here's how to run IE7 as a standalone

don't install IE7, run it in parallel with IE6 etc

[amznVibe]

Instead of installing IE7 and risk it overwriting some of your DLL's try this instead and run it in parallel with IE6 + IE5.5 etc.

1. download IE7 (direct link to current beta [download.microsoft.com])

2. right click and extract to a folder of your desire (use winrar or zip, etc.)

3. delete or rename the file named "shlwapi.dll"

4. create an empty dummy file called "IEXPLORE.exe.local"

and just run iexplore.exe whenever you want to run IE7 - leave IE 6 as your default

I'm sharing this in the hope that someone can come up with a way to make it work on our Win2k production machines... currently there is some kind of conflict with MSVCRT.DLL

Here's a great library post about getting previous IE versions working together:
[webmasterworld.com...]

[Hester]

I am experiencing difficulties with this method. Perhaps it would be better to do a standalone IE6? Anyway, trying the Home button or anything else on that toolbar area spits out an error message:

UpdaterUI.exe - Entry Point Not Found
"The procedure entry point InternetGetSecurityInfoByUrlW could not be located in the dynamic link library WININET.dll."

When IE7 starts up, it offers various options. Trying to change the language via the drop down menu results in a blocked pop-up! From then on, you can't use the menu. Nor any other links, or the Favorites button, until you leave that page.

OK, so I go to my home page, a local HTML file and try a link to another local file. It said it couldn't load it! I don't get that one.

So I hit the web, where I find scrolling is watery, especially on zoomed pages. Zooming also fails to enlarge the background images, making a mess of my work site! Input buttons are also larger for some reason.

Hovering over some text while zoomed also flickered between two sizes.

So I tried the New Tab button, only to see an error come up that there was no page to display! Er... yes, because I've not loaded one yet.

I quite like the Quick Tabs screen, only the scrollbar there doesn't use XP's generic styling, but the old Windows look. (Horrid to me.)

I also see problems on web pages that appear identical in all other main Windows browsers. Luckily my personal site looks OK!

If this is the best Microsoft can come up with (and yes I know it's still a beta) I'd be seriously worried. Firefox runs rings around this. There's no way people will convert back if IE7 is as poor as this.

I will await further releases to see if it improves.

[Hester]

The option to delete stored data also gives an error.

I'm not sure this version is 100% standalone either! I am now finding that the Home button in IE6 opens a new tab in Opera! How did that happen?

[Demaestro]

I am now finding that the Home button in IE6 opens a new tab in Opera! How did that happen?

So they do have improved security! Haha

[DrDoc]

I'm getting errors too, but prior to IE7 even opening.
It crashes on me.

Error in tgt_bho.dll

[Xuefer]

I'm not sure this version is 100% standalone either! I am now finding that the Home button in IE6 opens a new tab in Opera! How did that happen?

this was the problem of ie7b2, the one before preview and allow u start it standalone.
i had the same problem untill someone give me thread url that "solve" this problem, simply remove a CLSID of activex proxy...dll... well i've forgotten

[Hester]

It's like IE7 is a virus, messing up your system.

Noticed some other odd things as well, like if you scroll with a mousewheel, it carries on when you stop! Only very slowly, so it looks like the page is being automatically moved for you. Quite scary, and not the behaviour I would expect from a usable browser.

There are other issues as well, which I will post to my personal site later.

[tedster]

I'm in awe of this adventurous thread -- you are all quite the explorers, much more so than I. I just can't risk problems with any of my machines.

So I thought I'd post a warning for anyone who is reading and has only moderate understanding of Windows XP -- this experiment is NOT for the faint of heart. And all IE7 beta downloads and Win XP systems are apparently not created equal, so your mileage definitely may vary compared to anyone else's report you read.

There are folks around the web who are publishing various tweaks that you can try -- things that may or may not get your installation to behave. But this is just getting a bit too daring for me. If you are interested, I would suggest playing with a computer you can afford to cripple. IE7 beta is apparently not intended to be a standalone application right now.

[Hester]

Well put tedster. That's why I put off installing it until after a major project was completed!

[tedster]

Thanks to amznVibe for pointing out that there's a blog with a script called "IE7 Standalone Script" that has apparently worked for some people -- it offers a kind of one stop shopping.

For all the reasons I mentioned above and more, you're on your own using my hint to locate and experiment with this. We will not be responsible for any troubles that turn up. If you decide to play along at home, please take every reasonable precaution.

[Hester]

I just noticed that when I paste a URL into IE and try to open it, the page appears in Opera instead. (Just like when I click Home in IE and it jumps to Opera.) This makes it impossible to check pasted URLs in IE!

Does anyone have any idea how to reset this behaviour? Would I be better off installing IE7 over IE6, then using a standalone version of IE6 for testing?