Scrambled Windows Messenger Contacts -PLEASE HELP !!!

[Steve Wormuth]

Hello,

I am using Windows Messenger 5.0, but this problem began some time ago
with a previous version.

It seems that my contacts are continuously scrambled. I mean, the
name and e-mail addresses don't match, the contact sometimes appears
twice in my list, etc... I only have five contacts, and I've tried
deleting them all from within Messenger and also on Hotmail, then
re-adding them one by one...

Eventually, the day comes where Messenger decides to scramble them
again.

I have tried everything, and I suspect a corrupt database on the MSN
side, but where is the support? It began at the same time Hotmail
merged the Windows Messenger and Hotmail contact lists. I did have a
friend who passed away, and I cannot delete him either. There has to
be a better way than this...

Is there a way to reset my contact database aside from what I have
already tried? I've completely removed them from everywhere, left it
alone for a few days, then added them back as individuals popped
online to chat with me, that didn't work...

Where to turn...

TIA
Steve

 

[Steve]

Hello,

I am using Windows Messenger 5.0, but this problem began some time ago
with a previous version.

It seems that my contacts are continuously scrambled. I mean, the
name and e-mail addresses don't match, the contact sometimes appears
twice in my list, etc... I only have five contacts, and I've tried
deleting them all from within Messenger and also on Hotmail, then
re-adding them one by one...

Eventually, the day comes where Messenger decides to scramble them
again.

I have tried everything, and I suspect a corrupt database on the MSN
side, but where is the support? It began at the same time Hotmail
merged the Windows Messenger and Hotmail contact lists. I did have a
friend who passed away, and I cannot delete him either. There has to
be a better way than this...

Is there a way to reset my contact database aside from what I have
already tried? I've completely removed them from everywhere, left it
alone for a few days, then added them back as individuals popped
online to chat with me, that didn't work...

Where to turn...

TIA
Steve

Just as I suspected... No support at all.

Lemme guess, this must be my fault somehow, and if I just create a new
passport account, etc... What's the deal with this damn program? They are
my contacts, and I should be able to manage them from within the program. I
am a computer whiz, and I've been fu**ing with this for months without
success.

You wanna know why I *know* this isn't my fault... Because this seems to be
the history of messenger so far...

1. It gets forced down our throats by being installed automatically with
windows.

2. There is a hack to remove it, but that breaks features of windows.

3. Now that we are all using it, microsoft abandoned the windows messenger
(which is now just for exchange, etc..) and wants us to install msn
messenger.

4. We can't tell windows messenger (the little fu**er that it is) to not
load because evrything from outlook, outlook express and internal windows
features require it and make it load in the background anyhow.

5. If we install msn messenger also, we end up having the two conflict with
each other and get neverending error messages about being logged into both
at the same time, and get kicked out of one or the other.

You guys have got to be kidding me. How do I fix MSN's database corruption?
Huh?

Steve