Windows XP SP3 fixes many things. But it also removes the Internet Explorer icon form the desktop and the “address bar” toolbar from the taskbar. If you want to restore your Internet Explorer icon, check out this guide [1]. If you want the address bar back, keep reading.
Service pack 3 for Windows XP removes the address bar by updating the “browseui.dll” file. If you replace your computer’s “browseui.dll” file with one from Service Pack 2 (where the address bar was still available), you can get your address bar back. Here’s what you will need to do:
- Download this ZIP file [2].
- Extract the four files inside to the same folder, ideally your desktop.
- Restart your computer into safe mode.
- Navigate to the folder containing the four extracted files.
- Double-click on the file named “InstallAddressBar.bat”.
- The process will run automatically. You will then be prompted to “Press any key to continue…” Confirm that all the files copied successfully, then press any key.
- Allow your computer to reboot on its own.
- That’s it!
This process replaces the currently installed (SP3 version) browseui.dll with one from Service Pack 2. It also creates a backup of the SP3 version, just in case you ever need it again. If you do want to revert back to the SP3 version of browseui.dll, follow the same steps as above, but double-click on “UninstallAddressBar.bat” instead.
If the above method does not work for you, you may try the following steps.
- Download this ZIP file [3] instead.
- Extract all the files to your desktop.
- Double-click on the file named “InstallAddressBarv2.bat”. You do not need to be in safe mode.
- Allow your computer to restart.
If you found this post helpful, please consider making a donation to help cover the costs of this site: