Some people do not want to use MSN Messenger for chatting and would like to remove it from their computers. With Windows XP, this is not always so easy.

Also, with MSN installed and enabled, new XP users may find themselves annoyed with those horrible popups for various advertisements which tell them to "click here to remove these ads". Well, most of us are afraid to "click here" because we fear we will be added to some advertising database and swamped with S P A M (and rightly so).

So, here are two tips: One to get rid of Messenger completely and the other to keep Messenger but get rid of those annoying popups (which come from those nice people at Microsoft Messenger, believe it or not):

Uninstalling MSN Messenger Completely

This one comes from About.com:
"I know it sounds hard to believe, but some of you out there may wish to remove MSN Messenger from Windows XP. However, it does not appear from the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel.

In order for it to show up there, you must first edit the file named sysoc.inf. This file can be found in a folder named INF, which is a subfolder of the Windows folder (or in some cases the winnt folder, depending on how your OS was installed).

You can open that file in notepad. Look for the following line:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
and remove the word "hide" while leaving the commas on place. Close and save the file, and then open the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel, so that you can remove it like any other program."


To Get Rid of the Annoying PopUp Ads:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel (or point to Settings, and then click Control Panel).
2. Double-click Administrative Tools.
3. Double-click Services.
4. Double-click Messenger.
5. In the Startup type list, click Disabled.
6. Click Stop, and then click OK.