IE 8 on Win 7 Home? Rolled back 10 and 9 and there was no 8.

Thanks for the reply. I got to that point, but the install options on the MS site don't offer a version for Win 7.

Other thing to try are compatibility mode and the developer tools. For compatibility mode press the ALT key to bring up the menu bar, go to the tools menu and click compatibility view setting. Add your website to the list. For the developer tools press F12, it will open a window on the bottom of your screen. There is a menu for browser mode, you can change it to IE8.

Follow these steps I found:

Go to Start, Control Panel, Programs
Click on View installed updates under Programs and Features section
Scroll down the list in the Microsoft Windows section and find Windows Internet Explorer 9
Select this item and click on Uninstall
When prompted to confirm click on Yes
Restart your computer

Open Internet Explorer and you will have to run setup wizard for IE 8 when you open the browser back up the first time. I did have to do this twice on one machine but it did work successfully the second time around.

You do have to remember now, when you run Windows Updates the next time, to make sure you mark the update

Click on Tools on the menu bar and select Windows Update
(You may have to activate the menu bar or type Windows Update from the Start button)
Click on Check for updates on the left
When updates are ready click on the XX important updates are available in the center of the screen
Uncheck Windows Internet Explorer 9 for Windows 7
Right click on Windows Internet Explorer 9 for Windows 7 and select Hide update
Click on OK

I did this before, and this is where it messed me up. When I restarted and tried to go to IE, it said that the program the shortcut leads to has been removed or changed and no longer works. Searched for Internet Explorer from Start menu and tried other place, including in Program Files, and there was no IE program to launch or engage a setup wizard in. I checked Control Panel as well just to see if the service was listed, and there was zero evidence of any IE whatsoever aside from an empty folder in Program Files.

What will compatibility mode do exactly? I don't really understand what its purpose is. I do see the F12 option to change to IE8. Does this default IE to 8 or only for that one instance?

My next suggestion would be to try an download the Windows Vista version (from the link I originally posted) and try to install with and without compatibility mode, sometimes Vista programs can work for Windows 7. Have you tried that yet?

Just fixed a client's machine today using the instructions I provided.

Perhaps try going into this directory and starting iexpore.exe manually

C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe

Does that exist? If so, does it give that same non-sense error?