Microsoft warns of IE8 lock-in with XP SP3
Microsoft Corp. yesterday warned users of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) that they won't be able to uninstall either the service pack or Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) under some circumstances.
The warning was reminiscent of one Microsoft made in May, when Windows XP SP3 had just been made available for downloading. At the time, the company told users they wouldn't be able to downgrade from IE7 to the older IE6 browser without uninstalling the service pack.
In a post to the IE blog today, Jane Maliouta, a Microsoft program manager, spelled out the newest situation, which affects users who downloaded and installed IE8 Beta 1 prior to updating Windows XP to SP3. If those users then upgrade IE8 to Beta 2, which Microsoft unveiled today, they will be stuck with both IE8 and Windows XP SP3.
A warning dialog will appear to alert users. "If you chose to continue, Windows XP SP3 and IE8 Beta2 will become permanent," Maliouta said. "You will still be able to upgrade to later IE8 builds as they become available, but you won't be able to uninstall them."
She recommended that users instead first uninstall Windows XP SP3, then uninstall IE8 Beta 1; they should then reinstall XP SP3 and follow that by installing IE8 Beta 2.
It's unclear how many users the warning is aimed at. Although users running Windows XP and IE8 Beta 1 could manually download and install Service Pack 3 from Microsoft's site, the company set its Windows Update service so that it didn't offer SP3 to systems with IE8 Beta 1.
Windows XP users who do have the first beta already on their machines will be offered the update to Beta 2 via Windows Update if they have Automatic Updates enabled, Maliouta continued. "A prompt in your Windows task bar will alert you when IE8 Beta 2 is ready for installation," she said.
Windows Vista users, however, will not see IE8 Beta 2 in Windows Update because update apparently cannot sniff out instances of IE8 Beta 1 and uninstall them automatically. Instead, users must remove Beta 1 manually, said Maliouta.
Several additional updates are required before installing IE8 Beta 2 on Vista, including one that, if omitted, blocks its installation entirely. That fix, a revised version of a Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) prerequisite that earlier this year sent machines into an endless series of reboots, is also necessary for IE8 Beta 2; users with SP1 will, of course, already have it in place, but those running pre-SP1 versions of Vista must still install it.
Microsoft also spelled out a long list of IE8 Beta 2 known issues and compatibility problems in release notes it posted on its support site Wednesday.
Ironically, of the nine applications called out as incompatible with the new IE8, the only two that will lock up and crash are Microsoft's.
Visual Studio.NET version 7, said Microsoft, will crash on a PC that also contains IE8 Beta 2. "No workaround is currently available," Microsoft said in the release notes.
The other Microsoft incompatible application is Windows Live Mail, formerly called Windows Live Desktop, and the desktop mail client meant to replace Outlook Express and Windows Mail. "If you install Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Windows Live Mail will crash when you create or reply to an e-mail message," Microsoft warned.
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This is terrible. I saw no
This is terrible. I saw no such warning and now with IE8 Beta 2 - I have no control over my browser. I try to disable or remove entirely the google search and it won't allow and I can no longer highlight and copy text or a single word say for my own search or to define - it (the browser) assumes control and wants to do what it wants. So are you saying that MS will not permit me to go back to IE7, for all its hassles I had it working the way I wanted and enjoyed a speed and productivity that is now cut by half. I just want a damn browser that doesn't assume what I want to search for and doesn't enforce or impose or impead on what I want to do. My right click on my mouse is now littered with stuff even after I disabled as much as it would allow me. STOP trying to predict what users want Microhard, stop it! Just provide a plain browser with no holes and strong encryption and let us be.Is there any solution at all? I also keep getting an "activation" notice saying I only have 49 days or whatever to activate XP - I am hesitant to permit it to do so since I long ago activated my XP and should not have to do so again because of a browser.
I want IE8 gone and if MS won't allow it can we get a class action law suit against them? Invasive and controlling. I am on a deadline and I can't get going on my work with this damn browser! HELP.
Advice please oh tech master...
I too did NOT receive any
I too did NOT receive any warning relating to having IE 8 and SP 3 installed together. MS needs to QUICKLY make a work-around possible. If this is what is going to happen, I will quit using IE completely and go all the way with Firefox and Chrome. There's no excuse for releasing a program (free or not) that is contradicted by another program from the same company..