History doesn't keep the logs

It is VERY annoying problem.
I have enabled the history logging, but it does not look like it is updated
as often as needed. If I chat to a person, i might see the history of the
chat a day latter, but in most of cases, i won't see it at all. Like that
chat never happened.
I've installed MsgPlus and use it as the history keeper, but this is a
workaround that I'd rather avoid. I've installed clean Windows 7 recently and
hoped that this would fix this problem, but it did not. Based on this
experiment, I dont think there is a problem on my computer.

Any suggestions what should I try next?

Greetings Alex,

Messenger's history function is not reliable as you've noticed. If you want reliable logs
which you can count on to save, Plus! is the way to go.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--


"Alex" <> wrote in message
news:70EB9DE5-3BD7-464A-B155-...
> It is VERY annoying problem.
> I have enabled the history logging, but it does not look like it is updated
> as often as needed. If I chat to a person, i might see the history of the
> chat a day latter, but in most of cases, i won't see it at all. Like that
> chat never happened.
> I've installed MsgPlus and use it as the history keeper, but this is a
> workaround that I'd rather avoid. I've installed clean Windows 7 recently and
> hoped that this would fix this problem, but it did not. Based on this
> experiment, I dont think there is a problem on my computer.
>
> Any suggestions what should I try next?

What can I say....just WOW. How can it be?
Microsoft developed an application and users cannot rely on its features?
i cannot complain much, since the application is free, but i expect better
quality otherwise, I'd use non Microsoft products.

I'm sorry, but I'd like to think that there is something wrong with my
profile or something rather than beleive that Live messenger was released
with such major problem.

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:

> Greetings Alex,
>
> Messenger's history function is not reliable as you've noticed. If you want reliable logs
> which you can count on to save, Plus! is the way to go.
>
> --
> Jonathan Kay
> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
> MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
> MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
> Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> (c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
> --
>
>
> "Alex" <> wrote in message
> news:70EB9DE5-3BD7-464A-B155-...
> > It is VERY annoying problem.
> > I have enabled the history logging, but it does not look like it is updated
> > as often as needed. If I chat to a person, i might see the history of the
> > chat a day latter, but in most of cases, i won't see it at all. Like that
> > chat never happened.
> > I've installed MsgPlus and use it as the history keeper, but this is a
> > workaround that I'd rather avoid. I've installed clean Windows 7 recently and
> > hoped that this would fix this problem, but it did not. Based on this
> > experiment, I dont think there is a problem on my computer.
> >
> > Any suggestions what should I try next?
>
>
>

Greetings Alex,

I'm afraid it's a flaw in the software. The message history feature to the best of my
knowledge has never really been changed since MSN Messenger 6.0 (keep in mind there's been
6.1, 6.2, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5 and now 14.0), with the exception of some small changes like the
maximum file size changed, and correct parsing of things like Plus' special formatting
characters.

It only saves when conversation window closes and even then is by no means guaranteed
(depending on if Messenger crashed, or how you shut down the machine, Windows Updates, etc.).
Messenger will prompt you when reaching a certain size (depending on version) to delete the
history or save the file elsewhere, and actually the history files have a high performance
cost when closing or opening a window (depending on your options), as they have to be parsed
before anything else happens.

So, the feature frankly needs a redesign and until then, as I said, Plus is the way to go.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--





"Alex" <> wrote in message
news:80E28624-7B02-487A-B2EC-...
> What can I say....just WOW. How can it be?
> Microsoft developed an application and users cannot rely on its features?
> i cannot complain much, since the application is free, but i expect better
> quality otherwise, I'd use non Microsoft products.
>
> I'm sorry, but I'd like to think that there is something wrong with my
> profile or something rather than beleive that Live messenger was released
> with such major problem.
>
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> Greetings Alex,
>>
>> Messenger's history function is not reliable as you've noticed. If you want reliable logs
>> which you can count on to save, Plus! is the way to go.
>>
>> --
>> Jonathan Kay
>> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
>> MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
>> MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
>> Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
>> (c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
>> --
>>
>>
>> "Alex" <> wrote in message
>> news:70EB9DE5-3BD7-464A-B155-...
>> > It is VERY annoying problem.
>> > I have enabled the history logging, but it does not look like it is updated
>> > as often as needed. If I chat to a person, i might see the history of the
>> > chat a day latter, but in most of cases, i won't see it at all. Like that
>> > chat never happened.
>> > I've installed MsgPlus and use it as the history keeper, but this is a
>> > workaround that I'd rather avoid. I've installed clean Windows 7 recently and
>> > hoped that this would fix this problem, but it did not. Based on this
>> > experiment, I dont think there is a problem on my computer.
>> >
>> > Any suggestions what should I try next?
>>
>>
>>

Thank you, Jonathan.
I've installed Plus and it's history does work as expected (i.e. it keeps
the logs of all conversations).


"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:

> Greetings Alex,
>
> I'm afraid it's a flaw in the software. The message history feature to the best of my
> knowledge has never really been changed since MSN Messenger 6.0 (keep in mind there's been
> 6.1, 6.2, 7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5 and now 14.0), with the exception of some small changes like the
> maximum file size changed, and correct parsing of things like Plus' special formatting
> characters.
>
> It only saves when conversation window closes and even then is by no means guaranteed
> (depending on if Messenger crashed, or how you shut down the machine, Windows Updates, etc.).
> Messenger will prompt you when reaching a certain size (depending on version) to delete the
> history or save the file elsewhere, and actually the history files have a high performance
> cost when closing or opening a window (depending on your options), as they have to be parsed
> before anything else happens.
>
> So, the feature frankly needs a redesign and until then, as I said, Plus is the way to go.
>
> --
> Jonathan Kay
> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
> MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
> MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
> Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> (c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
> --
>
>
>
>
>
> "Alex" <> wrote in message
> news:80E28624-7B02-487A-B2EC-...
> > What can I say....just WOW. How can it be?
> > Microsoft developed an application and users cannot rely on its features?
> > i cannot complain much, since the application is free, but i expect better
> > quality otherwise, I'd use non Microsoft products.
> >
> > I'm sorry, but I'd like to think that there is something wrong with my
> > profile or something rather than beleive that Live messenger was released
> > with such major problem.
> >
> > "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:
> >
> >> Greetings Alex,
> >>
> >> Messenger's history function is not reliable as you've noticed. If you want reliable logs
> >> which you can count on to save, Plus! is the way to go.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Jonathan Kay
> >> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
> >> MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
> >> MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
> >> Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> >> (c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
> >> --
> >>
> >>
> >> "Alex" <> wrote in message
> >> news:70EB9DE5-3BD7-464A-B155-...
> >> > It is VERY annoying problem.
> >> > I have enabled the history logging, but it does not look like it is updated
> >> > as often as needed. If I chat to a person, i might see the history of the
> >> > chat a day latter, but in most of cases, i won't see it at all. Like that
> >> > chat never happened.
> >> > I've installed MsgPlus and use it as the history keeper, but this is a
> >> > workaround that I'd rather avoid. I've installed clean Windows 7 recently and
> >> > hoped that this would fix this problem, but it did not. Based on this
> >> > experiment, I dont think there is a problem on my computer.
> >> >
> >> > Any suggestions what should I try next?
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
>