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I want to install internet Explorer 6 in Windows Vista but I can't, is there a way to do so? I just want to test my website on it to fix some CSS bugs.

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you can use the following Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image:

IE6-XPSP3.exe contains a Windows XP SP3 with IE6 VHD file. Expires April 1, 2010

requires MS Virtual PC

Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Images are free virtual machines (time-limited & pre-activated), once expired, new VHDs become available.

Of course, if you have a spare Windows XP license, you can install XP with any virtualization software you prefer.

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+1 best answer, IMHO. I use these free Microsoft-provided VPC images for browser compatibility testing all the time. – Chris W. Rea Jan 22 '10 at 21:02
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up vote 1 down vote

Any solution will involve using additional software as well as the browser (via virtualization or similar), or a patched version of IE6 which probably isn't trusted.

You may be interested in Browsershots, which is a free service that will take screenshots for you of your site in different browsers including IE6. The service is limited to 59 free shots per site I believe per day. You can select only IE6 shots if you like, so you don't run out of shots as fast. If you don't have your site uploaded somewhere, you can use a free host such as 000webhost. You could also install WAMP on your computer to host it locally and forward your router's ports so port 80 points to your machine, that way you can access your site via your IP address.

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where does 'my' solution 'other 3rd party' software? VPC is all Microsoft. and thanks to virtualization, it doesn't really matter how untrustworthy IE6 may or may not be. :) – Molly7244 Jan 17 '10 at 0:12
Bad wording. Corrected. Thank you. – John T Jan 17 '10 at 0:13
there was a similar thread here recently. i read somewhere about a project to run IE6 natively in Vista, but rendering was 'broken' ... ah yes, ChrisFletcher posted the link here too. – Molly7244 Jan 17 '10 at 0:30
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up vote 1 down vote

Internet Explorer 6 cannot be run on Vista or Windows 7, as the developer of Multiple IE(an application written for XP for testing sites on various versions of IE) describes in this article: http://tredosoft.com/IE6_For_Vista_Part_1

Additionally the W3 Schools site's usage stats suggest that only around 13% of people use IE6 as of last month, are you sure the additional cost and effort is worth it? http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

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These "multiple IE" applications don't work exactly like the originals. I've had some problems with javascript implementations in a "multiple IE" scenario. The best solution is still using a virtual machine. And don't blindly trust in "generic" statistics, trust in your own collected data. I've worked in systems where google analytics showed me 75% of my audience using IE6. – GmonC Apr 3 '10 at 5:09
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Not that I know of, directly - IE6 on Vista certainly isn't officially possible.

I get around IE version issues by having a couple of VMWare virtual machines handy, each with different IE versions. Unfortunately this requires, in order to be "legal", having at least one XP license as well as your Vista licence.

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If you have a CPU that supports virtualization, Win7 Pro and higher have XP in a built-in virtual machine. No separate XP license needed. That XP VM mode runs IE6. I use this feature for work tasks as all of our PeopleSoft applications are only certified up through IE6.

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