At least one additional update is required before IE8 RC can be installed, or before it will run. Without one of the two slated for Vista, IE8 RC1 will balk during setup and show an error message of "Setup cannot continue because one or more updates required to install Windows Internet Explorer 8 are not present." That patch is a revised version of a Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) prerequisite that in February 2008 sent machines into an endless round of reboots.
Systems already running Vista SP1 will have that update in place.
Microsoft has also posted a support document that offers installation trouble-shooting tips, as well as release notes that spell out compatibility problems with a variety of software, including Intuit's popular TurboTax tax preparation program, Google's Toolbar and older versions of the Skype voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) add-on. Older editions of Microsoft's own Windows Live Login add-on -- which was installed with earlier versions of the Windows Live Essentials suite -- are also incompatible with IE8, and are, in fact, unstable.
Users can download IE8 RC1 for Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003 and Server 2008 from Microsoft's site. The new browser will not run on Windows 2000.
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