DailyVisits.com - How to switch from IE8 to IE7

Rescripting By Hand:

2010: I'd been scripting this site by hand, using "Windows Internet Explorer" as my browser, which displays these pages the way I meant them to be seen.
But different browsers can display the scripting of these pages in quite different ways, as I found out when I downloaded and installed the "FireFox" browser.
I wasn't very happy about how my pages looked in a different browser.

I've installed "Mozilla Firefox" and "Apple Safari (for Windows)" and "Opera" and have started to check each page, modifying the scripting so they'll display properly in all 4 browsers. These 4 browser types are used for most online user agent activity worldwide, which is why I want to optimize my pages for them.

If I were a perfectionist, I'd also check my scripting by getting & using the "Google Chrome" browser and "Netscape", to cover about 99% of all worldwide browser class viewing type activity.
These numbers are according to the reported current statistics. They may have changed again by the time you read this.

Update:

Since writing this, the "Google Chrome" browser has moved up to 3rd place, after Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox.

By the way, you can check the most recent popularity of all browsers currently being used at http://www.netmarketshare.com/browser-market-share.aspx
I find the links on that page interesting to check out as well. You can compare the relative popularity of Operating Systems, Search Engines, and so on.

Although it took me an hour or so to figure it out, I now know exactly why my scripting wasn't being displayed the way I intended it to in all browser types. There were two types of errors, but both were the results of not scripting strictly according to the rules.

I'd been wanting to try out the "Firefox" browser for quite a while because of its great reputation. But this time I felt forced to get it or risk being left with no browser at all.
At "Windows Update" I was prompted to get "Internet Explorer 8" ("IE8") to replace version 7 ("IE7") that I had been using. So I did. That caused problems.

One problem I had with IE8 was not being able to open a link in a new tab. That option had even disappeared from the right-click menu on links. "Control" + "Left Click" no longer opened a link in a new tab either. I found that to be unacceptable.
To be fair, I should mention that I have friends who installed IE8 as an upgrade from IE7 who have had no problems at all with it. They have "Windows XP Pro Edition", as I do.

So, of course, I wanted to get rid of IE8 and get my fully-functional IE7 back again. First I went back to a previous restore point. That resulted in having neither IE8 nor IE7. No browser at all!

Well, I reversed the restore point operation and got IE8 back again. I researched the topic at "Microsoft Support", where there are links to many useful and informative articles.

That's when I downloaded "Firefox" to ensure that I wouldn't be left with no browser. I left the "Firefox" setup application in my "Downloads" folder even after installing "Firefox", in case I had to reinstall it, in case I still had to revert to a restore point before the installation of IE8.

I'm glad I had SP2 (Service Pack 2) and not SP3. If I had upgraded to SP3, especially after installing IE8, it would have been much harder to get IE7 back again. I'd previously tried to get SP3 from "Windows Update" but it seems I might have too many security programs installed to easily install SP3 after the required Restart (after downloading SP3).

"Microsoft Windows Update" can be found at either http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com or at http://update.microsoft.com

How to switch from IE8 to IE7:

Solution: I finally found out how to get IE7 back by reading the Microsoft Help and Support page entitled "How do I uninstall or remove Internet Explorer 8?" at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957700. Problem resolved! I had my fully-functioning IE7 back and everything was working as it should.

Later I got SP3, after I had to change the hard drive and reinstall the operating system. Then I was able to get Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) with no further problems.

But if I hadn't felt the need to get another browser, I wouldn't have known about my scripting errors.

Firefox has so many useful add-ons and other features that I'll probably use it as my default browser.

Another Update:

I added an "HP SimpleSave - Instant Hands-Free Backup". It's a 1 TeraByte external hard drive that plugs into a USP 2.0 port, and it's economical (here in Canada). It automatically and frequently backs up whatever I don't want to lose next time I have a hard drive failure, plus I can use the extra storage space. It works very well.

A hard drive usually lasts me 3 or 4 years of full time use before it fails. When it fails, sometimes what I have in "My Documents" and "Favorites" (and so on) can be saved; but sometimes they're lost and gone forever. It's frustrating to lose everything that I've saved on the hard drive during a few years. I've checked out the various online backup options available, but their prices and storage limits simply can't match a 1 TeraByte external hard drive.

I really should use a blog for writing stuff like this.