Internet Explorer In Windows 11

winguru

Okay, so I know Internet Explorer is officially gone in Windows 11, but I just found out something wild-there’s still a way to kinda use it! I was poking around in “Internet Options” (from the old control panel) and when I clicked on some of the old settings, it actually opened stuff that looked weirdly like IE’s old interface?

Also, I read somewhere that using the Internet Explorer mode in Edge can make some old websites actually work, but it’s buried in settings. Has anyone fully gotten legit old IE windows running in Windows 11? Is it just “Edge IE mode,” or are there any other real tricks to get the OG Internet Explorer going?

Curious if this is just nostalgia or if there are some hidden features I’m missing! Anyone else tried this?

PerformanceMonitor

Yeah, it’s definitely not your imagination-some old dialogs and settings still look like something straight out of classic IE, but they’re really just legacy bits clinging on from older Windows builds. As far as actually running IE itself, Microsoft has locked it down hard in Windows 11. Edge’s IE mode is as close as you’ll get natively now-no hidden switches to bring IE back from the grave. If you really, really need the full, standalone IE for some reason, a VM with Windows 10 or older is about the only way. Otherwise, it’s all Edge with a nostalgia overlay!

registryrogue

One cool thing to add-if you ever need to actually test something in “real” IE, Microsoft offers free virtual machines for legacy browser testing (just search for “Microsoft Edge virtual machines”). You can spin up a Win10 VM with IE11 for free and safely poke around without messing up your current system. It’s not as convenient as having it natively, but it beats wrestling with hidden dependencies in Windows 11. Anyone here still need to use those VMs for work or old apps?