Running MSN Messenger 7.5

There has been some unhappiness in the net for quite a while. Ever since microsoft decided to come down hard and make every one use its Windows Live Messenger (whether you want to or not), people everywhere have been complaining about it.

I for one didn’t really have much to complain about. I mean, it DID look slightly prettier.. but as with all of microsoft’s products.. the prettier it gets, the lousier it performs. The newer it is, the more buggy it is.. it didn’t really affect me up till about last night when my computer insistently froze up every time I try to start a conversation with certain ppl. The chat window would pop up halfway then the whole system just freezes..

Amazing new technology from Microsoft.

So anyway, after pouring through the internet, I realize I’m not the only one still reminiscing the old versions of MSN messenger. And some have gotten it to work. I did, and I’m now happily using MSN Messenger 7.5. =)

Here’s what to do:

Firstly, if you somehow managed to NOT use Windows Live Messenger since the hostile takeover by Microsoft, that means u still have your old version of msn messenger installed in your computer. Just that each time you try to connect, they tell you to update. Make sure you CLOSE msn messenger (right click on the system-tray and click on Exit). Go to the folder which msn messenger is installed in, this would most probably be under C drive -> Program Files, find a folder called MSN MESSENGER. Open this folder and you should see an exe file called msnmsgr.exe, which has the icon of the round msn fella. Right-click on this file and go to Properties. Under the Compatibility tab, check the box that says Run This Program In Compatibility Mode.. and from the drop down menu, select Windows 2000. And you’re done.. start msn messenger 7.5 and you should now be able to connect.

Secondly, if you’re like me, one of those affect by the hostile takeover, and have unwillingly subjected yourself to upgrade to Windows Live Messenger, you would first need to uninstall Windows Live Messenger. To do this, go to Control Panel -> Add or Remove programs. And uninstall Windows Live Messenger. Doing this will NOT affect the files/emoticons that you have; it will simply just remove this new version of messenger. And once it’s done, you should see that your version of messenger has been reverted back to the previously installed version (7.5 for me). Then make sure that messenger is not running and follow the steps as listed above and you should be able to connect to the msn network using MSN Messenger 7.5.

There you have it. Hope it helps.. comments? Still using Windows Live Messenger? Then you might want to check out this post on how to remove the advertisments on messenger..