Greetings Steven,
I assume you mean Windows Messenger (which comes with Windows XP), as any prior version of
MSN Messenger would be upgraded by the old version.
Firstly, 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
Windows Messenger to automatically start and not be able to closed. 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.
You can remove Windows Messenger, but if you do, you will be preventing Remote Assistance,
Whiteboard, Application Sharing and any other applications that utilize Messenger from
working (or loading without problems). You can just disable Windows Messenger by opening it
up, 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, but
it will let it stay out of your way.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources -
http://messenger.jonathankay.com