I too have the situation as where msmsgs.exe (Windows
Messenger) runs automatically, even concurrently with
msnmsg.exe (MSN Messenger) when I view "running processes"
in Task Manager. I have followed all of the basic
suggested instructions as far as settings are concerned to
stop it, but msmsgs.exe will initialize all on its own.
I've even stopped the process (tree) from within Task
Manager but eventually the msmsgs.exe will start up again
even without me starting any other apps.
The "work around" I have found that seems to work quite
effectively and I haven't had any adverse problems thus
far and that is to rename msmsgs.exe to something else. In
my case I have added the digit "1" to the end of the file
name; msmsgs1.exe. By doing so, Windows Messenger will not
start automatically nor can it run if I chose to run it.
If there is a need for the other features that this app
supports as previously, all I have to do is go back in and
remove the digit and rename the file back to its original
syntax and launch the program. This negates all the
cumbersome uninstall/deleting of shortcuts etc. Everything
is still as it was except the app won't run until the
executable is renamed to its orginal syntax.
-----Original Message-----
Greetings Dave,
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
won't remove Windows Messenger, but
it will let it stay out of your way
Besides the drawbacks above however, if you really want
to remove it completely, for Windows
Messenger 4.7, close down Messenger if it's running
(right click the messenger icon in the
notification area/system tray and click close). Then
click the start button, then click Run
and type in (copy-paste if you like):
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir% \INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
Then click OK.
Messenger will then be uninstalled. For more detailed
instructions and screenshots, go to,
http://messenger.jonathankay.com/problem.aspx?ID=7
For Windows Messenger 5, close down Messenger if it's
running (right click the messenger icon
in the notification area/system tray and click close).
Then click the start button, then