Greetings John,
To disable Windows Messenger (the "old one"), 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