To run Internet Explorer 7, you need Windows XP SP2.

Step 1

 Download Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 (11.9 MB).

Step 2

Use WinRar (you can download a free trial) to extract the files from the setup to a folder - C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer 7.

If you don't want to use WinRar, open the command prompt, use cd to go to the folder where the exe is located and type "IE7BETA2-WindowsXP-x86-enu.exe -e" (or the appropriate setup name). You'll see a dialog that lists the files extracted. You have to remember the folder where the files are extracted, go there and copy it to C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer 7. Don't press OK on the message box that will appear until you have copied the folder, otherwise the folder will be deleted.

Step 3

Create a new file named ie7.bat in that folder, and copy the code below (courtesy of Jon Galloway):

@ECHO OFFTITLE IE7 Launcher 1.4

ECHO IE7 STANDALONE LAUNCHER 1.4ECHO Updated for IE7 Beta 2 PreviewECHO.ECHO Do not close this window or it will not clean up after itself properly.ECHO You can pass a URL into this batch file, like this:ECHO ie7.bat www.microsoft.comECHO.ECHO More info here: http://weblogs.asp.net/jgalloway/archive/2005/12/28/434132.aspxECHO.ECHO When you close IE7, this will remove the registry key and shut itself down.ECHO.ECHO Setting up IE7 for standalone mode...PUSHD %~dp0

ECHO Removing IE7 registry key and set the version vector to "7.0000".> %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO REGEDIT4>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO.>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{C90250F3-4D7D-4991-9B69-A5C5BC1C2AE6}]>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO [-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Interface\{000214E5-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}]>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector]>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO "IE"="7.0000">>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO.:: Merge the REG file to delete the IE7 standalone entryREGEDIT /S %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg

REN SHLWAPI.DLL SHLWAPI.DLL.BAKTYPE NUL > IEXPLORE.exe.localECHO Running IE7...iexplore.exe "%1"

:: Merge the REG file to delete the IE7 standalone entryREGEDIT /S %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg:: Delete the temporary REG fileDEL %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg

ECHO Removing IE7 standalone files...REN SHLWAPI.DLL.BAK SHLWAPI.DLLDEL IEXPLORE.exe.local

:: Set the old version vector "6.0000".> %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO REGEDIT4>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO.>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector]>>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO "IE"="6.0000">>%TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg ECHO.REGEDIT /S %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.regDEL %TEMP%.\IE7Fix.reg

POPDECHO Complete, closing...

Step 4

In the same folder, create a new file ie7.vbs with this code:

Set oShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")oShell.Run "ie7.bat", 0, True

Step 5

Create a shortcut on the desktop to ie7.vbs and run Internet Explorer 7 from that shortcut.

Now you have a standalone Internet Explorer 7 that runs along with Internet Explorer 6.

Known problems: while running IE7, if you type an URL in the address bar of IE6, the page will open in a new window. Another problem is that IE7 won't have tabs. But remember, you just want to test how pages are rendered, not have a full working browser.

Related:
Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Review