Multiple Internet Explorer Installer/Folder Trick?

Question

Awhile back a co-worker had shown me how to run multiple versions Internet Explorer (6,7,8,9) versions on my PC (Windows 7) by swapping them with the currently installed IE version.

From what I could remember, the method consisted of something similar to:

1. Uninstall your current IE
2. Install IE6
3. Copy the IE6 folder and store somewhere else.
4. Repeat step 2 & 3 for IE 7,8,9 (you had to do it in order since IE doesn't allow you to install previous versions over newer versions)
5. After installing all the versions you needed, when you wanted to switch to a different IE version, swap the folders you copied with the currently installed folder.

The end result was that opening your Internet Explorer application would run the version that you swapped in.

Actually, I can't remember if Step #3 was for the folder you needed to store or maybe it was just the install file you needed to save and drag over when you wanted to switch.

But, I do remember being able to switch between IE versions by just replacing the current IE folder with whatever you saved from each installed version.

I tried searching everywhere and couldn't find a guide. Has anyone ever come across this trick or use this trick? If so, can you share how to reproduce it?

Note: Yes, I know running IE in VMs is the most solid solution but I was wondering about this one trick since I had it working before.

Answer 1

The process you describe of installing IE6 and updating step by step is impossible to achieve under a single OS. You'd have to start with WinXP... and then you'd be stuck when you got to IE9. To get as far as IE11, you'd need to upgrade to at least Win7. I don't want to know how long it would take you to run through all those upgrades, and even then I think you would be unlikely to have working copies of all IE versions at the end of it.

There is only one sensible answer to your question: Use a VM for each IE version. It's the only way. Especially given there isn't a Windows version that can run all IE versions. Old IEs won't run in Windows 7/8, and new IEs won't run in XP... there is some cross-over, but none of the OS options is capable of running all the IE versions you need to test -- even more so now that IE11 is coming out.

To make it easy for you, Microsoft have free VMs for all IE versions that you can download from http://modern.ie/

Another option you might want to try is http://BrowserStack.com/. This is a commerical service that runs the VMs for you remotely, with you driving it via your desktop browser. This is actually a really convenient and easy way of testing. I use it a lot. But it is a commercial product; you have to pay for it. It's not a huge sum, but I know it's more than a lot of people would be willing to pay. Back on http://modern.ie, MS are currently giving away free 3-month subs to BrowserStack, so you might want to give that a go. It is free, so nothing to lose there.

But ultimately, this option also boils down to being a VM based solution. So VMs are still the only good answer.

There is an old utility program called IETester, which can run most IE versions alongside each other... sort of. It used to be the only sensible solution, and I used to recommend it strongly, but times have changed. It is prone to crashing, and has been known to have rendering glitches that make it hard to recommend any more, even for testing.

It also doesn't give you the F12 dev tools available in a real version of IE, which means that debugging a problem with IETester once you've found it can be a nightmare.

The only other route is to use compatibility mode to test across versions, but... please don't do that -- it is a path to disaster, because IE's compat modes are actually not really all that compatible.

VMs are the answer, no matter how much you want to find an alternative.