Windows 7 Windows Update KB3160005 for IE 11 which is not even installed

[DigDag]

Hi,
On my Win 7 PC, windows update suggest an update KB3160005 as cumulative security update for Internet Explorer 11. However, Internet Explorer is not even installed. I have checked both activate/inactivate windows components as well as installed software for Internet Explorer and confirmed it is not there.
So what is it that Microsoft really attempt to install with this update? Anybody knows?

 

[Neemobeer]

@kemical duplicate

 

[Neemobeer]

Open Internet Explorer and click on Help > About to confirm your version and sometimes IE doesn't update correctly.
Open a command prompt and type wmic product get name and see what version of IE shows up here.

 

[DigDag]

Open Internet Explorer and click on Help > About to confirm your version and sometimes IE doesn't update correctly.
Open a command prompt and type wmic product get name and see what version of IE shows up here.

What do you mean? I cannot open Internet Explorer and click Help > About when Internet Explorer is not installed. Neither does running "wmic product get name" list Internt Explorer. Or do you think Internet Explorer is still hidden on my PC?

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi Dig:
What's important to know is that IE is part of the W7 OS kernel, which means that an earlier version of IE came with W7 depending on whether your computer was installed with W7 or W7 SP1, you could have IE8, IE9, or IE10. Usually, IE11 is an add-on to the earlier IE versions that came on most W7 install media or factor pre-loaded W7s. If you don't recall SPECIFICALLY downloading and installing IE11 onto your W7 machine, then IE is there, but not IE11. That generally does not get installed through the automatic MS update push process.

This being said, if you cannot get to any version of IE on your computer, you've either inadvertently uninstalled it (which usually can't be done), or a virus/malware attacked your system and simply disabled it from running. There's about a thousand viruses whose sole mission is to disable or cripple IE, as it's the world's most ubiquitous browser. You might wish to scan with your AV program and also download the free MALWAREBYTES from Malwarebytes.org to scan/remove any viruses. It's important to know that removing many of these browser-disabling viruses often renders your computer unuseable. It's important then to observe my backup warning below before proceeding to more drastic repair solutions.

There are 4 things you can try to get it working again (and thus check what version you have installed) once YOU BACKUP ALL YOUR PERSONAL DATA TO EXTERNAL MEDIA IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY DONE SO!
1.) Use Windows System Restore to rollback your system to a point in time before you lost access to your IE; e.g. 3 days, 1 week, 3 months, etc. RETEST.
2.) Use your Win7 install or recovery media or built-in recovery partition on your hard drive to run an "in-place" upgrade on your computer to refresh all system files. RETEST.
3.) Use factory Recovery Media or Recovery Partition to do a Windows reset on your PC, and restore it to Out-Of-Box (OOB) condition. RETEST.
4.) Use factory Recovery Media or Recovery Parittion to do a Windows reinstallation on your PC, and restore it to Out-Of-Box (OOB) condition. RETEST.

If none of the above works for you, you could be fighting failed hardware and you will need to test it for possible failures and physical replacement. Take a look here:
MEMORY DIAGNOSTICS:
Memory Diagnostics
HARD DRIVE DIAGNOSTICS:
Hard Drive Diagnostic Procedure

We recommend running the hardware diagnostics FIRST if you have the time, since if you apply any of the 4 methods above and they do not work because of failed hardware, such as a RAM stick or Hard Drive, you can reset and reinstall until the end of time and never fix your problem! That's because no software on the planet can fix Broken Hardware!!

In most cases; probably better than 90% of the time, this will fix your missing or corrupted IE problem.

Let us know how it turns out.
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>

 

[Neemobeer]

Internet Explorer is heavily integrated into Windows 7, so even if you uninstalled it there are parts of it still running on your system which is why you may still see updates for IE.

 

[DigDag]

Hi,

What's important to know is that IE is part of the W7 OS kernel, which means that an earlier version of IE came with W7 depending on whether your computer was installed with W7 or W7 SP1, you could have IE8, IE9, or IE10.

Aha, didn't realize that. Well, if I have a look at Control Panel->Programs and Features then Click "Turn Windows Features on or off" (or similar wording; I use anthother language) there is Internet Explorer 8 with an empty check box next to it. Thus I guess IE 8 was factory installed. Note that I never used IE nor planning to which is the reason it was deliberately unmarked looong time ago. I thought clearing that box would once and for all remove IE for me and that I would not get any more updates for IE. Obvioulsy that wasn't the case. Strange that Windows Update tries to update something I have actively choosen to inactivate though.

Thanks for the links to the memory tests. Will have a closer look at that anyway.

Thanks!

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

No problem. Glad to help. There are still security updates which apply to non-IE features in the OS kernel which also apply the updates into your computer should you ever wish to run IE again, or the other apps that might be affected down the road.

A lot of people like you for many reasons like to use other browsers and don't want or like IE. And that's ok. I'm using chrome and edge way more than IE on my W10 machines. However, by disabling IE on your computer, you are disabling the best diagnostic tool for W7 or any other windows version there is. If IE won't load, or hangs or freezes, or generates error messages, Blue/Black screens, that's a real good indicator that your Windows is either corrupt or infected by virus/malware or often times a catastrophic failure such as a RAM stick, Hard Drive, or GPU card. If you disable the IE, then you never see that your computer is sick and needs help. fyi.

Good luck, my friend!
BBJ