How to Open Internet Explorer Without Microsoft Edge

To open Internet Explorer without Microsoft Edge redirecting you, save a one-line VBScript file called Internet Explorer.vbs containing CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application").Visible=true, then double-click it. The script calls the legacy InternetExplorer.Application COM object, which launches the real IE11 engine on Windows 10 and on Windows 11 builds where the IE Mode runtime is still present. Microsoft Edge stays completely out of the way.

Applies to: Windows 10 (22H2). Windows 11 only works if the legacy IE11 COM object is still installed (enterprise images or older builds). Last updated: April 19, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Launching iexplore.exe directly on Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11 now redirects to Microsoft Edge. The VBScript trick opens the real IE11 renderer by calling the COM object instead of the executable.
• The entire script is one line: CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application").Visible=true. Save it with a .vbs extension and make sure “Save as type” is set to All Files.
• IE11 was officially retired on June 15, 2022 and no longer receives security patches. Use this only for legacy intranet sites or software you cannot run in Edge’s IE Mode.
• On newer Windows 11 builds (24H2 and later) the COM object is being progressively removed. If the script silently fails, the InternetExplorer.Application registration has been stripped.
• For modern compatibility with legacy sites, Microsoft Edge’s IE Mode is the supported and safer replacement — it runs the IE engine inside Edge without exposing the standalone browser.

Quick Steps

1. Open Notepad.
2. Paste: CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application").Visible=true
3. Go to File > Save As, set Save as type to All Files, name the file Internet Explorer.vbs, and save it to your Documents folder.
4. Right-click the .vbs file > Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).
5. Right-click the shortcut > Properties > Change Icon, pick the Internet Explorer icon, then apply.
6. Double-click the shortcut — Internet Explorer opens directly, with no Edge redirect.

Why Internet Explorer Keeps Opening in Edge

As part of retiring Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft rewired iexplore.exe. When you click the Internet Explorer shortcut or run the executable directly, Windows intercepts the call and opens Microsoft Edge instead — usually in IE Mode for compatibility.

The standalone IE11 browser itself is still on disk on Windows 10 (22H2) and on many Windows 11 installations, which is why the COM-object trick works. The script creates an instance of the InternetExplorer.Application ActiveX object — the same underlying runtime Trident/MSHTML uses — and tells it to show its window. Because you go through the COM API, Windows does not run the redirect logic bolted onto iexplore.exe.

Step 1: Create the VBScript in Notepad

Press the Start button, type Notepad, and open it. Paste exactly this line:

CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application").Visible=true

That is the entire script. One line, no other characters, no Dim statements needed. The COM call creates the IE instance and the .Visible=true property makes the browser window show up on screen.

Step 2: Save the Script as a .vbs File

In Notepad, go to File > Save As. Two settings matter here, and getting either one wrong turns the file into a plain text file that will not execute:

• Set Save as type to All Files. If this is left on Text Documents (*.txt), Windows appends a hidden .txt to your filename.
• Name the file Internet Explorer.vbs — the .vbs extension is what makes Windows Script Host handle it instead of Notepad.

I save mine into the Documents folder so it is easy to find later, but any folder works.

Step 3: Create a Desktop Shortcut and Swap the Icon

Open File Explorer and browse to where you saved Internet Explorer.vbs. You could run the script from there directly, but a desktop shortcut with the proper icon is far cleaner.

1. Right-click the .vbs file and choose Send to > Desktop (create shortcut).
2. On the desktop, right-click the new shortcut, pick Rename, and drop the “.vbs” from the end so it just reads “Internet Explorer”.
3. Right-click the shortcut again and pick Properties. On the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon….
4. Windows will warn that the file contains no icons — click OK to open the default icon library. Scroll through until you find the Internet Explorer “e” logo, select it, then click OK > Apply > OK.

If the default Windows icon cache does not contain an IE icon (common on stripped-down Windows 11 installs), browse to C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe — it still contains the original IE icon, even on newer systems where the browser has been redirected.

Step 4: Test the Shortcut

Double-click the shortcut. A fully functional Internet Explorer window should open — title bar, address bar, menu bar, the whole thing. From here you can browse to legacy intranet pages, older banking portals, or any internal web app that still depends on ActiveX, Silverlight, or pre-Chromium rendering.

Warning: Do not use this IE instance to browse the public internet. IE11 has not received security patches since June 2022 and is an easy target for drive-by exploits. Keep it scoped to the internal or legacy application you need it for.

What to Do If the Script Does Nothing

On some Windows 11 builds the double-click does nothing and no window appears. That means one of two things:

• The COM object is gone. Microsoft is removing the InternetExplorer.Application registration on newer Windows 11 builds. Check by opening PowerShell as admin and running:

New-Object -ComObject InternetExplorer.Application

If that command throws “invalid class string” or “not registered,” the runtime has been stripped and there is no way to bring it back short of restoring from an older image.

• Windows Script Host is disabled. Some corporate policies and some debloating scripts turn WSH off. To test, open PowerShell as admin and run:

reg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows Script Host\Settings" /v Enabled

A value of 0 means WSH is disabled. Re-enable it with:

reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows Script Host\Settings" /v Enabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

The Modern Alternative: Edge IE Mode

For any site you actually need to use long-term, Microsoft Edge’s IE Mode is the supported replacement. It runs the IE11 engine inside an Edge tab, receives security updates, and is officially supported by Microsoft through at least 2029.

To enable it, open Edge, go to edge://settings/defaultBrowser, set Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode to Allow, and restart Edge. Then on any page, click the three-dot menu > Reload in Internet Explorer mode. You can pin specific sites so they always open that way.

Use the standalone IE trick in this guide for one-off testing, debugging, or a single legacy application. Use IE Mode for anything you plan to open more than occasionally.

Related Guides

• How to Uninstall Microsoft Edge on Windows 10/11 — if you want to remove Edge entirely after setting up this IE shortcut.
• Winhance — my free Windows utility, includes one-click Edge removal via scheduled task.
• Chrome and Firefox Alternatives — for general browsing, use a modern browser instead of IE.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Internet Explorer still installed on Windows 11?

The IE11 engine (MSHTML / Trident) is still on Windows 11 to power Edge’s IE Mode, and the InternetExplorer.Application COM object is present on most builds. The standalone iexplore.exe has been redirected to Edge since June 15, 2022 — that is what the VBScript in this guide works around.

Is this method safe to use?

The script itself is safe — it is a single COM call provided by Microsoft. The risk is Internet Explorer itself: it has been unpatched since mid-2022. Keep its use scoped to trusted, internal, or legacy applications. Do not use it for general web browsing.

Will this break or affect Microsoft Edge?

No. The VBScript creates a separate IE11 process using the underlying COM runtime. Microsoft Edge, its settings, and your Edge profile are not touched.

Can I pass a URL to the script so it opens a specific page?

Yes. Replace the one-liner with this two-liner, saving it the same way:

Set ie = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")
ie.Visible = true
ie.Navigate "https://example.com/legacy-app"

Swap the URL for whatever legacy page you need to open automatically.

How do I undo this?

Delete the .vbs file and the desktop shortcut. Nothing is added to the registry or installed as an app — both files are self-contained, and removing them leaves the system exactly as it was.