Installed IE8 on XP, but can't run it.

Even though I mostly use FireFox, sometimes I need IE. I had been using
7, but decided to update to 8. I assume the installation was
successful, but I can't be sure. For a big company such as Microsoft
the installation was oddly uninformative. It did various things that
took a long time and then asked for a restart which I did. Surprisingly
it did not create a desktop icon, nor an entry on the start menu. I did
manage to locate a new version of IExplorer.exe (version
7.00.6000.17099). When I try to run it nothing happens. I have tried
to run it via a shortcut that I created. I opened the properties window
using the shortcut and then used the "find target" option and then right
clicking on IExplorer.exe and choosing open. One time it opened a help
file, but mostly it doesn't do anything.

Even though I am an old guy (72), I have been using computers for over
fifty years, and was even a professional programmer in the old days, so
I am not daunted by the computer. However, it has been my experience
that "new and improved" versions of software while usually new are
rarely improved. Usually features that neither need nor want are added,
along with bugs.

Any help would be appreciated.


--
Jerry Bank
Trenton, New Jersey
Music is the language of the gods.