I think everybody know support for IE6 is coming to an end and some sites began to deny access if you are still surfing with IE6, if not the browser simply crashes when visiting sites plenty of modern annonyances such as sourceforge.net... Yes, annoyances because it's a core resource site, not a rich media portal. This thread is not for discussing how good or bad is IE6 and much more less to hearing we have to move to annoying Mozilla-based browsers, Opera, Chrome or anything else because most of us who prefer Internet Explorer have those browsers for designing purposes and still don't care to change to them definitely. I must admit I have the real IE8 installed in one of my HD partitions but due to testing purposes IE6 in another. However sometimes I need to quickly check a website that stops me because of the browser version and I won't close all my work to restart with the right partition. What can I do know? Apply a simple workaround that is harmless but since it plays with you system registry I don't take responsability in whatever you do with the following codes. I have applied them successfully over and over for almost a year with XP, Windows 2000. Vista comes already with a newer IE version and Windows 7 with the latest so don't try it unless you know what you are doing. Here are the codes, just copy and paste into a blank text file each and rename the files with the .REG extension, then click on the desired action. Making IE6 being recognized as IE7 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"="MSIE 7.0" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform] "SV1"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"="7.0000" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"="MSIE 7.0" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform] "SV1"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"="7.0000" Code (markup): Making IE6 being recognized as IE8 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"="MSIE 8.0" "Platform"="Windows NT 6.0" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform] "SV1"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"="8.0000" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"="MSIE 8.0" "Platform"="Windows NT 6.0" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform] "SV1"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"="8.0000" Code (markup): Making IE7 or IE8 being recognized as IE6 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"="MSIE 6.0" "Platform"="Windows NT 5.1" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform] "SV1"="" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"="6.0000" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"="MSIE 6.0" "Platform"="Windows NT 5.1" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform] "SV1"="" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"="6.0000" Code (markup): UNDO whatever of the above registry hacks Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"=- "Platform"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent] "Version"=- "Platform"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"=- [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Version Vector] "IE"=- Code (markup): LIMITATIONS: IE6 can emulate IE8 but will do it defectively. To know what I'm talking about sign in your Gmail themed-account after applying the fix and you will be able to see the functions that only appear with IE7 & IE8, custom theme and emoticons, but layout will be displayed somewhat broken due to unsupported Ajax and CSS. Once again I don't care talk about your input on modern browsers and blah, blah, blah, but feel free to do it with other members who would like to discuss their thought on this thread. This thread is exclusively for those who like IE6 and would like to keep using it for whatever reason and under their own responsability, enjoy.
This has to be one of those bizarre threads and posts I have ever read. It's like promoting the Yugo over a Ferrari. It's also utter nonsense because the assumption is the web site is browser sniffing yet well coded pages NEVER browser sniff so changing User Agent string will mean nothing and do nothing. For example, all my sites test for functionality before implementation. If your clunky version of IE, no matter what it is, can't handle the function, you won't get that function no matter what you ID yourself as. In addition, the OP is attempting to blame the sites that don't work in IE6, and other IEs, when the reality is the fault lies with IEs inability to handle modern standards and practices. He is directing this post to those who live in the past and want to stick to what's old rather than what's new and has changed or moved on. This type of thought would leave you with IE4 and Netscape and all the browser coding problems of days gone by. Just like your Windows computer, you run Update every so often to keep things in tune so you can run all the wonderful things available to you. The same is true for browsers. Stay up to date and there are great things in store. Otherwise you'll be left behind.
No problem, I know there are many people who cannot upgrade to IE7 OR IE8 due to many factors and how annoying is reading that ·%&@% message asking us to upgrade IE or use browsers we disklike or that don't support visual filters and other cosmetic features that only Internet Explorer can handle and you commonly see in websites devoted to websets, web design or simply because the graphic intesive nature of them.
Another way out there, bizarre question. Why would anyone want to do that? It's like saying, "Can I make my '72 Chevy Nova look like a Ferrai?". Sheesh.
IE8 can't handle them either. Even Microsoft doesn't want you to use IE6. In fact, they'd prefer you use IE8. Of course, no developer who knows anything uses IE at all but that's another story.