A lot of Windows users out there dislike Internet Explorer enough that just using a different browser is not enough, they want it gone.  Although there is not a way to completely uninstall it, let’s take a look at how to disable IE 8 in Windows 7 so you won’t have to deal with it anymore.

Click on the Start Menu and go to Control Panel and change the View by category to Large or Small icons then from the Control Panel list go into Programs and Features.

In the Programs and Features window click on the “Turn Windows features on or off” link on the left hand side.

The Windows Features screen opens up and here you want to uncheck the box next to Internet Explorer 8.

You will get a confirmation box when you uncheck it saying it may affect other Windows features.  It will if you don’t have another browser installed but otherwise everything that usually opens in IE will open in your default browser.

After verifying you want to turn it off click OK.

You will get a progress notification while Windows turns off IE 8.

When everything is turned off you will need to restart your system.

After coming back from the restart you will notice Internet Explorer 8 is no longer there.  Anything you had linked to IE will be associated with another browser if you have one installed. It will also no longer appear in the Set Default Programs section.

If you go to the Open With list in Explorer you will see a generic Internet Browser icon that will open up whatever is your default browser.

This doesn’t completely remove all traces of Internet Explorer 8 as other programs and processes rely on its rendering engine.  This will definitely get it off your way when doing your daily computing tasks.