MSN Messenger problem

[nags]

I've been tweaking my computer all day with the instruction of several websites. Been doing a lot in the registry and everything has been working very well.

However, earlier I ran a script to get rid of the popup messenger program and I think I may have ran the wrong script or something, but ever since I cannot run MSN Messenger. At first I was getting errors so I uinstalled and reinstalled it. Now it will simply not open. I even tried restoring my computer to its state from yesterday.

The operating system is XP Pro.

Basically, I think I just need to undo what this script did but I'm not sure what I need to do exactly.

Here's a link to the page with the script - http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_messenger_remove.htm

thanks

 

[1sikbITCH]

I don't know how to fix your problem, but I do know how to do what you set out to do originally.

Open Start/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services.

Scroll down to Messenger. Right click, choose Properties. Change Startup Type to Disabled. Hit Apply or just close the window and that's it.

 

[nags]

I've done that since.


I really wanna get MSN running again

 

[vailr]

I looked at that web page, and you should be able to undo by:
Start/Run/regedt32: go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express
Find dword: "Hide Messenger".
Change the value from "2" to "0".
Or, right-click, delete this dword.

----------------------------------------
Edit: Just checked my registry, and that dword is in there, with a value of 2, with MSN Messenger running fine also.
Did you also uninstall Windows Messenger , using Add/Remove Programs//Add Remove Windows Components?
That is: if you install MSN Messenger, you should also uninstall Windows Messenger.

 

[nags]

Yep, I did all that... Uninstalled the newest version then uninstalled it from Windows components.. then reinstalled both.. still doesnt work. I dont even get an error code or anything

Just says this "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the app may fix this problem"

 

[vailr]

Originally posted by: nags
Yep, I did all that... Uninstalled the newest version then uninstalled it from Windows components.. then reinstalled both.. still doesnt work. I dont even get an error code or anything

Just says this "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the app may fix this problem"

No, you don't need Windows Messenger installed at all,. The "Messenger Service" (Start/Run/services.msc) is also not needed and can be set to "Disabled". With Windows Messenger uninstalled, (and also "Messenger Service" disabled). Only THEN, install MSN Messenger.

 

[nags]

Originally posted by: vailr

Originally posted by: nags
Yep, I did all that... Uninstalled the newest version then uninstalled it from Windows components.. then reinstalled both.. still doesnt work. I dont even get an error code or anything

Just says this "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the app may fix this problem"

No, you don't need Windows Messenger installed at all,. The "Messenger Service" (Start/Run/services.msc) is also not needed and can be set to "Disabled". With Windows Messenger uninstalled, (and also "Messenger Service" disabled). Only THEN, install MSN Messenger.

Just did that and nothing changed... Still getting the same error

 

[apoppin]

Is RESTORE turned on?

it is very useful for fixing registry muckups.

 

[nags]

I already went back several days and it did not fix the problem

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nags
I already went back several days and it did not fix the problem

Ouch!

Try going back further. If not, you might be out of luck . . . some registry problems are pretty hard to track down - I guess the XP "repair" function will not work also . . . i am always very cautious about running (untried) Visual Basic Script file programs on my registry instead of manually editing it . . .

reinstall XP?

or e-mail Mr Knox.

good luck . . . I am out of ideas.

 

[nags]

Well, I know exactly when it happened so I first tried going back one day. That didnt work so I went back a week and a half. Still no change.

Does XP work like 95/98 in that you can install itself over the existing copy and replace and damaged or missing files? Maybe I'll try that.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nags
Well, I know exactly when it happened so I first tried going back one day. That didnt work so I went back a week and a half. Still no change.

Does XP work like 95/98 in that you can install itself over the existing copy and replace and damaged or missing files? Maybe I'll try that.

My experience with XP is limited (I have Win2K but have troubleshot a few XP systems). Restore should work. You DID pick a "restore point"?

With both Win2K and XP, you boot from the CD and choose "repair" . . . I would certainly try that before thinking of a reformat.

Or try bumping this thread tomorrow morning to see if you can get additional help from a Registry Wiz.

 

[nags]

Alright.

Thanks for all the help

 

[nags]

ok, well now I uninstalled all instances of MSN Messenger and let Windows Update install version 4.7 and now 4.7 is actually working.

However, I still can not get the new version to work.. Getting the same errors

 

[nags]

Got it working!

Here's what I did if anyone has a similiar problem.

Deleted ALL instances of MSN Messenger.. Then ran Windows update and had it download Messenger 4.7.

I then installed Messenger 6.1. At this point 6.1 still did NOT work.

So then I ran the setup file once again for 6.1 and chose the 'Repair' option and VOILA!

It now works.

Thanks for all your help :-D

 

[apoppin]

Glad you got it working!

 

[JayMassive]

I'm glad I caught this thread--thanks, y'all! This should prove useful.

j'son

 

[Bloodstein]

Now, it'd be nice if we could figure out exactly wat happened...