Thanks to CNet for this How-to. I posted this up here, as I believe it may prove useful to many of you out there experiencing the dreaded “I installed IE7 but now my computer doesn’t work properly” syndrome.

Question:

I downloaded Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, but would like to revert back to Internet Explorer 6. If I remove it, how can I get IE6 back? Or is there other ways to go about it? Thanks in advance for your advice.

Answer:

Before you do anything you should backup any valuable data, particularly the important data since the installation. Make sure you have obtained or download a copy of Internet Explorer 6 backed up as well.

It may be a good idea to create a before a major install/uninstall ‘Restore Point’ too.

- Go to Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore
- Make sure that ‘Create a restore point’ is selected, then press Next
- Type in a name, for instance “Before IE7 Removal.” Then click Create
- Click Close to complete

This is useful to restore if anything goes wrong with the system (unless you format the whole partition of course).

To uninstall Internet Explorer 7 to return to Internet Explorer 6 on Windows XP

1. Click “Start,” and then click “Control Panel.”
2. Click “Add or Remove Programs.”
3. Check “Show Updates” at the top of the dialog box.
4. Scroll down the list and highlight the version of Internet Explorer 7 that you are running, and then click “Change/Remove.” (If you are running Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview - March 20 or later - it is not necessary to check “Show Updates.”)

And that should be about it. If “Remove” appeared instead of “Change/Remove” or Internet Explorer 6 did not appear, then reinstall Internet Explorer 6. Restart and test IE6. Restore any necessary files from the backup.

Source [Cnet]