Navigate Microsoft’s browser ballot screen

The new Browser Choice screen is made available via Windows Update. If Automatic Updates have been disabled, it is possible that it will not have been installed. To check in Windows 7 or Vista, click Start, point to All Programs, click Windows Update and then click the ‘Check for updates’ link. In Windows XP the easiest way is to launch a web browser, visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and then click the Custom button. Either way, the Microsoft Browser Choice Screen Update (KB976002) is the one we’re interested in. So, make sure that it is selected and then follow Windows Update’s prompts to download and install the update. Once the update has been installed, it may be necessary to restart Windows: a prompt will be displayed if this is the case.

If a browser other than Internet Explorer is already installed and configured to be the default browser, the Browser Choice screen will not be displayed. However, if Internet Explorer is set up to be the default web browser, the next time the application is launched a window will appear with the heading ‘An important choice to make: your web browser’. Alternatively, find and double-click the shortcut labelled Browser Choice on the Windows Desktop.

Click the OK link and a randomly ordered list of web browsers will be displayed. More can be accessed by scrolling to the right of this ‘Select your web browser(s)’ window. To find out more about any of the listed browsers, click the corresponding ‘Tell me more’ button, or download a particular browser by clicking the Install button. If a new web browser is installed, the option to use it as the default web browser will be displayed the first time it is launched – just click the option to accept this change.