Greetings Soccer,
To disable Windows Messenger, open it up (click Start, then Run, type "msmsgs" and click OK),
click Tools, Options, Preferences tab and uncheck 'Run this Program when Windows starts' or
'Run Windows Messenger when Windows starts' (depending on version) as well as 'Allow this
program to run in the background' or 'Allow Windows Messenger to run in the background'
(depending on version).
Also, do you have Norton Antivirus installed? Recent versions of Norton Antivirus added a
new "instant messaging scanning" feature, which can conflict with Messenger and cause this
behavior. To stop it, open Norton Antivirus (Right-click on the Norton Antivirus icon in the
System Tray/Notification Area (by the clock), choose 'Open Norton Antivirus'), click Options,
then Instant Messenger then uncheck MSN Instant Messenger and click OK.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources -
http://messenger.jonathankay.com