Required reading IMHO before installing IE7:

Sandi's Installation Tips <= Steps #1-8, #10 & #11; take note of #12, then STOP!
http://www.ie-vista.com/known_issues.html#pre-install
(ignore any references to Vista)

And I strongly recommend using http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx as the installation source, not Automatic/Windows Update.  [That page and the System Requirements page need to be updated.  The same download is applicable to SP2 and SP3.]

Alternately, use this Direct Download link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=9ae91ebe-3385-447c-8a30
-081805b2f90b   

Tip: Save the installer to your desktop, do not Run it.

Make *certain* that you check in at Windows Update immediately after installing IE7 and install any critical updates offered.  If Optional Updates category offers Root Certificates update, I recommend installing it to take full advantage of IE7's additional security.

IEBlog : IE7 Installation and Anti-Malware Applications
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2006/10/11/IE7-Installation-and-Anti_2D00_Malwa
re-Applications.aspx

What's New in Internet Explorer 7
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms649487.aspx

Release Notes
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ie/Aa740486.aspx

IEBlog: IE and Windows XP Service Pack 3
http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx

 When IE7 first came out about a year and a half ago, I tried it and then had to revert back to IE6 after a few days because of various problems that I encountered with IE7 at that time.  At that time I was running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

 Although I do not know what bugs in IE7 have been fixed between its original release and the current release of IE7, I would like to test the latest release of IE7 to see how it works now.  I am still running Windows XP, but it is now running with Service Pack 3 (SP3), which I upgraded to with no major problems about a month and a half ago.  

 According to information posted in this news group, along with an interesting posting by Jane Maliouta at <http://blogs.msdn.com/ie/archive/2008/05/05/ie-and-xpsp3.aspx>, it is definitely possible to install IE7 after upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3).  In fact, this appears to be the preferred approach, as per the following information posted by Jane Maliouta:

 "If you must uninstall IE7 after you have upgraded to XPSP3, then you have to first uninstall XPSP3, and then uninstall IE7. After this series of uninstalls, you will be reverted back to a XPSP2, and a stable version of IE6, so feel free to upgrade to XPSP3 again.
 "If you install IE7 after you install XPSP3, then you will be able to uninstall IE7 at any point and be reverted to the newer IE6 version that ships in XPSP3. The restriction on uninstalling only applies to when you install a Windows Service Pack release on top of a standalone IE release."

 I found where to download IE7 at <http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx>.  However, on this web page you must "Get Internet Explorer 7 for your operating system:".  There is a selection option for downloading IE7 for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), but there is no selection option for downloading IE7 for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3).

 So where can I download IE7 for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)?  I suspect that I would encounter various problems if I attempted to install IE7 from a download that is specifically for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2).

 I do not know what would happen if I attempt to install IE7 using Windows Update.  I would prefer to download and install a release of IE7 that is specifically for Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3).  I will appreciate any information that I can get regarding this issue.  Thank you.

 Richard A. Landkamer