IE7 Files remaining after IE8 Install

[HenriK]

On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.



Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

IE8's proper operation?



Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

 

[Leonard Grey]

"Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased..."

NO!



"...or are they integral to IE8's proper operation?"

YES!

---

Leonard Grey

Errare humanum est



HenriK wrote:

> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>

> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

> IE8's proper operation?

>

> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

First Law of Computers: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."



HenriK wrote:

> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>

> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

> IE8's proper operation?

>

> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

 

[Rob]

Leonard Grey wrote:

> "Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased..."

> NO!

>

> "...or are they integral to IE8's proper operation?"

> YES!

> ---

> Leonard Grey



How is this supposed to be working?



On a Windows XP install with only IE6 (the default), one can install

IE8 immediately and there will be only IE8 files.



Or, one can first install IE7 and then IE8, in which case there are many

IE7 files left.



You claim that these are essential for IE8 operation. But how does that

explain that an immediate install of IE8 works fine and does not install

those files?



I have installed both IE7 and IE8 with the /NOBACKUP switch, indicating

that there is no intention to go back. But still it has left many old

files and even the entire list of hotfixes ever applied to IE7 in the

registry.



Interesting, because if you install e.g. SP3 on an SP2 system with a lot

of hotfixes, those fixes that are in SP3 are then removed from the list

of hotfixes in the registry.

This does not appear to happen for the IE update! Why?

 

[Leonard Grey]

Why are you getting all hot and bothered over something that is of no

consequence at all?



Just because you don't understand something is not a reason to delete

it. I hope you don't look after your car the same way:



"What's this stupid wire for, anyway? I don't think I need it. I'll just

rip it out."

---

Leonard Grey

Errare humanum est



Rob wrote:

> Leonard Grey wrote:

>> "Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased..."

>> NO!

>>

>> "...or are they integral to IE8's proper operation?"

>> YES!

>> ---

>> Leonard Grey

>

> How is this supposed to be working?

>

> On a Windows XP install with only IE6 (the default), one can install

> IE8 immediately and there will be only IE8 files.

>

> Or, one can first install IE7 and then IE8, in which case there are many

> IE7 files left.

>

> You claim that these are essential for IE8 operation. But how does that

> explain that an immediate install of IE8 works fine and does not install

> those files?

>

> I have installed both IE7 and IE8 with the /NOBACKUP switch, indicating

> that there is no intention to go back. But still it has left many old

> files and even the entire list of hotfixes ever applied to IE7 in the

> registry.

>

> Interesting, because if you install e.g. SP3 on an SP2 system with a lot

> of hotfixes, those fixes that are in SP3 are then removed from the list

> of hotfixes in the registry.

> This does not appear to happen for the IE update! Why?

 

[Jim]

I suppose that you could. However, if you do delete these folders, IE will

no longer revert to IE7 if you remove IE8.

When I first noticed the old IE7 folders, the first thought that came to me

was "so that is why it is so easy to revert the previous version".

Jim

"HenriK" wrote in message

news:OArCc1SqKHA.4492@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>

> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

> IE8's proper operation?

>

> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

 

[Rob]

Leonard Grey wrote:

> Why are you getting all hot and bothered over something that is of no

> consequence at all?



I am not hot and bothered, I am interested in how things work and

I assumed you knew something about it because you made such definite

statements about it. Apparently not.



>

> Just because you don't understand something is not a reason to delete

> it. I hope you don't look after your car the same way:

>

> "What's this stupid wire for, anyway? I don't think I need it. I'll just

> rip it out."

> ---

> Leonard Grey

> Errare humanum est

>

> Rob wrote:

>> Leonard Grey wrote:

>>> "Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased..."

>>> NO!

>>>

>>> "...or are they integral to IE8's proper operation?"

>>> YES!

>>> ---

>>> Leonard Grey

>>

>> How is this supposed to be working?

>>

>> On a Windows XP install with only IE6 (the default), one can install

>> IE8 immediately and there will be only IE8 files.

>>

>> Or, one can first install IE7 and then IE8, in which case there are many

>> IE7 files left.

>>

>> You claim that these are essential for IE8 operation. But how does that

>> explain that an immediate install of IE8 works fine and does not install

>> those files?

>>

>> I have installed both IE7 and IE8 with the /NOBACKUP switch, indicating

>> that there is no intention to go back. But still it has left many old

>> files and even the entire list of hotfixes ever applied to IE7 in the

>> registry.

>>

>> Interesting, because if you install e.g. SP3 on an SP2 system with a lot

>> of hotfixes, those fixes that are in SP3 are then removed from the list

>> of hotfixes in the registry.

>> This does not appear to happen for the IE update! Why?

 

[Kyler_IE8_Team]

Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete them, it

will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking up?



Kyler

IE8 Outreach Team



"HenriK" wrote:



> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>

> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

> IE8's proper operation?

>

> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

> .

>

 

[HenriK]

Actually, when I saw the IE7.xxxx files after doing the backup, I just

mentally noted that there seemed to be an awfully large number of these

IE7.xxxx files and did not actually total up the amount of disk space

involved. At the same time, I am also mindful of the comment, "If it

ain't broke, don't fix it." What was originally in the back of my mind

was getting rid of stuff that actually isn't needed because HD space is

finite and I wish that guidance existed for all Microsoft products on

what can and can not be gotten rid of.



Just to clarify, I had originally upgraded my machine from the default

IE6 to IE7 sometime back.



Many thanks to all for an interesting bit of education.



Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete them, it

> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking up?

>

> Kyler

> IE8 Outreach Team

>

> "HenriK" wrote:

>

>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>

>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>> IE8's proper operation?

>>

>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>> .

>>

 

[HenriK]

To add to my confusion, I have just looked at my backup logs more

carefully and find that in addition to the large number of ie7.xxxx

files I originally noted in my c:\windows\ie7\xxxx sub-directory

(folder), I also see a substantial number of ie5.xxxx files in various

sub-directories (folders) of c:\documents and settings\xxxx. Since the

PC in question has never had an OS other than XP-Pro installed on it, my

guess is that these ie5.xxxx files have to refer to something other than

Internet Explorer 5, the default in Windows 2000-Pro. Can anyone explain?



Perhaps I should add that this kind of snooping around one's file

listings is a byproduct of being housebound because of today's massive

mid-Atlantic blizzard. My yard has 12" of new snow on top of 28" of

last week's snow and drifts of 60" - 72". Nobody is going anywhere for

a couple of days.





Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete them, it

> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking up?

>

> Kyler

> IE8 Outreach Team

>

> "HenriK" wrote:

>

>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>

>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>> IE8's proper operation?

>>

>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>> .

>>

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Now tell him what he should do if he deleted the files and later wanted or

needed to uninstall IE8.



While you're at it, find out if he's installed WinXP SP3 yet, too.





Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete them,

> it

> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking up?

>

> Kyler

> IE8 Outreach Team

>

> "HenriK" wrote:

>

>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>

>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>> IE8's proper operation?

>>

>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>> .

 

[HenriK]

In my case, I am running XP-Pro, SP3.



It sounds like there is more to the utility of these files that wasn't

covered in Kyler's response although, in my case, I can't imagine why I

would want to go back to IE7.



I am curious, though, what SP3 has to do with the matter and, of most

interest, how removing the IE7 files would affect deinstalling IE8.





PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

> Now tell him what he should do if he deleted the files and later wanted

> or needed to uninstall IE8.

>

> While you're at it, find out if he's installed WinXP SP3 yet, too.

>

>

> Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

>> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete

>> them, it

>> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking

>> up?

>>

>> Kyler

>> IE8 Outreach Team

>>

>> "HenriK" wrote:

>>

>>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

>>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

>>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>>

>>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>>> IE8's proper operation?

>>>

>>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>>> .

>

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

A1. See http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx



A2. You wouldn't be able to uninstall IE8.





HenriK wrote:

> In my case, I am running XP-Pro, SP3.

>

> It sounds like there is more to the utility of these files that wasn't

> covered in Kyler's response although, in my case, I can't imagine why I

> would want to go back to IE7.

>

> I am curious, though, what SP3 has to do with the matter and, of most

> interest, how removing the IE7 files would affect deinstalling IE8.

>

>

> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

>> Now tell him what he should do if he deleted the files and later wanted

>> or needed to uninstall IE8.

>>

>> While you're at it, find out if he's installed WinXP SP3 yet, too.

>>

>>

>> Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

>>> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete

>>> them, it

>>> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking

>>> up?

>>>

>>> Kyler

>>> IE8 Outreach Team

>>>

>>> "HenriK" wrote:

>>>

>>>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

>>>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

>>>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>>>

>>>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>>>> IE8's proper operation?

>>>>

>>>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>>>> .

 

[Dan]

You don't have any IE5 files if your OS started as Windows XP - you will

have folders with IE5 in the name though. These are just IE's temporary

internet files folders - if you need to clear them out use the delete files

option from within the IE settings. The IE5 in the name is just a hangover

from the earlier IE version so that upgrades didn't have to worry about

relocated TIF, they just continued to use the same folders as IE5 did and

this naming scheme carried through the later versions too.



Dan





"HenriK" wrote in message

news:OMb6x$pqKHA.1796@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> To add to my confusion, I have just looked at my backup logs more

> carefully and find that in addition to the large number of ie7.xxxx files

> I originally noted in my c:\windows\ie7\xxxx sub-directory (folder), I

> also see a substantial number of ie5.xxxx files in various sub-directories

> (folders) of c:\documents and settings\xxxx. Since the PC in question

> has never had an OS other than XP-Pro installed on it, my guess is that

> these ie5.xxxx files have to refer to something other than Internet

> Explorer 5, the default in Windows 2000-Pro. Can anyone explain?

>

> Perhaps I should add that this kind of snooping around one's file listings

> is a byproduct of being housebound because of today's massive mid-Atlantic

> blizzard. My yard has 12" of new snow on top of 28" of last week's snow

> and drifts of 60" - 72". Nobody is going anywhere for a couple of days.

>

>

> Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

>> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete them,

>> it will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking

>> up?

>>

>> Kyler

>> IE8 Outreach Team

>>

>> "HenriK" wrote:

>>

>>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded from

>>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\ partition

>>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>>

>>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>>> IE8's proper operation?

>>>

>>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>>> .

>>>

 

[HenriK]

Thank you. I have learned something.





PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

> A1. See http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx

>

> A2. You wouldn't be able to uninstall IE8.

>

>

> HenriK wrote:

>> In my case, I am running XP-Pro, SP3.

>>

>> It sounds like there is more to the utility of these files that wasn't

>> covered in Kyler's response although, in my case, I can't imagine why I

>> would want to go back to IE7.

>>

>> I am curious, though, what SP3 has to do with the matter and, of most

>> interest, how removing the IE7 files would affect deinstalling IE8.

>>

>>

>> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

>>> Now tell him what he should do if he deleted the files and later wanted

>>> or needed to uninstall IE8.

>>>

>>> While you're at it, find out if he's installed WinXP SP3 yet, too.

>>>

>>>

>>> Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

>>>> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete

>>>> them, it

>>>> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking

>>>> up?

>>>>

>>>> Kyler

>>>> IE8 Outreach Team

>>>>

>>>> "HenriK" wrote:

>>>>

>>>>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded

>>>>> from

>>>>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\

>>>>> partition

>>>>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>>>>

>>>>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral to

>>>>> IE8's proper operation?

>>>>>

>>>>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>>>>> .

>

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

You're welcome. That's why they pay us the big bucks!



NOT!





HenriK wrote:

> Thank you. I have learned something.

>

>

> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

>> A1. See http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx

>>

>> A2. You wouldn't be able to uninstall IE8.

>>

>>

>> HenriK wrote:

>>> In my case, I am running XP-Pro, SP3.

>>>

>>> It sounds like there is more to the utility of these files that wasn't

>>> covered in Kyler's response although, in my case, I can't imagine why I

>>> would want to go back to IE7.

>>>

>>> I am curious, though, what SP3 has to do with the matter and, of most

>>> interest, how removing the IE7 files would affect deinstalling IE8.

>>>

>>>

>>> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:

>>>> Now tell him what he should do if he deleted the files and later wanted

>>>> or needed to uninstall IE8.

>>>>

>>>> While you're at it, find out if he's installed WinXP SP3 yet, too.

>>>>

>>>>

>>>> Kyler_IE8_Team wrote:

>>>>> Jim is correct, they are not required to run IE8, and if you delete

>>>>> them, it

>>>>> will not affect IE8 performance. How much space are these files taking

>>>>> up?

>>>>>

>>>>> Kyler

>>>>> IE8 Outreach Team

>>>>>

>>>>> "HenriK" wrote:

>>>>>

>>>>>> On a Dell Precision 650 running 32 bit XP-Pro, I recently upgraded

>>>>>> from

>>>>>> IE7 to IE8. After a recent backup session, I see that my C:\

>>>>>> partition

>>>>>> still contains a large number of files labeled IE7.xxxx.

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Can these IE7 labeled files be manually erased or are they integral

>>>>>> to

>>>>>> IE8's proper operation?

>>>>>>

>>>>>> Many thanks for any insight to what I have seen.

>>>>>> .