Like frob wrote, I must be sure that everything runs on the IE version that was specifically designed for Win 7 and Win 8 because these will be used for years to come by many people.

If my network is compromised, then I need to fix that. Once in a while I discover a hacker or network malware - rare but it happens. In the course of a year I visit many websites, so the possibility of attack is very real.

This summer, Microsoft announced that IE 11 had some serious vulnerabilities to attack and that they were working as fast as they could to improve security. After the last update of IE 11, I cleaned by computer and did factory fresh install - only to be disappointed that IE 11 no longer installs. Literally every other Microsoft update and other application or software does install.

Is some dark group in China making a Cyber attack again?

To be honest, you don't sound much like an IT consultant if you think the BIOS is anything to do with identifying corrupt files. Me, I do this stuff for a living so the fact that I can buy food is the authority behind what I say. ;)

Anyway, I've done something like - oooh - 10,000 or more IE installs, including manual, via Windows Update and automated via a variety of tools (GPO, SCCM, once even piggy-backed on an Office 2003 Customization Wizard setup) and they've all worked.

Reasons to install IE11 include testing Enterprise Mode in a corporate desktop environment. That's very valid - it's easy for the hobbyist or professional coder to forget that their own personal preferences don't even apply in many environments.

For a standalone machine I'd advise Windows Update as the first line of attack, and clearing the Windows Update Cache as the first thing to do if that goes wrong. I'm not certain from your original post if you've done this or not, but it's normally a good way of fixing things up if updates (and IE is really not much more than just another update these days) fail.

Yeah, I didn't clear the cache because I really didn't think that it could prevent an update, since I thought (could be wrong) that Windows Update handles that.

Actually, checking for errors can indicate that something is wrong in hardware someplace, so BIOS does have a role. Corrupt files in BIOS could hide a problem, but everything seems okay.

By the way, it is very annoying to have webpages look distorted and sometimes not be able to find or use buttons on a webpage because IE 9 is outdated.

By the way, it is very annoying to have webpages look distorted and sometimes not be able to find or use buttons on a webpage because IE 9 is outdated.

Is your current browser outdated? Solution: Install Google Chrome.

If my network is compromised, then I need to fix that. Once in a while I discover a hacker or network malware - rare but it happens. In the course of a year I visit many websites, so the possibility of attack is very real.

Is your current browser making your computer vulnerable to viruses? Solution: Install Google Chrome.

This summer, Microsoft announced that IE 11 had some serious vulnerabilities to attack and that they were working as fast as they could to improve security.

Is your current browser buggy and unneccesarily slow? Solution: Install Google Chrome.

To which I add, why do you need to? I tried to uninstall IE in Windows 7 and couldn't do it - I came to the conclusion that they were inseparable - so how can you have Windows 7 without IE?

Well played!

I'm assuming that's a reference back to the Microsoft antitrust lawsuits, where they claimed IE6 was an 'inseparable' part of Win95.

But, just incase you were being serious, Microsoft has intentionally integrated and interwoven the core components of Internet Explorer with Microsoft Windows, starting back with Win98. If you wish to merely make the icons disappear and uninstall the browser as an application, you can go to:
Control Panel -> Programs and Features -> "Turn Windows Features On or Off" (linky on the left panel) -> uncheck "Internet Explorer 11" (third checkbox down)

I thought he was a web developer who wanted to check compatibility.

So, since nobody asked the obvious. How does the install fail? Error code?

All the others mocking IE, shut yer yapper. It's a decent enough browser and at least doesn't install 20 update services, works fine without millions of addons and doesn't phone home to NSA.

Solution: Install Google Chrome.

Have a locked-down corporate network with hundreds or thousands of users where you need to maintain consistency across application versions and browser versions, need to run legacy apps, and need central administration of browser settings?

Solution: don't install Google Chrome.

Seriously people, the single-machine "developers plaything" environment where you've free reign over everything and can fix stuff yourself if it goes wrong just doesn't exist for most end-users in the real world.

So, since nobody asked the obvious. How does the install fail? Error code?

All the others mocking IE, shut yer yapper. It's a decent enough browser and at least doesn't install 20 update services, works fine without millions of addons and doesn't phone home to NSA.

Seriously? It's well known Microsoft works very closely with the NSA.

People don't like IE because it's less secure than other browsers, it's slower, and it's less compatible with new HTML5 / CSS3 features.