Windows Live Messenger: Vista SP2 Issues as 10th Anniversary Approaches
Windows Live Messenger and the second service pack for the Windows Vista operating system do not work well together it seems, just like Yahoo! Mail and Symantec. According to the Windows Live team, if you installed Vista SP2 and you are unable to launch Windows Live Messenger afterwards, this is because Live Messenger attempts to use and incorrect Microsoft Installer Package. Your only workaround is to perform a fresh install of Windows Live Messenger, but without uninstalling it first.
“If Windows Live Messenger 14.0 was running when you installed Vista SP2 it may run until you exit the program. Once you exit Live Messenger you will not be able to start the program again. If Windows Live Messenger is installed when you installed Vista SP2, Live Messenger will not start. This issue can occur after Windows Live Messenger detects that an operating system upgrade has been installed and then attempts to perform a repair of Live Messenger. When this occurs Live Messenger tries to use an incorrect Microsoft Installer package,” explains the Windows Live Messenger Team.
What you should do is download Windows Live Messenger (link here), run the installation wizard and complete the installation process. You will notice that in the “Choose the programs you want to install” window, Live Messenger is displayed under “This program will be updated.” It is very important that you do not uninstall Windows Live Messenger before running the fresh installation.
Moving on to happier news, next month, on the 22nd of July, Windows Live Messenger will celebrate its 10th anniversary. With this joyous occasion in mind, the team behind the IM client does not care about the fact that Live Messenger has more than 330 million active users per month or any other trivial fact like that; it cares about how Windows Live Messenger positively impacted your life.
“For a 10-year celebration it’s not all about the numbers – even more important is how Messenger has enabled friendships, changed lives, or just brought a lot of fun to a quick chat with a good friend or family member. We want to learn about those very personal stories and moments for you, and we’d like to ask you to share your story with us. What was your funniest, most unexpected or most emotional moment with Messenger? If you have a great story and you’d like to share it with others, please send it to us! Please note that we will publish the best anecdotes in our Windows Live Messenger marketing or public relations communications. Of course we will do that anonymously, only mentioning your first name and home country (and maybe a related picture if you decide to add one),” explained a representative of the Windows Live Messenger Team.
Now I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but I’m guessing Microsoft will not be getting any stories from users in Cuba, Syria, Iran, Sudan and North Korea. Or at least not happy ones (details here and here).
“If Windows Live Messenger 14.0 was running when you installed Vista SP2 it may run until you exit the program. Once you exit Live Messenger you will not be able to start the program again. If Windows Live Messenger is installed when you installed Vista SP2, Live Messenger will not start. This issue can occur after Windows Live Messenger detects that an operating system upgrade has been installed and then attempts to perform a repair of Live Messenger. When this occurs Live Messenger tries to use an incorrect Microsoft Installer package,” explains the Windows Live Messenger Team.
What you should do is download Windows Live Messenger (link here), run the installation wizard and complete the installation process. You will notice that in the “Choose the programs you want to install” window, Live Messenger is displayed under “This program will be updated.” It is very important that you do not uninstall Windows Live Messenger before running the fresh installation.
Moving on to happier news, next month, on the 22nd of July, Windows Live Messenger will celebrate its 10th anniversary. With this joyous occasion in mind, the team behind the IM client does not care about the fact that Live Messenger has more than 330 million active users per month or any other trivial fact like that; it cares about how Windows Live Messenger positively impacted your life.
“For a 10-year celebration it’s not all about the numbers – even more important is how Messenger has enabled friendships, changed lives, or just brought a lot of fun to a quick chat with a good friend or family member. We want to learn about those very personal stories and moments for you, and we’d like to ask you to share your story with us. What was your funniest, most unexpected or most emotional moment with Messenger? If you have a great story and you’d like to share it with others, please send it to us! Please note that we will publish the best anecdotes in our Windows Live Messenger marketing or public relations communications. Of course we will do that anonymously, only mentioning your first name and home country (and maybe a related picture if you decide to add one),” explained a representative of the Windows Live Messenger Team.
Now I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but I’m guessing Microsoft will not be getting any stories from users in Cuba, Syria, Iran, Sudan and North Korea. Or at least not happy ones (details here and here).
