Microsoft Messenger - removal

Channel Hopper

Channel Hopper

Suffering fools, so you don't have to.
Staff member
My Satellite Setup
A little less analogue, and a lot more crap.
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UK
Messenger on the rather slow XP laptop I've acquired, but I don't use it.

Having deleted it witnin the Add/Remove within the Control Panel, it still comes up in the Start Up, and nothing really runs until it completes with the blue screen on the desktop.
I can then shut down the programme and right click on the icon near the clock and everything is fine, but the start up procedure can take up to ten minutes.

How do I get rid of it completely ?
 
From the Start - run command type msconfig in the box.

This will give you a useful configuration tool. Use the Startup tab, and untick anything you dont need. You will probably find all sorts of utilities are trying to start at boot.

Be careful not to disable anything important - like your virus killer!

Restart the computer - you will get a confirmation box after boot. Tick the box that says ok dont tell me again and away you go.
 
Well yes but I would have thought you would need to go to add remove programs then click the tab on the left add remove windows componants and scroll down to probably the last item Windows Messenger and untick it.
 
hi-
if its still there --
bring up the messenger login window
then go --
tools --
options --
preferences --
and untick all the boxes and apply -
thats how i stopped it on mine

cheers --
 
^^ I find it tends to come back if you use it - msconfig stops it dead :D
 
Yes echo that. MS-DOS window, msconfig, startup. It normally stops programmes running at startup first time.
 
Topper said:
Well yes but I would have thought you would need to go to add remove programs then click the tab on the left add remove windows componants and scroll down to probably the last item Windows Messenger and untick it.
Click to expand...

It is the last in the list and is unticked.

Will try msconfig tomorrow
 
Download Shoot the Messenger from _http://www.grc.com/stm/shootthemessenger.htm works well.
 
No need, msconfig did it, the startup is now down to about three minutes (which on a 1.7 GHz processor and 512MB ram running XP isn't bad at all)

Thanks everyone.
 
Thats not bad for a 512meg machine. You might want to double up the memory though

-http://www.crucial.com/uk

The trouble with most programmes is that the designers expect you to want to use it EVERY time you start the computer, so they are designed to auto launch. After a few months of regular use you get all sorts of crud cluttering up the startup config which slows bootup immensely.
 
Analoguesat said:
Thats not bad for a 512meg machine. You might want to double up the memory though

-http://www.crucial.com/uk

The trouble with most programmes is that the designers expect you to want to use it EVERY time you start the computer, so they are designed to auto launch. After a few months of regular use you get all sorts of crud cluttering up the startup config which slows bootup immensely.
Click to expand...

I spent the first few days with our new Toshiba Netbook getting rid of unwanted start-up progs, pointless processes etc. Does wonders for boot time and for battery life.

OEM's keep increasing spec in terms of speed and RAM, then proceed to mitigate the advantages of the improved spec. by hobbling it again!

Bonkers.
 
I remove all the unwanted stuff by using the Ashampoo winoptimizer 2010. I am always getting good advice for free programs from this website - I can only recommend it. I am not a computer expert by all means, but usually the reports and suggestions on this site seemed quite good. Well worth bookmarking it.
I noticed that the startup was much faster after removing all the junk.

*ttp://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-pc-tune-up-utility.htm
 
The thing I love about buying used computers is you get to install the stuff you want, leaving the cr@p they install on their website or the CDs, 90% of the OEM software is just junk that hardly anybody needs or wants... :)

That said, you can't really avoid it with Windows and M$'s attempts to get you to use their stuff... :rolleyes:
 
True.

Already thought seriously about wiping the Netbook and putting Ubuntu 10.10 on it instead.
 
As an afterhthought, the main PC here has always run slower than I would like.

It runs Win2000 but I cannot start MSCONFIG to check for uneccessary stuff as it doesn't appear to exist. Is there a Win2000 equivalent ?
 
Hmm. Should be the same.

However run > services.msc gives access to a list of services that can then be right-clicked and disabled etc.

Have a butchers and see if it fits your needs.
 
Be careful with services.msc!

Although you should be able to start in safe mode and undo any actions that bolloxis up the machine!
 
Really? I've always been somewhat gung-ho with it.

Lucky, it seems!


Edit: Only just spotted you'd beaten me to it. Drat.
 
Channel Hopper said:
It runs Win2000 but I cannot start MSCONFIG to check for uneccessary stuff as it doesn't appear to exist.
Click to expand...
Gosh, that rattled my brain cell.

I seem to remember about 10 years ago when I was doing my network training that msconfig is not fitted to Win2K. Pity, it's very useful and I use it quite frequently.
 
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