"Unable to start a DCOM Server" error in relation to MSN Messenger 6.0

[Darth Elvis]

Hi,

Everytime I start Outlook 2002 or Outlook Express 6 I get an entry in the
System Log which reads:

-----
Event Type: Error
Event Source: DCOM
Event Category: None
Event ID: 10000
Date: 1-8-2003
Time: 20:18:03
User: XXXXXXXXXX\XXXXXXXXXX
Computer: XXXXXXXXXX
Description:
Unable to start a DCOM Server: {E0B8F398-BB08-4298-87F0-34502693902E}. The
error:
"The system cannot find the file specified. "
Happened while starting this command:
C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe -Embedding

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
-----

Windows can't find "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" cos it ain't
there! The only files in Messenger folder are "blogo.gif" and
"msmsgs.exe.manifest". I'm running MSN Messenger 6.0 and it's location is
now "C:\Program Files\MSN Messenger" instead of the old "C:\Program
Files\Messenger\" so I guess that's the cause of the problem.

Should I take this error for granted or is there a way to point Outlook and
Outlook Express to the new location of MSN Messenger?

Greetings,
Darth Elvis

 

[Jonathan Kay [MVP]]

Greetings Darth,

Yes, both Outlook clients are trying to find Windows Messenger -- and no, unfortunately you
can't "point" it at MSN Messenger 6. This has occurred because you manually removed Windows
Messenger.

What you can do however, is disable the Messenger integration feature in both Outlook
clients -- to do so, for Outlook (XP/2002), just open Outlook, click the Tools menu, then
Options, then the Other tab, and uncheck 'Enable Instant Messaging in Microsoft Outlook'. For
Outlook Express, close Outlook Express, and run this .reg file:
http://messenger.jonathankay.com/downloads/stopmessenger_oe.reg
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

 

[Darth Elvis]

Thanks a lot, I got rid of the events. Hail to the King, baby!

Darth Elvis