Greetings Bryan,
You can disable Windows Messenger by opening it up (click Start, then Run, type "msmsgs" and
click OK), click Tools, Options, Preferences tab and unchecking'Run this Program when Windows
starts' or 'Run Windows Messenger when Windows starts' (depending on version). As well, you
can disable it further by going to Start, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs, Add/Remove
Windows Components on the left, uncheck Windows Messenger in the components list and click
Next >. Note: this is only available if you've installed Windows XP Service Pack 1 -- if you
haven't, visit
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. This won't remove Windows Messenger
completely, but it will let it stay out of your way.
Also, 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.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources -
http://messenger.jonathankay.com
Bryan W. White said:
I can't seem to locate the 'switch' to disable automatic sign-in for Windodws messenger on
start-up. I use MSN Messenger 6.1 as my primary messenger but it seems to conflict with
Win.Mess. for some reason. Sometimes I'll get knocked off of MSN repeatedly and have
suspicion that Win.Mess. is responsible for other 'signs' that are happening with XP. I'm
running a custom system here with 1 gig. of RAM so there shouldn't be the slightest problem
with too much load, though I do try to keep the load to a min. Any thoughts about how I can
shut down Win. Mess. and preserve MSN 6.1? Avoid the conflict all-together? Thanks, Bryan W.
