Use Internet Explorer 6, 7 and 8 in Ubuntu

Ubuntu 10.04...

1. Download VirtualBox for Linux from the VirtualBox website.
2. Download the Internet Explorer Application Compatibility VPC Image file(s). In this example I chose: Windows_XP_IE6.exe , I saved the file to, e.g. /home/tyler/Documents/IE6; (Warning: Microsoft will discontinue their Windows XP Image on 2011-08-09, so this post may need some tweaks)
3. Install VirtualBox
4. Use Wine to install Windows_XP_IE6.exe from step #2. You may consume wine and cheese while doing so. Choose the same folder path you used in step #2 when installing the .exe file and extracting the .vhd file. When it is done it will have extracted a nice fat .vhd file into your directory. When it is done, rename the file so it doesn't have an annoying space in the file name.
5. Navigate to e.g. /home/tyler/Documents/IE6 in a terminal
   1. execute this terminal command: VBoxManage clonehd $PWD/WindowsXP.vhd ../IE7/WindowsXP_IE7.vhd
   2. you'll receive a message similar to this when it is complete: "Clone hard disk created in format 'VHD'. UUID: e93f7806-eb85-479e-a842-7a95b5514fad"
   3. repeat for IE8, adjustring the directories and file names accordingly. IE6 doesn't need a copy made because we'll use the original .vhd file.
   4. Note: Sub-steps 1-3 above make a copy of the .vhd file which gives the copy its own unique UUID (Here is an error I was receiving when I just made copies of the .vhd file instead of cloning it: Cannot register the hard disk ... because a hard disk with UUID ... already exists.)
6. Create a new virtual machine with VirtualBox and 'use existing hard disk' during setup to point to the .vhd file for the version of IE you would like to run that was extracted during the Wine EXE installs. Use the .vhd copies for IE7 & 8, use the original .vhd for IE6.
7. From the VirtualBox Manager screen, click on the gear icon to configure the settings for your new virtual machine you just created.
   1. Go to: Network -> Advanced -> Adapter Type -> Then select 'Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop'
   2. Click ok to save your settings
8. Download the drivers from Intel for the 'Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop' network adapter*
   1. Place the .exe file in its own folder (e.g. /home/tyler/Documents/intel)
   2. convert the exe to an iso (e.g. mkisofs -o intel.iso /home/tyler/Documents/intel)
9. Start your virtual machine (use IE6 the first time through)
10. Ignore windows warning about 3 days left to activate, hit cancel on all errors about failed driver installs
11. Using the small icons at the bottom right of the VirtualBox virtual machine window, right click on the cd icon to choose a 'virtual cd/dvd disk file' and mount the intel iso.
12. Run the intel installation file and go through the install wizard.
13. Load up IE from the start menu and see if the internet works... if it does, congrats, if not, uh oh, you're on your own from here.
    1. When you get to this step for IE7 & IE8 you'll have to install IE7 from the desktop shortcut on your IE7 virtual machine, and then of course do the same for your IE8 virtual machine. Don't download any recommended updates during installation and don't restart when installation is complete. You can then load IE from the start menu. (Note, you may have to restart windows from the start menu for IE8, I had to.)
14. Unmount the intel iso.
15. When you are done be sure to go to 'Machine->Pause', then go to 'Machine->Close' and 'Save the machine state'. (If you don't do this, next time you load up the virtual machine windows will require you to activate it since the hardware has changed so drastically)
16. Repeat for IE7 & IE8 (exclude making new UUID copies of the .vhd files the next times around).
17. Now you can enjoy spending all your time figuring out why your website doesn't work properly in IE, enjoy!

* Intel Driver ISO