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How to Install Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) on Linux

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Internet Explorer 8 (also known as IE 8) is the latest but not quite the greatest web browser from Microsoft. It offers several enhancements over its predecessor that includes improvements in RSS, Cascading Style Sheets, and Ajax support. It also has several added features like automatic tab crash recovery, suggested sites, web slices, and accelerators (a form of selection-based search).

If you are using Linux and if for some reason you need to install and use Internet Explorer 8, don't worry because it is really quite easy to do so. Using Wine, I've shared with you how I installed and run Safari 4 on Linux. To install IE 8 on Linux, you will also need Wine.

Installing Internet Explorer 8 (IE 8) on Linux:

1. Install Wine and winetricks like we previously did (see Installing Safari on Linux) and setup the following Windows redistributables:

corefonts
gdiplus
msls31
msxml3
riched20
riched32
tahoma

2. Search and download msctf.dll, msimtf.dll, uxtheme.dll from HERE, and then using the Wine menu, navigate and place the DLLs inside /system32.

3. Configure Wine by navigating to Wine --> Configure Wine --> Libraries and set the following DLLs as shown:

"browseui="native, builtin"
"crypt32"="native, builtin"
"gdiplus"="native"
"hhctrl.ocx"="native, builtin"
"hlink"="native, builtin"
"iernonce"="native, builtin"
"iexplore.exe"="native, builtin"
"itircl"="native, builtin"
"itss"="native, builtin"
"jscript"="native, builtin"
"mlang"="native, builtin"
"mshtml"="native, builtin"
"msimtf"="native,builtin"
"msxml3"="native,builtin"
"riched20"="native,builtin"
"riched32"="native,builtin"
"secur32"="native, builtin"
"shdoclc"="native, builtin"
"shdocvw"="native, builtin"
"shlwapi"="native, builtin"
"url"="native, builtin"
"urlmon"="native, builtin"
"usp10"="native, builtin"
"uxtheme"="native,builtin"
"wininet"="builtin"
"wintrust"="native, builtin"
"xmllite"="native, builtin"

4. Download Internet Explorer 8 from HERE.

5. Navigate to where you saved the IE 8 installer and run it using Wine with this command:

$ wine IE8-WindowsXP-x86-ENU.exe

6. Install IE 8 as normal, but don't select the Windows security updates option during installation as it may cause issues later on.

7. After installation, you will now see Internet Explorer 8 under Wine --> Programs. Here is a screenshot of Internet Explorer 8 running on Linux courtesy of Wine-Reviews.



Although running IE 8 on Linux is buggy, it renders web pages well. So if you are a web developer, you may find keeping Internet Explorer 8 on Linux handy.

9 comments

  1. Lol.
    I have never liked using WINE, it's just as bad as windows...
    Have any of you ever successfully managed to remove WINE after installing?
    I do say "successfully" because even when you think you remove it, try typing the command for minesweeper in the terminal and it will always come up. Re-format is the only solution for me :)

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  2. Nice tip. But I would say IE 8 is pretty much useless since IE 9 is about to be released with lots improvements and great features.

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  3. I think you should warn people that the URL and search fields do not work at all, the only navigation you can do is clicking links. Unless you've found some magic fix?

    It's pretty useless if you want to test sites that are not indexed by search engines for instance.

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  4. Note, the author forgets that you can only install it under these conditions:


    Microsoft Corporation (or based on where you live, one of its affiliates) licenses this supplement to you. If you are licensed to use Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Server 2008 software (for which this supplement is applicable) (the “software”), you may use this supplement. You may not use it if you do not have a license for the software. You may use this supplement with each validly licensed copy of the software.


    The last sentence would seem to suggest that if you're not installing this on windows then that's in breach of license. Or at the very least you have to have a
    copy of windows, but you might not have to install it....but i wouldn't count on that.


    Seriously, we ask other people to comply with the GPL why aren't we complying with MS licences?

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  5. Like u said... is about to be released, but today IE8 is the latest... ;)

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  6. But does it support https ?? Last time I tried it didn't, and that was the one thing I needed.
    And mh3rn4nd3z3 I know what you mean, It did take a bit of removing after the uninstall!

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  7. wow, I think the last installable version was IE6 or maybe it was IE4 and that was super buggy. Thanks for the write up and watch out for the MS Secret Service

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  8. It is for the good sake of developers. If you are just a user, FireFox is enough.

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  9. Here (Ubuntu maverick) the installer complains that a windows update is required and refuses to install IE8 unless that update is installed. Of course, installing that update fails with wine...

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