I used the Windows Update function in Internet Explorer on a Windows XP system to check for patches for a laptop. Including optional hardware and software patches, there were 63 available. I chose to download and install them all. Windows Messenger 4.7 was among those available; I hadn't paid attention to the fact it was among those to be installed. It was the first one installed. I saw a Windows Firewall notice pop up asking me whether I wanted to continue to block Windows Messenger. I did, but the system gave me a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) when I attempted to block it.
When the system rebooted, Windows Messenger 4.7 opened. I didn't want the software on this laptop anyway. So I opened the Control Panel (Click on Start, select Settings, then Control Panel). Under Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, I chose Add/Remove Windows Components. Windows Messenger was unchecked and had a size of 0.0 MB listed, so I couldn.t uninstall it that way. I was able to remove it using the steps below, however:
- Close Messenger if it is running. If you see an icon for it at the lower-right hand corner of your screen, right-click on it and choose Exit.
- Click on the Start button.
- Select Run.
- In the Open field of the window that appears, copy and
paste
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
- When you see the confirmation prompt below, choose "Yes"
after closing any of the referenced programs, if they are open.
To remove Messenger, you must first exit from it: Click the Messenger icon in the taskbar, then Exit. Please also close all other programs that display your contact list (for example, Internet Explorer, Outlook, Outlook Express, MSN Explorer). Make sure to close programs for all users signed in to this computer. Do you want to continue?
You will see a notice appear stating Windows Messenger has been removed when the uninstall process completes.
If you don't want to remove Windows Messenger 4.7, but just want to stop it from running automatically when you login to a system, instead of following the procedure above, open Windows Messenger and take the following steps:
- Click on Tools.
- Select Options.
- Click on the Preferences tab.
- Uncheck "Run this program when Windows starts".
- Click on OK.
References:
-
How to remove Windows Messenger 4.7 permanently
By Darrell Norton
Posted: March 10, 2004
Darrell Norton's Blog -
How do I get rid of Messenger 4.7?
By Leo Notenbom
Posted: May 28, 2004
Ask Leo! Tech Questions? Get Answers!