Norton Internet Security is the culprit for me.... Once I followed the
instructions to "disable" NIS, which I do frequently from time to time for
things like this, and presto, there were all the games in their glory!
Funny, I got not one, but 2 replys from them, both saying the same thing,
weird, but it works.....
Good Luck!
Hello Dwight,
Thank you for writing to MSN Messenger Technical Support. My name is Marco
and I am here to help you address the issue you are experiencing.
From what I read in your e-mail, you cannot play games through the MSN
messenger because you receive a message saying that "The List of activities
or games is temporarily unavailable. Please close and try again later." I
understand your concern and I apologize for any inconvenience this issue may
have caused you.
» The following conditions may apply:
- The list of games on the Games & Activities site may not be correctly
cached on the computer.
- Your firewall may be blocking the list from being downloaded from the MSN
Messenger servers.
- The game server is slow or your Internet connection is slow, and MSN
Messenger timed out while it was starting the game.
» I have included the instructions that will help you solve the issue.
Follow these steps in the order that they appear:
1. Clear your Internet cache, and then open the Games & Activities site:
a. Sign out of MSN Messenger.
b. Clear your Internet cache:
i. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.
ii. On the "Tools" menu, click "Internet Options."
iii. Click "Delete Files," and then click "OK."
c. Sign in to MSN Messenger.
d. Open the Games & Activities Web site.
2. Some firewall programs may not allow the Games and Activities list to
render correctly.
Note
This issue has been identified as a known issue with Norton Internet
Security (NIS).If you are using NIS, and you are experiencing this issue,
follow these steps:
a. Remove Port 80 from the HTTP port list:
i. Click the NIS notification area icon, and then select "Norton Internet
Security" from the top of the list.
ii. Click "Options."
iii. Click the "Firewall" tab.
iv. Under the "HTTP port" list, find the number "80" in the list, highlight
it, and then click the "Remove."
v. Click "OK."
b. If you have any other firewall program, temporarily disable the firewall.
MSN Messenger caches the list in the Internet cache. Therefore, temporarily
disabling the firewall
and causing the list to refresh is a possible workaround. Make sure that the
firewall is re-enabled immediately after the list is refreshed.
Important
We recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with
implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement
this workaround, take any
appropriate steps to help protect the system.
a. Right-click the icon for the firewall or antivirus software, and then
click "Disable." If this option is not available, click "Exit."
b. Sign in to MSN Messenger, and then click the Activities or Games icons to
fetch the list of activities and games. This list is now cached and available
until you clear the
Internet cache as mentioned in step 1.
c. Re-enable the firewall. To do this, start your firewall program from the
list of programs.
3. You may have a slow Internet connection or the game server may be slow to
respond, try to sign in to MSN Messenger after several minutes.
Dwight, the information I have provided you with should answer your
questions and solve the issue, but if you find that you need additional
assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us again. We are always here at
your service.
Thank you again for contacting MSN Messenger Technical Support and have a
great day.
For additional on-line help, please go to:
http://messenger.msn.com/Help
Sincerely,
MarcoMSN Messenger Technical Support
--- Original Message ---
From: MSSGR.FREE.NA.US.EN.SYK.ELS.TS.T02.SPT.PC.EM
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 0001 12:00:00 AM UTC
To: (e-mail address removed)
Subject: RE: SRX1001366226ID - MSN Messenger:I have a comment about
Me:Negative:Feature
Hello Dwight,
Thank you for writing to MSN Messenger Technical Support. My name is Dave
and I am here to help you address the issue you are experiencing.
From what I read in your e-mail, the games of MSN Messenger are not starting.
When you start a game from the MSN Messenger Games & Activities
site, you receive the following error message:
-- "The Games & Activities site is unavailable at this time"
I understand the concern and I apologize for any inconvenience this issue
may have caused you.
The following conditions may apply:
-- The list of games on the Games & Activities site may not be correctly
cached on the computer.
-- Your firewall may be blocking the list from being downloaded from the MSN
Messenger servers.
-- The game server is slow or your Internet connection is slow, and MSN
Messenger timed out while it was starting the game.
I have included the instructions that will help you solve the issue. Follow
these steps in the order that they appear:
1. Clear your Internet cache, and then open the Games & Activities site:
a. Sign out of MSN Messenger.
b. Clear your Internet cache:
a. Start Microsoft Internet Explorer.
b. On the "Tools" menu, click "Internet Options."
c. Click "Delete Files," and then click "OK."
c. Sign in to MSN Messenger.
d. Open the Games & Activities Web site.
2. Some firewall programs may not allow the Games and Activities list to
render correctly.
Note: This issue has been identified as a known issue with Norton Internet
Security (NIS).
If you are using NIS, and you are experiencing this issue, follow these
steps:
a. Remove Port 80 from the HTTP port list:
a. Click the NIS notification area icon, and then select "Norton Internet
Security" from the top of the list.
b. Click "Options."
c. Click the "Firewall" tab.
d. Under the "HTTP port" list, find the number "80" in the list, highlight
it, and then click the "Remove."
e. Click "OK."
b. If you have any other firewall program, temporarily disable the firewall.
MSN Messenger caches the list in the Internet cache. Therefore, temporarily
disabling the firewall and causing the list to refresh is a possible
workaround. Make sure that the firewall is re-enabled immediately after the
list is refreshed.
Important: We recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with
implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement
this workaround, take any appropriate steps to help protect the system.
a. Right-click the icon for the firewall or antivirus software, and then
click "Disable." If this option is not available, click "Exit."
b. Sign in to MSN Messenger, and then click the Activities or Games icons to
fetch the list of activities and games. This list is now cached and available
until you clear the Internet cache as mentioned in step 1.
c. Re-enable the firewall. To do this, start your firewall program from the
list of programs.
3. You may have a slow Internet connection or the game server may be slow to
respond, try to sign in to MSN Messenger after several minutes.
Dwight, the information I have provided you with should answer the questions
and solve the issue, but if you find that you need additional assistance,
please do not hesitate to contact us again. We are always here at your
service.
Thank you again for contacting MSN Messenger Technical Support and have a
great day.
For additional on-line help, please go to:
http://messenger.msn.com/Help
Sincerely,
Dave
MSN Messenger Technical Support Team
