Running IE 5 and 6

[Sarah Atkinson]

Can I run IE 5,6 and 7 on one machine so that I can test my designs on different browsers? If so where can I still download the older versions.

Sarah

[Achernar]

Here is a set of articles that explain how to do it:
[quirksmode.org...]
[tredosoft.com...]
[positioniseverything.net...]

Browser archive here:
[browsers.evolt.org...]

[bill]

The virtual machine solution is much better. Microsoft offers one: IE6 and IE7 on one computer - Microsoft releases a solution [webmasterworld.com]
You could do similar things with VMware or your preferred virtual PC software.

[Achernar]

Why would you want to use virtual machines for simple things like this (running programs concurrently)?

[tedster]

Because IE is not a simple program -- it's enmeshed in the operating system.

[Sarah Atkinson]

maybe it would simply be easier to have 2 computers

[bill]

If you have separate PCs available that's a great option. If not the Virtual PC route is an alternative. It's free from Microsoft [microsoft.com].

[Achernar]

Because IE is not a simple program -- it's enmeshed in the operating system.

When you download the stand-alone versions of IE, all necessary files are located in a specific directory (one per version). The old IE will not use the files from the default installation, and the installed version won't use old files/libs.
They can be run side by side without problem, just like you run other application concurrently. Isn't it the point of a multi-tasking environment to run multiple program at once? ;)

[mattur]

Achernar: stand-alone IE6 is not the same as IE6 integrated into Windows - there is some strange behaviour eg with javascript.

The best way to test IE6 on an IE7 system is to use Virtual PC, as noted above.