Can't stop messenger starting! XP SP2

[Alan Parker]

Installed XP SP2 - can I kill messenger now?! NO!
Tried stopping the service, tried looking for it in "add/remove"....note
that this doesn't seem to be Messenger 6.2, it seems to be "old" messenger,
because I can start 6.2 seperately. I've unticked all the "start when
windows starts" and everything.
It doesn't even appear in startup control panel! I've double-checked for
viruses and spyware.
If I "kill" msmsgs" from Task Manager, it will die. But I don't want it to
be starting automatically when I've told it not to!

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Alan,

The service has nothing to do with the actual client. MSN Messenger 6.2 and Windows
Messenger 4.7 (which comes with Windows XP) are separate products; they have very little to
do with one another (besides some shared functionality).

To address your problem, you'll just need to 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.
____________________________________________
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.

 

[Harry Goodell]

Thank you very much for the information below.

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Hi Harry,

You're very welcome =)
____________________________________________
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.

 

[Shannon]

Jonathan, I wanna thank you for that info myself. I've
been having the same problem as well and couldn't get any
info on it, other than others saying to uninstall it.

It's kinda annoying getting messages from people when you
think you're not signed in!

Thanks again!

Shannon

 

[Alan Parker]

Greetings Alan,

The service has nothing to do with the actual client. MSN Messenger 6.2
and Windows Messenger 4.7 (which comes with Windows XP) are separate
products; they have very little to do with one another (besides some
shared functionality).

To address your problem, you'll just need to disable Windows Messenger.
To do so, open it up (click Start, then Run, type "msmsgs" and click OK),
click Tools, Options, Preferences tab

No difference. As per original email:
I have this reference to it in the registry:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{long number}\LocalServer32]
@="C:\\Program Files\\Messenger\\msmsgs.exe"
"ThreadingModel"="Apartment"

Can I just delete that? As I said, it doesn't show as either a service, OR
in startup control panel!

 

[Guest]

Me too! But I managed to delete what I thought was windows messenger but also managen to delete Norton Anti Virus! I attempted a re-install but get an error message that I have an internal error. Can you help me get Norton back?

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Hi Shannon,

I hear you; there's little point to "presence" information if you're mistakenly "online" when
you don't want to be =).
____________________________________________
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.

 

[vern rose]

I've got the same problem. If you get a fix please let
me know.

 

[Alan Parker]

I've got the same problem. If you get a fix please let
me know.

OK, I found this very helpful post on Google, and it works!
But why should we have to go to such lengths? Why can't we just untick the
box?
Bug report filed!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Within Windows Messenger click on Tools, Options
and "uncheck" the
"Run this program when Windows starts" box on the
Preferences tab then click OK.


THEN FOR WINDOWS XP PRO DO THIS:



Click Start,Run, then type in gpedit.msc

Then go to Computer Configuration/Admistrative
Templates/Windows Components/Windows Messenger then alter
the settings in the right pane

Disable msn messenger


FOR WINDOWS XP HOME DO THIS:

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts/xp_messenger_autorun.vbs
Download xp_messenger_autorun.vbs and save this file to
your hard drive.
Navigate to where you saved it and double click the file.
A confirmation dialog will appear and remind you to log
off/back on or restart your computer.

U CAN STILL USE WINDOWS MESSENGER BUT U'LL JUST HAVE TO
LOAD IN MANUALLY.


-----------------------------------------------------------


Windows Messenger is automatically loaded and running when a user logs on to
a Windows XP computer. You can use this setting to stop Windows Messenger
from automatically being run at logon.

If you enable this setting, Windows Messenger will not be loaded
automatically when a user logs on.

If you disable or do not configure this setting, the Windows Messenger will
be loaded automatically at logon.

Note: This setting simply prevents Windows Messenger from running intially.
If the user invokes and uses Windows Messenger from that point on, Windows
Messenger will be loaded.

The user can also configure this behavior on the Preferences tab on the
Tools menu in the Windows Messenger user interface.

Note: If you do not want users to use Windows Messenger, enable the "Do not
allow Windows Messenger to run" setting.

Note: This setting is available under both Computer Configuration and User
Configuration. If both are present, the Computer Configuration version of
this setting takes precedence.

 

[Harry Goodell]

Where did you get SP2?

 

[Alan Parker]

Where did you get SP2?

http://v5.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

 

[Alan Parker]

Regarding my post below, I have just got the final of XP SP2, uninstalled
the beta, installed it, and this bug STILL remains..ie:
messenger starts silently by default unless you follow the procedure below.

Naughty, and very annoying

 

[Walt]

On my PC, I found that even though Windows Messenger checkbox
in Windows Configuration is UNCHECKED, Messenger is not only
installed, but is started at boot!

Yes, naughty and very annoying MS!

 

[Peter]

Try this: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_mess_disable.htm