The job is easy if your PC is using XP with Service Pack 1 or 2 installed. Just open the Add or Remove Programs in control panel, Click the Add/Remove Windows Components button on the left, and, in the Windows Components Wizard, scroll down and uncheck the Windows Messenger box. Click the Next button, and the job is done.
On the other hand, if you’re using a pre-SP1 version of Windows XP, you’ll have to force Windows Messenger to show up on the list of Windows components by editing the Setup Information file that controls what appears in the Windows Components Wizard.
Use Notepad or another text editor to open the Setup Information file, sysoc.inf, which is usually found in the c:\windows\inf folder. For safety’s sake, make a backup of the file before editing it. Keep in mind that C:\Windows\inf is a hidden folder, so if you want to view its contents, you will first have to make hidden folders visible by going into Windows Explorer, choosing Tools > Folder Options, clicking the View tab, and selecting “show hidden files and folders.”
Open the file and locate the line that looks something like this:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7
This entry refers to Windows Messenger, If there is a hide command embedded in the string. It won’t show up in the Windows Component Wizard. To force it to show up in the wizard, remove hide so that the looks like this:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7
Save the sysoc.inf file, then run the Windows Components Wizard. Windows Messenger will now show up, and you can remove it using the steps noted earlier.
Note:
On some systems, you simply won’t be able to remove Windows Messenger, it won’t show up in the Windows Components Wizard even after you edit the sysoc.inf file. The ultimate solution is to upgrade to lastest Service Pack. To find the newest Service pack, go to www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/ and search for “service pack”.
