How to re-install Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 2008 R2

Issue:
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I had an issue with my IE 8, it kept crashing by just clicking on it to launch it, till the point I had to use Task Manager to kill the process.


Resolution:
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I found Microsoft KB article 957700 to uninstall IE 8. So, I ran the following command:

dism /online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64

Then you need to reboot your system. The previous KB only guide you on how to remove IE 8 and doesn't tell you how to re-install it.

Looking back at the previus command, I was intrigued by dism command and after searching the web I found an MSDN article that describes this tool.

To re-install IE8 back, I ran the following command:

dism /online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64

Then rebooted the machine and got IE 8 installed again on the machine.

Now, the re-install did not do it for me I had to do the following steps to fix it in my scenario:

1. Launch IE 8 in safe mode: From the command prompt type the following:

iexplore -extoff

2. Reset IE settings:

Tools > Internet Options: click on Advances tab and click on Reset button.




And that fixed the issue.

For a good article/blog on how to troubleshoot IE issue, please refer to this Vincenzo Di Russo's Blog.

Note: The previous steps also applies to windows 7.