If you upgrade from Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 to Internet Explorer 6 on a computer that runs Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 (SP2), SP2 no longer appears in Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you then reinstall SP2 without using the Backup feature, Internet Explorer 6 disappears from Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If the computer is running Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4), and you upgrade from Internet Explorer 5.5 to Internet Explorer 6, this behavior also occurs.

Back to the top

To work around this problem, reinstall Windows 2000 SP2. If this does not resolve this problem, remove Internet Explorer 6. To remove Internet Explorer 6, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, and then click Run.
2.	In the Open box, type the following command, where drive is the drive where Windows is installed: "drive:\program files\internet explorer\ie uninstall\w2kexcp" /u /q

After the removal is complete, reinstall Internet Explorer 6.

In the case of Windows 2000 SP4, use Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel to remove SP1 for Internet Explorer 6. After you restart your computer, you can use Add or Remove Programs to remove SP4.

If this does not resolve this problem, you must perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 2000, and then install Internet Explorer, and then install the most recent Windows 2000 service pack. For additional information about how to perform an in-place upgrade of Windows 2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Back to the top

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This behavior is by design and is based on file dependencies between Service Pack 4 and Service Pack 1 for Internet Explorer 6.

Back to the top

For additional information about the latest service pack for Windows 2000, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Back to the top