Greetings Phil,
You can disable Windows Messenger by opening it up (click Start, then Run, type "msmsgs" and
click OK), click Tools, Options, Preferences tab and unchecking 'Run this Program when
Windows starts' or 'Run Windows Messenger when Windows starts' (depending on version). As
well, you can disable it further by going to Start, Control Panel, Add or Remove Programs,
Add/Remove Windows Components on the left, uncheck Windows Messenger in the components list
and click Next >. Note: this is only available if you've installed Windows XP Service Pack
1 -- if you haven't, visit
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com. This won't remove Windows
Messenger completely, but it will let it stay out of your way.
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 it to
also keep starting. 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