Messenger pop-up message

[J. M. Fried Jr]

I am continually getting the pop-up asking if I want to
update Windows Messenger. I do not even want Windows
Messenger, much less update it

Tell me how I can eliminate this annoying pop-up. I have
gone through the Outlook Express - Tools - Options -
General route to get the options and find
that "Automatically log onto Windows Messenger" box does
not have a check. I still get the pop-up.

Tell me how I can eliminate Windows Messenger
altogether. I do not want it.

Please respond to both of the two paragraphs immediately
above.

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings,

Firstly, remove your saved Passport login in Windows XP, so it can't automatically sign you
in to the service (you can readd this back in the future if you like), click the Start
Button, then click the Control Panel. Then, click User Accounts in the Control Panel. Select
your account name, and then on the left side of the screen, under Related Tasks, click
'Manage my Network Passwords'. In the window that opens, click the Passport.Net\* (Passport)
entry and click 'Remove'.

Then, do you have Norton Antivirus 2003 installed? Norton added a new "instant messaging
scanning" feature to Norton Antivirus 2003, which can conflict with Messenger and cause some
of this behavior. 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 the window is still open with the upgrade question, say No, it should now stop trying.
Open up the main Windows Messenger window (double-click its icon in the system
tray/notification area, by the clock or click Start, All Programs, Windows Messenger to bring
it up), click the Tools menu, then Options, then Preferences, uncheck 'Run this program when
Windows starts' and click OK. Then right-click the on the Windows Messenger icon in the
notification area/system tray and choose Exit. You shouldn't see it again (unless some other
application starts it).

Finally, to stop Windows Messenger from loading with Outlook Express, close Outlook Express,
then download and run this .reg file:
http://messenger.jonathankay.com/downloads/stopmessenger_oe.reg
Then restart Outlook Express and Windows Messenger will no longer load.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com