Why Won't Internet Explorer 9 Install - Troubleshooting IE9
Why Won’t Internet Explorer 9 Install - Common Reason
Why won’t Internet Explorer 9 install on Windows 7? If you are using Windows 7 and IE9 won’t install, the first thing to check is whether you have Internet Explorer 8. Windows 7 has Internet Explorer 8 as an essential component. If you uninstall it, you will never be able to install Internet Explorer 9. This is because the version 9 of Internet Explorer comes as an update. When you install Internet Explorer 9, it replaces Internet Explorer 8. Most people remove Internet Explorer 8 before attempting the Internet Explorer 9 install. However, as IE9 is offered as an upgrade to your current copy of IE, Internet Explorer 9 won’t install if there is no Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7.
This is one of the most common reasons for the question - why won’t Internet Explorer 9 install - on Windows 7.
To check if Internet Explorer 8 is present on Windows 7, open Programs and Features from Control Panel. Click Windows Components. If the check box against Internet Explorer is not ticked, IE is not present on that computer. Click to tick the checkbox and click on OK. Your computer will install Internet Explorer 8 and will reboot. You can then go ahead and install IE9 without any problems.
Note: Before migrating to IE9 from IE8, back up your Favorites. Though the upgrade moves Favorites to IE9, sometimes it fails. A backup would be useful in case Favorites are not moved to IE9 automatically.
Why Won’t Internet Explorer 9 Install - Other Reasons
Among other reasons why Internet Explorer 9 won’t install on your computer are:
1 Your computer does not meet the prerequisites for installing IE9
2 Installation of updates or a reboot is pending
3 Your antivirus software or firewall is blocking the installation
4 Your copy of IE9 installation package is corrupt
To know precisely why Internet Explorer 9 won’t install on your computer, you can turn off the antivirus and firewall temporarily and again try to install IE9. If it is installed without any problem, the antivirus or firewall was creating problem. Normally, this also applies to Internet Explorer 8. When you install IE8 or IE9, the installation package creates several temporary files. Your antivirus may treat these temporary files as malware and restricts access to them. This may result in no installation even though the installation might seem successful. Sometimes, the IE9 may be installed but would not work in such cases. I have always recommended users to turn off their antivirus and firewall while installing Internet Explorer, version 8 and 9.
If you have turned off the antivirus and still the Internet Explorer 9 won’t install, chances may be that your computer is not ready for the browser. Check the prerequisites for installing IE9. You cannot install Internet Explorer 9 on Windows XP. Only the following operating systems accept it:
1 Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (x86 and x64)
2 Windows 7 (x86 and x64)
3 Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (x86 and x64)
4 Windows Server 2008 R2 x64
If your computer meets the prerequisites and still Internet Explorer 9 won’t install, check to see if there are any updates or a reboot pending. If yes, complete the updates’ installation and reboot the computer before installing IE9.
If you still could not get Internet Explorer 9 to install on your computer, chances are that your installation package is corrupt. Download a fresh installation package and run the installer. I recommend downloading IE9 from Microsoft website. The linked website allows you to select your operating system and whether it is x86 or x64 before you click on Download.
This answers why won’t Internet Explorer 9 install on your computer. If you still have doubts/questions, feel free to use the comment boxes.
References
Image by author, from IE9
References from:
- Author’s own experience
- Microsoft Knowledgebase, Article ID: 2409098
This post is part of the series: Troubleshoot Internet Explorer 9
This series of articles on IE9 assist you troubleshoot Internet Explorer 9. It also tells you how to move favorites in IE9. It covers topics such as how to troubleshoot IE9, why won’t IE9 install, and how to get back missing tool bar in Internet Explorer 9.
