How to Reset Settings to Default in Internet Explorer 8

If you are having some major problems with Internet Explorer, it is possible that some of the settings have been messed up and you may need to return it to it’s default operation. This can be done by doing a Master Reset on Internet Explorer, i.e., returning it to a fresh installation state.

How to do a Master Reset in Internet Explorer?

1. Go to Tools –> Internet Options –> Advanced Tab.

2. Click on the ‘Reset…’ button(shown in the screenshot above).

3. Select the Delete personal settings check box if you would like to remove browsing history, search providers, Accelerators, home pages, and InPrivate Filtering data.

4. Click on ‘Reset’ to reset all settings. The screenshot below shows the window after resetting is done. A restart of Internet Explorer is required for the process to be completed.

Let us take an overview of what happens to various settings after resetting them.

What Settings are deleted?

Disabled toolbars and add-ons
Websites added to intranet, trusted, or restricted zone, special cookie handling under the Privacy tab and those allowed to use pop-ups under Pop-up Blocker settings

What Settings are reset to Defaults?

Home page, Search providers, tabbed browsing settings
Colors, languages, fonts, and accessibility settings (General tab)
Security settings for all zones (Security tab)
Advanced and Privacy tab settings
Pop-up blocker, AutoComplete, SmartScreen Filter, and Zoom settings
Page setup, toolbar, and text size settings
Feeds settings (sync and notification, not feeds themselves)
ActiveX controls that are not on the pre-approved list (reset to opt-in state)
Toolbars, browser helper objects, and browser extensions are disabled

What settings are not affected?

Favorite, Feeds and Web Slices
Content Advisor settings
Pre-approved ActiveX controls
Temporary Internet file (cache) path settings
Certificate information
Internet Programs (e-mail, instant messenger, and other programs associated with Internet use)
Internet connection, proxy, and VPN settings

The Delete Personal Settings Option

In addition to the above mentioned settings, you can also delete your personal settings.Settings that are deleted when this option is selected:

Browser history, temporary Internet files, cookies, form data, and stored passwords
Typed URL information, menu extensions
InPrivate Filtering data
Explorer most recently used list

Resetting Internet Explorer’s settings is not reversible. After a reset, all previous settings are lost and cannot be recovered. Rather than resetting everything, you might want to reset specific settings or delete your webpage history.