i downloaded IE 8 the other day, and i have a wind so the bars at the top take up a ton of space, and you can't get rid of most of em, so i like the one i had before better, it didn't have tabs or anything like that, so it wasn't 7 either, anywhere i can download those anymore?

Internet Explorer 6 didn't have a tab system by default, but that browser was very insecure. I strongly suggest you stick with IE8 and disable the features you don't like or try an alternate browser like Firefox 3. Although the features are a bit annoying in IE8, the security is a must unless you want a lot more problems. You can find a few different browsers listed in the Free Software sticky atop this board, so take a look.

If you still really want IE6 with all the security issues, you can download IE6 SP1 here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;DisplayLang=en for Windows XP and older systems. IE7 was a big step forward in security but even that had a number of issues that needed to be taken care of.

how would i change the settings then? i suck with computers so i try not to do anything without help, so i don't kill my computer

It seems I was modifying my post as you were posting so you may have missed my edit.

You can disable tabs in IE8 by going to Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Tabs: Settings > Enable Tabbed Browsing: unchecked > restart Internet Explorer. Afterward, tell me how you like it and what you'd like to change. Providing a screenshot may be helpful too.

dunno how to take screenshots on this computer =P but thanks, i'll look at what you edited real quick
k, taking the tabs off helped a ton, thanks a bunch

This tutorial may be of assistance in taking a screenshot.

Hit F11

That just makes it full screen

Which gets rid of the bars.

If you don't like a lot of bars, get Google Chrome.

But it also means you ant get to anything else. Not a practicl solution.

Yes, if you don't like IE8's interface I reccommend Chrome too. I use it as my main browser - it's fast, secure, has good standards support and is very minimalist, especially if you hide the bookmarks bar.
Also consider Firefox - whilst it's nowhere near as minimalist as Chrome, there are many different themes you can get for it, so you should be able to find one you like. The Firefox theme at http://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/8921 looks quite similiar to Internet Explorer 6.
But whatever you do, don't go back to IE6. It's insecure and horribly non-standards compliant.

Besides, having tabs is a lot better than having many different windows. You don't even notice the space they take up after a while, and it's minimalistic in that sense anyway.