For any of you wanting to try out the Internet Explorer 9 platform preview on Server 2008 you will run into a roadblock with the MSI installer. I found a workaround. The beta for IE9 is out on September 15th.
1. Download Orca MSI Editor here:
Download2. Install the Platform Update Supplement Beta for Windows Vista hotfix manually before proceeding with installation. For some odd reason when you let the installer automatically install this update it takes forever I find it easier to manually install this update before proceeding with installation of platform preview.
Download3. Download the IE platform preview:
http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/ . Remember the location/path of your download you will need to edit MSI file next.
4. Locate the iepreview.msi file, right-click and choose Edit with Orca. Locate the
InstallExecuteSequence table. Underneath the Action tab locate "
iepreview_no_server" right-click on the row and choose drop row. Now at the top click on File > Save to apply changes to the installer. Now launch the installer as normal and the program will be successfully installed.
The IE9 platform preview contains a very limited GUI, but it sports much improvement over its predecessor Internet Explorer 8. By far one of the most profound marked improvements its the standard Acid3 test in which IE8 could only manage a miniscule 12/100. The first IE platform preview managed a 55/100, with the 2nd release improving to 68/100, the 3rd 83/100 and the current release 95/100. Google Chrome, Opera, and Safari are the only web browsers to pass this test. Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer have never passed the Acid3 test.
Nothing stands in our way to get things working on the Windows Server operating system! 