Greetings Dave,
To correct this, you'll simply 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 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. Do *not* just remove Windows Messenger (as others will
tell you to do), by doing so you will disable a number of features both in Windows and MSN
Messenger, including Remote Assistance, Whiteboard and Application Sharing.
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