Problems with new update

[Tim Cole]

I'm not sure which group to go to -- I welcome courteous direction.
I signed on this afternoon and received a notice that Windows Live Messenger
had a pending update -- I allowed it.
Pretty soon, during the long install, I noticed that other MS apps were
flashing across the time line -- apps that had little or nothing to do with
Messenger. After restart, I wanted to check my email (Windows Mail -- was
Outlook Express) and found that all my settings were gone, as well as all my
stored emails and folders and that I had to set up my accounts again. I
only remained in Mail long enough to write this post, because I fully
believe all my emails and setups are still on this machine somewhere and
only need to be synced in.
Also, my auto-completes were disabled, my IE homepage was changed to MSDN
(even thought I had specifically unchecked that box in the Messesnger update
install). I had to rebuild my task bar.
Why did all this happen? Was I a victim of a hox? a virus? (I have
Comcast's McAfee) a "getting-to-be-typical" Microsoft update disaster?
Did anyone else experience this?
And can someone steer me to the folder where email files are stored?
My specs: Gateway T-series laptop with 4Gb RAM, 250Gb HD 40% filled, Vista
SP1, and IE-8 RC1.

 

[Charles W Davis]

Restore to a time previous to the Live Messenger update.

 

[RalfG]

The Live Messenger update doesn't update Windows Mail (I'm typing this in
Windows Mail as
the updater is running). The most recent updates I can see for Windows Mail
were only the junk mail filter on Feb 12
and the same again back in Jan and December. If anything the installer for
Live applications
could install or update Windows Live Mail or some of the other Live
programs.
Windows Live Mail is a separate email program which does not replace Windows
Mail and News or change its accounts/message folders.

You might have mistaken a newly installed Live Mail icon for Windows Mail,
in which case your old
email settings and messages should still be intact. Look in your programs
menus for the Windows Mail (E-mail icon). Windows Live Mail might have been
moved to the top
of the Start menu in place of it. The icon should indicate whether it is
Windows E-mail or Live Mail.

Okay the updater just finished.... no restart was required. As expected
Windows Mail wasn't touched but Windows Live Mail was updated along with
Messenger. Live Mail appearance changed somewhat but accounts are still
intact. A new Live Call icon was added to the Windows Live folder but no
other Live apps were installed despite all the downloads while the updater
was running. My IE7 start page was not touched.

IE8 is still a beta so finding problems with it is to be expected. You might
have installed something more than the Messenger/Live updates, something
that required a restart or altered IE8.

 

[Jark]

Whatever happened, it was the Live Messenger update install process that
ran, and yes I assumed that the "Mail" update that was happening was Windows
Live Mail, but when the install was complete, my desktop had dropped several
application icons, my task bar was reconfigured, my Windows Mail email
configuration was reinitiated and my IE-8 home page was changed to MSN (even
though I had unchecked the box that asked if I wanted MSN to be my home
page). I was able to find my old email folders and files, so I knew they
were still safe, just not viewable. I probably could have reconfigured
Windows Mail and imported them or just pointed to them to get them back, but
I chose to Restore. My major worry was that Restore evidently does not
process personal files, so if my stored emails and folders had been wiped
clean (as back in the "old days") there would be little likelihood of
restoring them.
After I "Restored," everything was back to my original configurations of
that morning.
But, there was no mistaking, the Windows Live update, which included
Messenger, was the culprit, and it was somewhere within the configuration
selections that did the damage. In fact, having backed up everything safely
on another disc, I redid the update installation but unchecked all the
options boxes. I watched the flashing messages, and once again I saw many
of the same changes and installs take place as they had before (the messages
do not differentiate between Windows Mail and Windows Live Mail -- they only
say "Mail"). In this case, I asked that the toolbar not be added. Since I
do not use Outlook, I left the associated box unchecked in both instances.
There was no confusion, no interruption, no "hiccup" in the process, either
time, but one of the options that was left checked caused unintended
consequences.
Microsoft and Windows have been known to release buggy updates before, and I
believe this one to be buggy.