How to Uninstall Internet Explorer from Windows Server 2019-2025

Before removing Internet Explorer, check if it's currently installed and which version you're running. This helps determine the best removal method.

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object {$_.FeatureName -eq "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64"}

This PowerShell command shows the current state of IE11. Look for the State field - it should show Enabled if IE is installed.

You can also check by opening the Start menu and searching for "Internet Explorer". If it appears, it's currently installed.

Since Internet Explorer reached end-of-support on June 15, 2022, Microsoft Edge is the recommended replacement. Most Windows Server 2019+ installations include Edge, but verify it's available.

Get-AppxPackage -Name "Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge*" -AllUsers

If Edge isn't installed, download it from the Microsoft Edge Enterprise page. For server environments, use the MSI installer:

MicrosoftEdgeEnterpriseX64.msi /quiet /norestart

The Settings app provides the most user-friendly way to remove Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2019 and newer versions.

Open Settings by pressing Win+I or clicking the Start button and selecting the gear icon.

Navigate to Apps → Apps & features → Optional features. You can also directly access this by running:

ms-settings:appsfeatures

Scroll through the list of installed features until you find Internet Explorer 11. Click on it to select it, then click the Uninstall button.

Windows will prompt you to restart the server. Click Restart now to complete the removal process.

DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) provides a command-line method that works across all supported Windows Server versions and is ideal for automation.

Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Right-click the Start button and select "Windows PowerShell (Admin)" or "Command Prompt (Admin)".

Run the following DISM command to disable the Internet Explorer feature:

dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64

The system will prompt you to restart. Type Y and press Enter to restart immediately.

For automated scripts where you want to suppress the restart prompt, use the quiet flag:

dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64 /quiet

dism /online /get-featureinfo /featurename:Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64

The output should show State : Disabled.

PowerShell offers the most flexible approach, especially for remote server management and scripting scenarios.

Open PowerShell as Administrator. You can do this by right-clicking the Start button and selecting "Windows PowerShell (Admin)".

Use the Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature cmdlet to remove Internet Explorer:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64 -Online

To avoid the automatic restart and handle it manually later, add the -NoRestart parameter:

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64 -Online -NoRestart

For remote server management, you can execute this on multiple servers:

$servers = @("SERVER1", "SERVER2", "SERVER3")
foreach ($server in $servers) {
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $server -ScriptBlock {
        Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64 -Online -NoRestart
    }
}

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object {$_.FeatureName -eq "Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64"}

After removing Internet Explorer, some legacy web applications may not work properly. Microsoft Edge includes IE mode to handle these scenarios.

Open Microsoft Edge and navigate to edge://settings/defaultBrowser.

Under "Internet Explorer compatibility", set "Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer mode" to "Allow".

For enterprise environments, create an Enterprise Mode Site List. Create an XML file with your legacy sites:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<site-list version="1">
  <site url="legacy-app.company.com">
    <compat-mode>IE11</compat-mode>
    <open-in>IE11</open-in>
  </site>
</site-list>

Deploy this XML file via Group Policy under Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Microsoft Edge → Configure the Enterprise Mode Site List.

After removing Internet Explorer, Windows automatically reassigns HTML file associations to Microsoft Edge. However, you should verify and configure these settings properly.

Open Settings and navigate to Apps → Default apps.

Scroll down to "Web browser" and ensure Microsoft Edge is selected. If not, click on the current browser and select Edge from the list.

For HTML file associations, scroll down to "Choose default apps by file type" and verify these extensions point to Edge:

• .htm
• .html
• .shtml
• .xht
• .xhtml

You can also configure this via PowerShell for multiple servers:

# Set Edge as default browser
$EdgePath = "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Classes\http\shell\open\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value "$EdgePath %1"
Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Classes\https\shell\open\command" -Name "(Default)" -Value "$EdgePath %1"

Perform comprehensive verification to ensure Internet Explorer is completely removed and your server remains functional.

Check that IE is no longer accessible through these methods:

• Search "Internet Explorer" in Start menu (should return no results)
• Run iexplore in the Run dialog (should fail)
• Check Programs and Features (IE should not be listed)

Verify the removal using PowerShell:

Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online | Where-Object {$_.FeatureName -like "*Internet-Explorer*"}

The output should show State : Disabled for the Internet-Explorer-Optional-amd64 feature.

Test web functionality by opening various websites in Microsoft Edge to ensure normal browsing works correctly.

For servers running web applications, test that IIS and other web services continue to function normally:

# Check IIS status if applicable
Get-Service -Name W3SVC -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
# Test web server response
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://localhost" -UseBasicParsing