Disabling Windows Messenger

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Aaron Elias - 28 Jul 2004 18:34 GMT

Hi

Anybody have this problem too? I use MSN messenger... and
hence removed Windows Messenger from my PC. However, even
though it is not installed, whenever I connect to the
net, Windows Messenger connects and I receive messages
via this and not MSN. No icon appears in my system tray
so I cannot disable it... the only way to get back to MSN
is to log on to it - I get the usual notification in
Windows Messenger that I have been logged in on a
different computer and from there all is ok.

Can anybody tell me how to remove Windows Messenger
completely? I used Control Panel - Add remove programs -
Add remove windows components to remove it.

Thanks!

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Jonathan Kay [MVP] - 28 Jul 2004 21:57 GMT

Greetings Aaron,

Although you can forcibly remove Windows Messenger, if you do, features like Remote
Assistance, Whiteboard and Application Sharing within MSN Messenger 6.x and Windows will no
longer work. As well, some applications that specifically call on Messenger (like for
example Outlook Express) will appear to freeze or refuse to load as they try to start
Messenger (you can however, turn off this functionality to fix this problem).

Instead, you can simply disable Windows Messenger. To do so, open it up (click Start, then
Run, type "msmsgs" and click OK), click Tools, Options, Preferences tab and uncheck 'Run this
Program when Windows starts' or 'Run Windows Messenger when Windows starts' (depending on
version) as well as 'Allow this program to run in the background' or 'Allow Windows Messenger
to run in the background' (depending on version). This won't remove Windows Messenger, so
features like Remote Assistance, Whiteboard and Application Sharing will continue to work,
but it will let it stay out of your way.

Also, do you have Norton Antivirus installed? Recent versions of Norton Antivirus added a
new "instant messaging scanning" feature, which can conflict with Messenger and cause it to
also keep starting. To stop it, open Norton Antivirus (Right-click on the Norton Antivirus
icon in the System Tray/Notification Area (by the clock), choose 'Open Norton Antivirus'),
click Options, then Instant Messenger then uncheck MSN Instant Messenger and click OK.

If you'd prefer to just remove Windows Messenger however, you can do so by following the
instructions here:
http://messenger.jonathankay.com/problem.aspx?ID=7
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2004 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Thanks!

Reply to this Message

AML - 31 Jul 2004 22:27 GMT

Hi

I have the EXACT problem and would also like to find out
how I can completely disable Windows Messenger! HELP!!

>-----Original Message-----
>Hi
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>Thanks!
>.

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