Take the 2-minute tour ×

For some IE testings I need to install IE 7, I am running Windows7Pro on Parallels desktop on a Mac and when I download IE 7 it is saying it can't install it on this machine!

Is it because Win is using IE 8? So if I uninstall IE 8 then I can install IE 7 ?

share|improve this question

marked as duplicate by Ƭᴇcʜιᴇ007, Scott, Nifle, magicandre1981, Renan Mar 20 '13 at 19:33


3 Answers 3

Short answer:
Yes. You need to uninstall IE8 before you can install IE7.

Slightly longer answer:
( Copied from http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/forum/ie8-windows_other/rollback-to-ie7-from-ie8-in-win7/577ed49a-67fa-47c0-92fb-be93035c25a3 )

  • Exit all programs.
  • Left click on [Start] and then click on [Control Panel].
  • Left click Programs and Features.
  • In the Task pane, click Turn Windows features on or off.
  • In the list of windows features, click to clear the check box next to Internet Explorer 8.
  • In the window that opens, click Yes in response to the warning message. The system restarts after Internet Explorer 8 is uninstalled.

Now install IE 7.

Just remember that you are now using an old, outdated browser. Only use it to test things, do not browse the Internet with it. In fact. IE. is that tightly integrated that I recommend disconnecting the test machine from the network.

share|improve this answer
Windows 7 shipped with IE8, so Idk if they'll even let you uninstall it, and even if they do, you're removing MAJOR parts of the OS and installing parts for a different OS, so YMMV. –  MarcusJ Mar 20 '13 at 16:08
True. However they do let you uninstall it (see the link to the Microsoft website I posted ). Thus I answered the question asked by the OP. I do agree however that this is not a good thing (tm) to do to your OS. –  Hennes Mar 20 '13 at 16:10
Yes it is ONLY for testing some local website written by myself, that has a lot of Graph and Charts on it, I wanted to see how do they work with IE and IE 7,8,9 .... –  user112551 Mar 20 '13 at 16:11
Deinstalling IE does not always remove all parts. If you upgrade to IE 9, test, then downgrade to IE7 you might get different results than if you tested the other way around. If possible use a VM. (Or even one VM per IE version). Downside to using a VM is that microsoft requires you to use a non-OEM windows license per VM. That should not be a problem for a once off test (with 30 day trail, though I am not sure how legal that is). But if you want to do this in a professional sustained way you would need to buy several licences per VM to ttest with. –  Hennes Mar 20 '13 at 16:15
Ok @Hennes, I Uninstalled IE 8 , downloaded IE 7 ( yes first installed Chrome to download it) and ran it, but still it is saying IE7 is not supported on this operating system. And doesn't let me install it. –  user112551 Mar 20 '13 at 17:34

Why don't you just use a website, that'll show you screenshots of your site rendered, across all kinds of browsers and OSes? Adobe Browserlab is one example, although there are other sites and apps as well.

share|improve this answer

Are the F12 developer tools in IE9/10 not doing what you want? I've had great success in just switching to the different modes to display my website in older formats. IE10 supports compatibility all the way back to IE7, and I typically just stay locked on IE7 mode while developing.

You say you are on IE8, but Windows 7 has IE9. Why not just use that instead?

share|improve this answer
my Boss! said install a Real IE 7 :( –  user112551 Mar 20 '13 at 17:45
Real IE 7 can behave diffrently than emulated IE7. This is rarely the case but emulation is not 100%. Still, I think it often comes close enough. –  Hennes Mar 20 '13 at 18:32
