Adjust the size of your cache and delete your History and Cookies

Traditionally Internet Explorer has set the size of its temporary internet files folder to a percentage of total disk space. In recent times, with the huge decreases in hard drive capacity, this has led to the case being set to ridiculously large sizes... far too around 1 inch of IE to be able to cope reliably. Web sites may go slow, pictures may stop displaying, hyperlinks may stop working (actually, they haven't stopped working, its just that IE is collapsing under the weight 0f all that saved data), you may see the classic "page cannot be displayed" error... and that's just for starters.

If your cache is set far too large, IE7 will reduce it to 1024MB the first time that you click on the Settings button for Browsing History Settings button, but I have found this is still too large.

Click on IE, Tools, Internet Options, General Tab, Settings



Set your IE cache to between 50 and 250 Meg (I recommend 50 - 100)



Next, delete all temporary internet files, including offline content (IE tools, Internet Options, General tab, Delete button). Delete your IE history and all cookies. Then, restart IE.

Uninstalling IE7 (Windows XP only)

Before Uninstalling Please Complete the following steps.

• Set a restore point ( If something unwanted happens)
  
• Disable antivirus, antispyware, crashguards etc.
• Shut down all other running programmes (except for windowsfirewall) - that includes Messenger, Windows Defender, OneCare - don't forget to exit via systray icons as well.
• Turn off Automatic Updates until you have uninstalled all you want, rebooted twice, installed what you want and rebooted twice - once you've done that, turn Automatic Updates back on.
  

The IE7 installer will automatically remove any beta versions of IE7, or the Release Candidate version, automatically as part of the upgrade to IE7 final.

If you decide to uninstall a previous beta of IE7 separately and before running the IE7 final installer, please reboot TWICE after the old build of IE7 has been removed. This is because on first boot after uninstalling IE7 there are several processes that occur before Windows finishes loading. Sometimes things don't *quite* get cleaned up properly, and that second boot ensures that we're working with as clean a slate as possible and that there are no left over tasks hanging around that may mess things up.

IE7 Final

Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Scroll down to Windows Internet Explorer. Remove (Windows XP only)

If the option shown above does not appear, make sure "view hidden folders" is enabled (Control Panel, Folder Options, View tab).

See Also
windows xp support
Preview Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer Browser 7 Problems
How to enable Cookies In Internet Explorer, ie

Pre-installation advice for IE7

Follow the below steps before installing Internet Explorer Some may not agree with my advice, but years of experience have shown this to be best practice...

1. The first thing to do is READ THE RELEASE NOTES. There are known issues and you may save yourself hours of grief if you make sure you are informed before you install IE7.
2. Set a restore point (just in case).
3. Turn off Automatic Updates (believe me, you'll thank me later if you've already installed an IE7 beta or RC build).
4. Disable protective software such as antivirus support, antispyware and crash guards.
5. DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR FIREWALL!!!
6. Stay connected to the internet.
7. Shut down all running programmes - that includes Messenger, Windows Defender, and OneCare - don't forget to check the systray icons as well.
8. Install Internet Explorer 7. Reboot *twice* before running your new Web browser for the first time.
9. Don't forget to re-enable your antivirus, third party firewall and other protective software now that you're finished.
10. Do not reinstall any version of Microsoft Windows in any way after you install Internet Explorer 7. Do not upgrade Windows in place or upgrade to a new edition. You must uninstall IE7 and reboot twice before attempting to repair, reinstall or upgrade Windows:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;917964

source:
http://www.ie-vista.com/known_issues.html#pre-install