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I had installed and working Internet Explorer 8 on my PC. I have Windows 7. Then some days ago I have installed some updates on Windows and Explorer was automatically updated to version 9.

But i am a webdesigner and need to see how websites look exactly in the version 8. So I have tried to reinstall it but in the download page there are different download options depending on the windows version, and there is no possibility to download it for Windows 7.

If I try to download some other subversion of Explorer 8 and install it anyway, but I get this error message:

Internet Explorer 8 is not supported on this operating system.

So the question is how can I install Explorer 8 on Windows 7? It is possible?

If is not possible there are some other ways to see how a website look in Explorer 8 without having it installed?

4 Answers 4

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I also recommend using a browser testing suite or service instead of using IE8 as the browser on your system, same as @crashcarr. Also, IE's Developer Tools (F12) offers a good emulation of the previous versions, at least for design-build work. For final debug, I recommend using Windows XP Mode and/or a browser test suite.

To uninstall IE9 and restore the previous version, follow these instructions:

  1. Click the Start button Picture of the Start button, type Programs and Features in the search box, and then click View installed updates in the left pane. Under Uninstall an update, scroll down to the Microsoft Windows section.
  2. Right-click Windows Internet Explorer 9, click Uninstall, and then, when prompted, click Yes.
  3. Click one of the following:
  4. Restart now (to finish the process of uninstalling Internet Explorer 9 and restore the previous version of Internet Explorer).

I also have to add OldApps.com has downloads for old versions of browsers, and I've used PortableApps.com's browsers to have a static browser on your system. Just go to their SourceForge page to download old versions of their apps. Just remember to turn off auto update on every browser you use from them, as they will update quickly to the latest version in most cases.

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    Thank you @matcarlson. Actually did not knew about the emulator of Internet Explorer 9! It is quite good and actually resolved all my problems about not having Explorer 8. Nov 26, 2013 at 16:19
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You can download older versions of IE (including IE8 on Win7) on Virtual Machines from Microsoft's Modern.ie website.

The site also facilitates trial usage of BrowserStack, a service that lets you instantly view your site across browsers, across platforms, for 3 months.

Browsershots is a free, online service for browser compatibility testing. It makes screenshots of your web design in different operating systems and browsers.

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This is a good tool for testing multiple versions of IE if needed. That way you can keep a better version for browsing and other versions for testing. http://utilu.com/IECollection/ It contains the ability to install a variety of versions of IE all the way back to IE 1.0.

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It is a simple process to degrade from updated IE-9 to IE-8 in windows 7 PC.

Steps 1:Click start menu --> Control panel --> Programs

Step 2: Click "View installed updates"

Step 3: In updated softwares list, find "Internet explorer 9"

step 4: Click "Uninstall"

Step 5: Once uninstall completed. Restart your PC. It will take few minutes to update the softwares.

Now check your internet explorer browser become IE-8.

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