Homepub: How to Remove the Windows Desktop Update (198500)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Graphics Studio Greetings 99
  • Microsoft Graphics Studio Home Publishing 99
This article was previously published under Q198500

SUMMARY

To run the programs listed earlier in this article, you need to install Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later.

When you install Greetings 99 or Home Publishing 99, Setup checks to see if Internet Explorer 4.01 SP1 or later is installed. If Setup determines that Internet Explorer is not installed, or is the wrong version, you are prompted to install Internet Explorer.

The Windows Desktop Update component included with Internet Explorer 4.01 contains the following enhancements to the classic Windows desktop:

  • The Windows Active Desktop.
  • A customizable Windows Explorer you can view as a Web page.
  • A Start menu and taskbar you can integrate with the Web.
  • The ability to click icons to open them and point at items to select them.
During the Internet Explorer installation process, you are asked if you want to install the Windows Desktop Update. The default option is to install the update.

This article describes how to remove the Windows Desktop Update.

IMPORTANT: You cannot remove the Windows Desktop Update from Microsoft Windows 98 because it is integrated into the operating system.

NOTE: If you are running Internet Explorer 5 on a Windows 95-based or a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0-based computer with the Internet Explorer 4.0 Windows Desktop Update component, you must remove Internet Explorer 5 before you perform the steps listed in the "More Information" section of this article.

For information about how to remove Internet Explorer 5, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

193934 How to Uninstall Internet Explorer 5 Beta

MORE INFORMATION

To remove the Windows Desktop Update component, follow these steps:

  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
  3. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 in the list of installed programs, and then click Add/Remove.
  4. Click "Remove Windows Desktop Update, but keep the Internet Explorer 4.0 Web browser," and then click OK.

    NOTE: If there are any files in the Recycle Bin, you receive the following message:
    Internet Explorer 4.0 has modified the format of the Recycle Bin.

    If you want to keep any of the items currently in the Recycle Bin, open the Recycle Bin and move the items to a different location.

    To permanently delete all items from the Recycle Bin and continue, click OK.
    Click OK when you are sure there are no files in the Recycle Bin that you want to restore.
Internet Explorer attempts to quit all running programs and reconfigure your computer to run without the Windows Desktop Update component.

REFERENCES

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

165695 How to Add or Remove Windows Desktop Update

190857 Setup Sets Internet Explorer 4.0 as Default Browser

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/8/2003
Keywords:kbenv kbhowto kbsetup KB198500
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.