There are all kinds of reasons to want to remove Internet Explorer from your Windows XP PC. Alternative browsers are sometimes faster, provide better security and contain great features that Internet Explorer users only dream of.
Internet Explorer is more than just a browser. It works as an underlying technology behind a number of internal Windows XP processes including updating, basic Windows functionality and more.
There are methods outlined on some other websites that appear to fully remove Internet Explorer and provide workarounds for the problems that removing it causes, but I don't recommend them. In my experience, removing IE causes too many problems to be worth it, even with the workarounds.
Even though removing Internet Explorer isn't a wise option, you most certainly can safely disable Internet Explorer and use your alternative browser as the one and only way to access the Internet on your Windows XP PC.
Here are two excellent ways to disable Internet Explorer in Windows XP:
- Disable Internet Explorer in Windows XP Using The Set Program Access and Defaults Utility
This is an easy, Microsoft-provided way to disable access to Internet Explorer and set your preferred browser as the one and only browser able to access the Internet on your PC.
- Disable Internet Explorer In Windows XP Using A Dummy Proxy Server
This is a more manual way to disable access to Internet Explorer. If you're comfortable making slightly more advanced changes to your Internet settings, this option may be for you.
Both of these methods accomplish the same thing and give you nearly all the benefits that removing Internet Explorer would give you but without the very real possibility of creating serious system problems in Windows XP.
It is also perfectly acceptable to run two browsers simultaneously on a single PC. One browser must be designated as the default browser but both are free to access the Internet.
