Getting Rid of MSN Messenger

One of the things I hated about XP is it forces MSN Messenger to run in your task bar. Here is a tip to deal with it.

start
run
type MSCONFIG
hit OK
- uncheck MSNMSGR from the "Startup" tab

it'll reappear

Seriously? Holy Invasive Microshit!

Ok, here is another fix. I haven't tried this one, but no one complained. :-)

ename the exe file, located here c:program filesmessengermsmsgs.exe, to something other than msmsgs.exe, such as msmsgsnew.exe.

MSN does not appear from the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. In order for it to show up there, you must first edit the file named sysoc.inf. This file can be found in a folder named INF, which is a subfolder of the Windows folder (or in some cases the winnt folder, depending on how your OS was installed). You can open that file in notepad. Look for the following line:

msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

and remove the word "hide" while leaving the commas on place. Close and save the file, and then open the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel, so that you can remove it like any other program.

________________________________________________________

This MSN Tech note was the ONLY way Joe and I could stop MSN from starting on his PC.
I should not need to say it, but here it is anyway:
ALWAYS BACK UP THE REGISTRY BEFORE MAKING EDITS.


Link
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;302089


This method prevents programs that use the Messenger APIs from using Windows Messenger. Outlook 2002, Outlook Express 6, and the Remote Assistance feature in Windows XP are examples of programs that use these APIs and that depend on Windows Messenger.

1. Start Registry Editor. To do this, click Start, click Run, type regedit.exe, and then click OK.

If the following registry subkey already exists, go to step 6:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftMessengerClient

2. Click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoft

3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key. Type Messenger for the name of the new registry key, and then press ENTER.

4. Click the following registry subkey: key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftMessenger

5. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key. Type Client for the name of the new registry key, and then press ENTER.

6. Click the following registry subkey: key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftMessengerClient

7. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value. Type PreventRun for the name of the new DWORD value and then press ENTER.

8. Right-click the PreventRun value that you created in step 7, and then click Modify. In theValue data box, type 1, and then click OK.

9. Quit Registry Editor.

|GRB|Duck wrote:
ALWAYS BACK UP THE REGISTRY BEFORE MAKING EDITS.  

Backup Shamackup, Live on the edge, edit the registry without backing it up. It's as good as crack baby!!!

Seriously though I used to love bringing a client into edit hklmsoftwaremswindowscurrentversionrun (msconfig for any lay person out there, and no I don't know registry keys off the top of my head that'd be dorky!!! :cry:) and then saying something like "Ooo did you back up your registry first?? Do you have a good set of backups? You shouldn't edit the registry without a good backup of it." That was when the panic set in. :twisted:

and no I don't know registry keys off the top of my head that'd be dorky!!!

sure Bubba, whatever you say...

You could Also:
1. Install At Least XP SP1
2. Open A/R Programs
3. Click on A/R Windows Components
4. Uncheck "Windows Messenger"
5. Enjoy having done it eaisly
6. Call Ephil's mom, Invite her over for a Rufie-Colada

I thought that problem dissappeared with sp1 for me (then I assumed I must be nuts).. that must be why. I remeber when I first got XP, I was annoyed I couldn't even remove it permanetly using the registry. I had some good times trying though, in that Microsoft sort of way!

So your eyes are bleeding and your teeth are now flat, from grinding your jaw.
Seeeeet

hmmmm, i got rid of it using add/remove, no problem, it might still be there, but is not in my taskbar at startup

I think that add/remove depends on how it was installed. In my case, it was installed as part of a security hotfix for Outlook Express and IE 6. That could be the difference.

Dudes...... make a bat file and copy this into it, save it, run it. It will remove it, no returns.

RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%INFmsmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

As Duck related above, my Messenger problems happened after I tried to put on SP2 and spyware problems. After uninstalling said piece of shit, I was getting lag spikes every 2 minutes. Process lookup showed it to be the Messenger .exe file. If you stopped that process, 2 mins. later it would start again. It was causing a 25% CPU spike everytime it happened. The only way to stop it was the tech hint that Duck was giving me over the phone because I disconnected the cable modem!

Joe R.

I did that Raze and it gave me an error with some OCX file and said it could do it. 🙁

I'm telling you, MS has tied this thing to other programs and it infects your system like nothing doing.

If I find an email client I like better than Outlook Express, maybe I'll have a chance at getting rid of this darn thing.

as raze said make a bat file that contains this:
format c:
y

I assure you it'll remove MSN messenger.

OK, please no one do this... I will feel bad when I find out some 12 year old formated his dads work computer on my advice.

LOL! It's ok, windows XP won't let you format the primary partition, as Duck found out the other night.

But I had my DOS 6.2 floppy's ready willing and able!

My 2 cents.
You know I haven't posted in this toopic yet but I've been working on removing this myself for the last month or so. Even when removing it from start up and in the registry, it still loads up, but not like it did. Every time you remove it from the registry something adds it back as soon as you remove it, I am running a PR that asks whether or not I want to allow the registry change, I always say no, but it still gets back in there. When I see it in the task bar I'll exit from it then it comes back when the t-bar is minimized, then when I go to exit from it again it disappears on its own. I know it's part of hotmail as far as the .net login. so I think it gets reloaded when loging on to it. I also just recently added .NET to my system, to run botinator, which I believe also runs with messenger.
I do remember seeing somewhere microshits home page about removal of the messenger, when I get time to find it again I'll post it.
Does anyone know what the .NET does in short.