I installed Internet Explorer 5, but where's my Active Desktop?

By: Arie Slob

Internet Explorer 5 does not contain the Active Desktop. In order to have Active Desktop in Internet Explorer 5, you need to install Internet Explorer 4 with Active Desktop first.

The Windows Desktop Update component which is included with Internet Explorer 4.x and Windows 98 includes the following enhancements to the classic Windows shell:

The Active Desktop
A single, customizable Explorer with Web View
A Web-integrated Start menu and taskbar
(Single) Click (rather than double-click) items to open them; point at items to select them

To add Windows Desktop Update during Setup, click Yes when you are prompted to install the Windows Desktop Update components.

Note: You are not prompted to install Windows Desktop Update during Setup when:

You are installing a downloaded copy of Internet Explorer 4.x from a folder on your local hard disk or network share, and you chose not to download the Windows Desktop Update components
Windows Desktop Update is already enabled, and you are reinstalling Internet Explorer 4.x

To add Windows Desktop Update if Internet Explorer 4.x is already installed, follow these steps:

Select Start > Settings > Control Panel, and then double- click Add/Remove Programs
On the Install/Uninstall tab, click Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 in the list of installed programs, and then click Add/Remove
Click Add Windows Desktop Update component from Web site, and then click OK. This loads the Internet Explorer 4.0 Components Download Web page

Click Yes when you are prompted with the following message:

      Active Setup is about to determine what Internet components are
      installed on your computer. Is this OK?

Click the Windows Desktop Update check box to select it, and then click Next
Select a download site in the list, and then click Install Now to download and install Windows Desktop Update

Note: If you downloaded the Windows Desktop Update components when you downloaded Internet Explorer 4.x to a folder on your local hard disk or a network share, you can install Windows Desktop Update without downloading it from the Download Components Web page by following these steps:

Double-click the Ie4setup.exe file in the \Internet Explorer 4.0 Setup folder
Click Yes when you are prompted to install the Windows Desktop Update components
When you are prompted to Upgrade Only Newer Items or Reinstall All Components, select Upgrade Only Newer Items, click OK, and then continue with Active Setup

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I installed Internet Explorer 5, but where's my Active Desktop?