Editing Removal of Internet Explorer (section)

== Methods ==
Methods have been developed by these programmers and others to remove Internet Explorer from Windows 95 after installing,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wp.netscape.com/browsers/using/ieusers/start/removing.html |title=AOL.com - Netscape |publisher=Netscape.com |access-date=March 5, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020702214457/http://wp.netscape.com/browsers/using/ieusers/start/removing.html |archive-date=July 2, 2002}} Archived copy retrieved from [https://archive.org/ Internet Archive].</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q192852 |title=How to Remove Internet Explorer and Outlook Express from your Computer |publisher=Support.microsoft.com |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=November 11, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111003140/http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q192852 |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as before install time.<ref>{{cite web |author-first=Nathan |author-last=Lineback |url=http://toastytech.com/evil/lab.html |title=Nathan's MAD IE De-integration Lab |publisher=Toastytech.com |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=October 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006011351/http://toastytech.com/evil/lab.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Removing Internet Explorer from Windows 2000,<ref name="vorck1" /> Windows XP and Windows Server 2003<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nliteos.com/ |title=nLite - Deployment Tool for the bootable Unattended Windows installation |publisher=Nliteos.com |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=September 15, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915122148/http://www.nliteos.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hfslip.org/ |title=TommyP's HFSLIP |publisher=Hfslip.org |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913051543/http://hfslip.org/ |archive-date=September 13, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> is also possible at installation time.

Australian computer scientist Shane Brooks demonstrated that [[Windows 98]] could in fact run with Internet Explorer removed. Brooks made his work available as a freeware removal utility called IEradicator, which removes all versions of IE from all versions of [[Windows 9x]], but leaving the rendering engine and some other components behind for application compatibility.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/IEradicator.shtml|title = IEradicator 2001|website = [[Softpedia]]|publisher = SoftNews|access-date = January 21, 2014|date = March 24, 2003|archive-date = January 22, 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140122132310/http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Miscellaneous/IEradicator.shtml|url-status = live}}</ref> Brooks went on to develop a more sophisticated program for Windows 98 and [[Windows ME]], marketed as [[98lite]], which turns IE, along with several other "mandatory" Windows components, including the IE components left behind by IEradicator, into optional components that can be added or removed from the OS at will. He later created [[XPLite]], which renders many parts of Windows 2000 and XP into optional components. Both of Brooks's programs can remove IE after the installation of the operating system.

Another programmer named Bruce Jensen published a similar utility called "Revenge of Mozilla", which was freeware and removed many other Windows 98 components identified as "[[bloatware]]" or as being of questionable value. Although Revenge of Mozilla asked the user to supply some files from the Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 version of the Windows Explorer shell (necessary for compatibility with the FAT32 file system) that did not have the "Windows Desktop Update" that came with Internet Explorer 4/Windows 98. As a result of the shell replacement, Windows used significantly fewer resources than normal, the shell didn't leak resources like Windows 98's version did, and Windows crashed less. In 98Lite, using Explorer from Windows 95 OSR 2 was optional.

There are other methods of removing IE based on modifying the Windows installation process so that IE is never installed in the first place. [[98lite]] can be used in this way. A method developed by Fred Vorck manually alters the setup scripts for Windows 2000 to prevent the installation of IE.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vorck.com/windows/ |title=Vorck's Windows 2000 Repository |access-date=December 27, 2009 |archive-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412085708/http://www.vorck.com/windows/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His process has been automated as a feature of [[HFSLIP]]. [[nLite]] and [[HFSLIP]] are automated programs that allow users to modify the Windows installation process, both to incorporate patches and updates and to exclude IE and many other Windows components from installation as desired.