• Don’t like IE8 yet?
• Use the link toolbar?

Well, I discovered that an uninstall of IE8 will make your Links Toolbar disappear.

The following excerpt from ComputerWorldUK give a feel for the problem source.

IE8 looks much like IE7 at first, with a few exceptions. The first is that what was formerly known as the Links toolbar has been integrated with the Favorites icons, and combined into a single toolbar called the Favorites toolbar. You can still make the toolbar disappear, though, as you could the Links toolbar, by selecting View –>Toolbars, and unchecking Favorites Bar. (Note: If you’re using IE8 for Vista, you’ll have to first make the Menu Bar appear by pressing the Alt button.)

With this integration of the links toolbar, an uninstall will make the toolbar disappear altogether. An unlock of the toolbar section (Right-click/Unlock Toolbars) will not show the toolbar handle (that vertical set of dots you can drag the toolbar around with) pasted to one side of the window, which is what usually happens. The toolbar is just plain gone.

The fix I found is fairly simple. On the Menu Bar, select “View/Toolbars/Links” to deselect the Links toolbar. This will officially turn it off. Now repeat the process to turn it back on. If your toolbars are not already unlocked, do so now (Right-click/unlock toolbars). You will see on one side of the window (usually the right-hand side) next to the menu bar, your long lost links toolbar.