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Quick tip (link): Virtual images for testing different Internet Explorer versions

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This question comes up a lot: web devs need a solution for testing websites on different versions of Internet Explorer. One answer to this are the “Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image” files, made available for download.

The whole batch of VHD files has now been refreshed on August 16 2011, meaning you can use them again for a period of three months until mid-November.

Download includes the following OS/IE combinations:

  • Windows XP SP3 with IE6 VHD file
  • Windows Vista SP2 with IE7 VHD file
  • Windows 7 SP1 with IE8 VHD file
  • Windows 7 SP1 with IE9 VHD file

Do not that for testing on Internet Explorer 10 you can download the standalone IE10 Platform Preview 2 installer which installs side by side with IE9: https://ietestdrive.com

>> Download VHD files at https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=11575

Comments

  • Anonymous
    August 18, 2011
    I prefer to use IE9 for testing IE7-8-9. In the developer tools (hit F12) you can set browser mode and document mode. And IE6... Who cares? (or you could do a quick check in SuperPreview, but that doesn't allow you to test scripts and interactivity in general)

  • Anonymous
    August 18, 2011
    Wouter, Good feedback, personally love the F12 browser mode & document mode options. VHDs are needed by some devs however so good thing they do exist.

  • Anonymous
    March 03, 2013
    Compatibility mode isn't the same as real IE7/8. And yes, it's time to drop IE6.