Ask Lifehacker: Uninstall Internet Explorer 7?

Dear Lifehacker,

I, like many idiots, upgraded to IE7's beta. Now I want to roll back, because it does things like choke on Movable Type and the swank new Yahoo Mail beta doesn't recognize it, telling me I need IE5.5 and up.

Do you know how to do that? Even better would be a way to install both side by side, but that's probably laughably optimistic.

Signed,
One Step Back

Dear One Step,

From the horse's mouth, here's how to uninstall IE7.

1. Click "Start," and then click "Control Panel."
2. Click "Add or Remove Programs."
3. Check "Show Updates" at the top of the dialog box.
4. Scroll down the list to "Windows XP – Software Updates," select "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2Preview," and then click "Change/Remove."

If "Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview" does not exist, run %windir%\$NtUninstallie7bet2p$\spuninst\spuninst.exe. You need to have "view hidden folders" enabled. %windir% is your Windows installation directory, which is normally 'C:\Windows' on most systems.

As for running IE6 and IE7 side by side, it looks like Windows guy Jon Galloway has figured out a way to run IE7 standalone, though I haven't tested this personally. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!

Related: here's how to run IE5, 5.5 & 6 simultaneously and most likely violate every Windows Terms of Service agreement you accepted. Meep.

Love,
Lifehacker