http://messenger.msn.com/Help/Issues.aspx I suggesy
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Known Issue
Last update
Thursday, October 23, 2003
This document provides information about special situations currently experienced in MSN® Messenger
Unable to login to Messenger - Security Upgrade Require
As part of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, Microsoft is providing a security update to the .NET Messenger Service which will require an update for some MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger users
If you have not completed the update, you will be unable to login. To complete your update please click here
Third Party Add-in Applications
MSN has investigated reports that some third party add-in applications are causing the MSN Messenger application to suffer degraded performance and varying degrees of unstable operation. In order to experience the best performance with MSN Messenger, you should uninstall third party MSN Messenger add-in applications you have installed which may be causing stability issues and report these issues to the third party application vendors
Unsolicited messages in pop-up dialogs from Messenger Servic
Microsoft has investigated reports that individuals are using the Messenger Service in Windows to send unsolicited messages in pop-up dialog boxes to customers. While the messages can be annoying, they do not pose a security risk. The Messenger service that is being used to send these messages is a simple text-only broadcast service that is typically used by network administrators to send alerts to users notifying them of pending service outages, server maintenance, etc. The Messenger Service is not an instant message service like MSN Messenger or Windows Messenger
You can close the dialog box by clicking OK or the Close button in upper-right corner of the dialog box. Virtually any home internet firewall product will block the messages. Windows XP customers can enable Internet Connection Firewall to block them
Click Here to learn more about receiving unsolicited messages in Messenger pop-up dialogs
Viruse
Computer viruses can be passed around in a variety of ways: via e-mail messages, on floppy disks, and increasingly, through messaging applications like MSN Messenger
The Hello.exe Worm is an example of a virus that can be passed around through MSN Messenger
You will get an instant message similar to "i have a file for u. its real funny" and an invitation asking you to accept a file called Hello.exe
How to protect yourself against Hello.exe and other similar types of virus
Be sure you know who is sending you a file transfer and what that file is before you accept it.
If you have antivirus software installed on your computer, you can set up MSN Messenger to scan all of the files you receive. For more information, see Help in MSN Messenger.
Make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. Go to your anti-virus company's Web site or call them to get more information.
Back up the data on your hard drives on a regular basis
For more information about viruses, visit the McAfee or Norton Web site
Screen Reader
If you use a screen reader, please check with the screen reader vendor before installing MSN Messenger 6.1 to make sure that the screen reader software is compatible with this version of MSN Messenger
Animated Emoticon
The latest version of MSN Messenger allows you to create your own emoticons. However, you cannot create animated emoticons in Messenger or add animated emoticons from other programs
Webcam and Video Conferencin
MSN Messenger audio and video features do not support 256 color mode. To use MSN Messenger audio and video features, you should set your color quality to 16-bit. To do this
Right-click anywhere on your desktop, and then click Properties.
Click the Settings tab.
Under Color quality, select Medium (16-bit).
Click OK
Automatic Start-Up and Sign-I
You can stop MSN Messenger from starting automatically when you log into Windows. You can also prevent Messenger from signing you in automatically when you connect to the Internet
Stop MSN Messenger from starting automatically
You can stop MSN Messenger from starting when you turn on your computer or log on. To do this:
In the main MSN Messenger window, click the Tools menu, and then click Options.
Click the General tab.
Clear the Automatically run Messenger when I log on to Windows check box.
To change this setting and allow MSN Messenger to start automatically, select the check box again.
Stop MSN Messenger from signing you in automatically
If you are using Windows XP:
In the main MSN Messenger window, click the Tools menu, and then click Options.
Click the General tab, and then clear the Allow automatic sign in when connected to the Internet check box.
If you are using earlier versions of Windows:
In the main MSN Messenger window, click the Tools menu, and then click Options.
Click the General tab, and then clear the Allow automatic sign in when connected to the Internet check box.
-or-
Click the Accounts tab and delete the asterisks in the Password box.
When you click the Sign me in automatically check box to sign in to MSN Messenger, your Microsoft .NET Passport name and password are stored on your computer. This allows MSN Messenger to sign you in automatically.
On Windows XP, you can delete this information so you are not signed in automatically, even if you selected the option to do so in Messenger. To do this:
On Windows, click the Start button, click Control Panel, and then click User Accounts.
Click the Advanced tab, and then click Manage Passwords.
In Stored User Names and Passwords, click Passport.NET, and then click Remove.
This does not delete your Passport; it only removes your Passport name and password from this computer.
Click Close, and then click OK.
Connecting
If you have set up both AOL and another dial-up networking connection, MSN Messenger may attempt to use the non-AOL dial-up connection even when you are already connected to AOL. In that case, simply cancel the dialog box for the second dial-up connection, and MSN Messenger will connect to the Internet using your AOL dial-up connection.
Firewalls
If you are on a local area network behind a firewall (for example, on a corporate network), you may not be able to make a phone call from your computer or send a file to someone outside the firewall.
Mobile
MSN Messenger Security Update for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Smartphones
As part of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, Microsoft is requiring all .NET Messenger Service clients to upgrade to compliant versions of Messenger service client software in an effort to provide improved security and greater privacy protection. Click here for information on updates for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Smartphones.
If you disable your MSN Mobile account from the MSN Mobile User & Device Information page by clicking the Disable account check box and then return to MSN Messenger, your MSN Mobile account will still appear to be enabled. If you sign out of MSN Messenger and sign back in, your MSN Mobile account will now appear as disabled.
Some mobile devices may not be able to display messages that contain international characters. Contact your mobile service provider for more information.
Audio
To ensure we deliver the best audio technology for computer-to-computer or computer-to-phone communications from MSN Messenger, we have made technical enhancements. This means you will only be able to use Messenger version 4.5 or higher for these features if:
You are not behind a firewall or
You are behind a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) firewall or
You are using a UPnP-enabled Network Address Translation (NAT) device
If you have any questions on whether you are behind a firewall or what type of firewall it is, please contact your ISP or corporate Helpdesk.
In the Audio Tuning wizard, if you choose "Game Compatible Device" on the "Select devices for calling" screen and then click Next, you will get an error message that indicates that the audio device you are trying to use is half-duplex. This is probably not the case; instead, select another device.
You may experience problems with MSN Messenger audio and video conferencing if you are using MSN Messenger version 6.0 or earlier and you do not have a network card installed on your computer. To fix these problems, please upgrade to MSN Messenger v6.1.
If you are using Windows XP and you have an Intel network card, you may experience problems using the MSN Messenger audio feature. Some Intel network cards enable 802.1p wireless connection support by default, but don't provide a way to disable that support.
Turning off the QoS Packet Scheduler may fix this problem. To do this:
In Windows, click Start, and then click Control Panel.
Click Network and Internet Connection, and then click Network Connections.
Right-click the network or Internet connection that is currently enabled, and then click Properties.
Clear the QoS Packet Scheduler check box.
Restart your computer.
Sign in to MSN Messenger and try using the audio feature again.
File Transfer
If you use Internet connection sharing, you will not be able to send files using MSN Messenger. You will be able to receive them, but not send them.
Adding contacts
People who recently signed up for a Hotmail MSN Messenger account may not be found in a search for their first and last names until a few days after their accounts are created.
Instant messaging and notifications
Some URLs appear to be active hyperlinks while you type them, but become inactive once they are sent. To send an active URL, type the entire address, including the "http" part, for example, "
http://www.msn.com/". URLs that begin with "file://" are not accepted as hyperlinks in the instant message window.
Browsers and operating systems
If you have Microsoft® Windows® 95 and Netscape Navigator 4.0 on your computer with no version of Internet Explorer installed, hyperlinks in invitations will be displayed as text and cannot be clicked. To accept or decline invitations under these conditions, use the keyboard shortcuts specified in the invitation.
If you have Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and have a Dial Up Networking connection configured but not active, MSN Messenger will not launch your dial-up connection to the Internet when you sign in.
In order for you to access your MSN Hotmail® e-mail, you need to enable scripting support in your browser. In Microsoft® Internet Explorer, you can do this on the Security tab of the Internet Options dialog box; in Netscape Navigator, you can enable scripting support in the Preferences dialog box of version 4.0.
Various features of MSN Messenger, such as Tabs, Chat and Phone Calls use Microsoft® Internet Explorer. If you selected Work Offline in the File menu of Internet Explorer, these features will not work properly.
To install the latest version of MSN Messenger on computers running Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you need to have the proper permissions. On NT-based operating systems, you must be an Administrator on the computer. If you are unsure about what permissions you have on your computer, please contact your system administrator.
Other
Users on the Windows 2000 operating system who are prompted to upgrade to the latest version of MSN Messenger may see an Authentication error message. We are aware of this problem and are working to resolve it. If you see this error message, please click Cancel, and then click here to download the latest version of MSN Messenger from the Web site.
Starting a teleconference with NetMeeting® requires Microsoft NetMeeting 2.1 or later; it's available here.
When you invite someone to an online meeting or to play a game, both you and your contact should have the same version of the meeting or game software on your computers. For example, if you have NetMeeting version 3.01 and invite a contact to an online meeting, you will get the best results if your contact also has NetMeeting version 3.01.
When someone who is using MSN Messenger on a Windows XP computer invites you to start Remote Assistance, that person's name might not appear in the invitation or dialog windows.
If you have problems using Remote Assistance after upgrading from Windows 2000 to Windows XP, you need to install the latest version of Windows Messenger. Click here to download Windows Messenger.
MSN Messenger 5.0 or later does not support Game Voice 1.0 or 1.5, including Game Voice Server. To use Game Voice, please install Windows Messenger 4.7 or later from the Windows Messenger download page.
Internet Connection Sharing using ICS/NAT
Currently, certain extended features of MSN Messenger, such as voice conversations and file transfer, might not work behind Internet Connection Sharing applications and hardware (often called NATs). Basic functionality such as signing in, instant messaging, and checking e-mail should not be affected at all.
File transfer and audio or video conversations will fail if both you and the person you are communicating with are on computers that have Windows XP ICS NATs. MSN Messenger fails to detect this type of NAT as a Universal Plug-n-Play (UPnP) NAT.
On the XP ICS machine connected directly to the Internet please do the following:
Click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel
Double-click Network Connections
Right-click on the network connection that is shared and select Properties
Click on the Advanced tab
Check the box that says Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection
Click OK to save the settings
Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Support
For Windows 2000 Multilingual User Interface users: The Multilingual UI Pack for MSN Messenger version 6.1 is available.
Please click here to download.
For Windows XP Multilingual User Interface users: The Multilingual UI Pack for MSN Messenger version 6.1 is available.
Please click here to download.
This package will work only with the latest version of MSN Messenger. Please make sure to install the latest version of MSN Messenger from this site prior to the installation of this MUI package.
