Typically, a "beta" software item is that which is meant for evaluation, testing, or use not guaranteed by the developer of the software. If you happen to use Windows XP Service Pack 3, get ready for this: once installed over an existing older version (beta 1), Internet Explorer (IE) 8 beta 2 cannot be uninstalled, much in the same way you cannot uninstall Internet Explorer 7 on the said operating system. Only a system restoration or re-installation (if you have System Restore disabled) can fix it. What's more, Microsoft displays IE 8 beta 2 like it's the "current version" of the browser and IE 7 (final release, stable version) as a "previous version". If you happened to have IE 8 beta 1, and updated from Service Pack 2 to 3, uninstall beta 1 before "trying out" beta 2, as listed on the IEBlog at MSDN. You will be shown a confirmation dialog box before its installation:

If you chose to continue, Windows XP SP3 and IE8 Beta2 will become permanent. You will still be able to upgrade to later IE8 builds as they become available, but you won't be able to uninstall them.

To avoid getting into this situation, we strongly encourage you to follow these steps before installing Internet Explorer Beta 2:

1. Uninstall Windows XP SP3
2. Uninstall IE8 Beta1
3. Re- install Windows XP SP3
4. Install IE8 Beta2