Articles

Disabling Windows Messenger

Introduction

Windows XP ships with Windows Messenger by default, but the software can be very irritating, as it loads when Windows starts, and seems to resist all attempts to cull it. Renaming the application folder or denying access to it causes certain applications to run very slowly.

Unfortunately, Windows Messenger does not contain the useful functionality of its older brother, MSN Messenger. Let's hope Microsoft see sense and ship MSN Messenger with the next incarnation of Windows.

It is possible to disable Windows Messenger under Windows XP, and in fact, this is done for you when you install SP2. However, for those using integrated SP2, but suffering the annoyance of Messenger, there is an alternative solution.

Warning

The method described herein involves making modifications to your computer's registry. Incorrectly modifying the registry can cause errors which may prevent your computer from working properly. Neither the author nor Mintra Systems can accept any responsibility for damage/problems caused by incorrectly editing the registry.

If you do not feel comfortable about using the Registry Editor, please see the download for this article.

Method

To disable Windows Messenger:

1. Click Start, Run
2. Type regedit and press Enter or click on OK
3. In the pane to the left, expand Local Computer
4. Expand, in this order, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Messenger
5. If a node named Client exists, then skip to step 8
6. From the Edit menu, select New, then Key
7. Enter Client as the name for the new key and press Enter
8. Select the Client node
9. From the Edit menu, select New, then DWORD Value
10. Enter PreventRun as the name of the new value
11. Double-click on the new value or press Enter to edit it
12. Give the item the value of 1
13. From the File menu, choose Exit

You may need to restart your computer in order to complete the process.

Downloads

To save changing the registry manually, I have prepared a file which can be downloaded which makes the modification for you. Download this file, then double-click on it to start it. Follow the instructions on your screen in order to finish the process.

Download DisWinMsgr.exe

Note: Download requires the Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime files to be installed.

Notes

• This process does not disable MSN Messenger, nor does it disable MSN Web Messenger. For information on preventing access to these, see Microsoft knowledge base article KB889829 at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889829
• This process does not disable the Messenger service, which is irrelevant to the operation of Windows Messenger and MSN Messenger.

Author: Rob Church