Remove Messenger From XP

Even if you have turned off the “run at windows startup” option for Windows Messenger, the program may still be running in the Windows background and draining your valuable system resources. Microsoft went to great lengths to make removing Messenger nearly impossible for the average XP user. Finally a slightly more apparent way to remove the program was added as part of XP’s Service Pack 1. If you don’t use Windows Messenger for chat, I highly recommend removing it from your system completely. The manner in which you delete the Messenger program will depend on whether you have Service Pack 1 installed on your system.

Removing Messenger on XP with Service Pack 1

1. Click on the start menu and open the Control Panel
2. Find the add/remove programs icon and double-click to open it
3. Select the add/remove Windows Components option
4. Uncheck the box next to Windows Messenger
5. Click next and then finish
6. Restart Windows and you’re done!

Removing Messenger from XP without Service Pack 1

1. Click on the Start Menu and choose Run
2. Enter the following command into the run box

   RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove

3. Click ok to remove Messenger

Technorati Tags: remove messenger, windows messenger, XP