exe

• In Windows NT, use an ERD created before installing Internet Explorer 4.0 to replace necessary system files, and then run the Ieremove tool to restore previous shell components.
  
• Reinstall your operating system and previous browser in a "clean" folder, or restore from a complete system backup made before installing Internet Explorer 4.0.

For information about how to manually uninstall Internet Explorer 4.0, see one of the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: