stop Live Messenger 8.5 from offering updates

I absolutely hated Messenger 9 (v14) so I've dumped it and gone back
to 8.5, but now I'm constantly harassed to upgrade by the annoying
popover window saying a new version is ready to be installed. How can
I stop this from every whining about this again?

Sincerely,
Brian B


Please post replies here so everyone may benefit.

msdndotnntpdotnospamdot1atcomceptdotnet (replace dot with .)

Greetings,

There really isn't a good solution for this yet, besides patching your executable in various
ways, all of which at this point could cause some degree of odd behavior (too early to say).

If you're looking for a registry key or something that turns this off, there isn't one.

--
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
--

"Brian B" <> wrote in message
news...
> I absolutely hated Messenger 9 (v14) so I've dumped it and gone back
> to 8.5, but now I'm constantly harassed to upgrade by the annoying
> popover window saying a new version is ready to be installed. How can
> I stop this from every whining about this again?
>
> Sincerely,
> Brian B
>
>
> Please post replies here so everyone may benefit.
>
> msdndotnntpdotnospamdot1atcomceptdotnet (replace dot with .)

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" <> wrote:

>
>
>There really isn't a good solution for this yet, besides patching your executable in various
>ways, all of which at this point could cause some degree of odd behavior (too early to say).
>
>If you're looking for a registry key or something that turns this off, there isn't one.

How about the URL it goes to go to see if there's an update? I can
block that at the firewall with an ACL.

Sincerely,
Brian B


Please post replies here so everyone may benefit.

msdndotnntpdotnospamdot1atcomceptdotnet (replace dot with .)

Hi Brian,

It doesn't work that way. When you sign into the service, it sends your OS and Messenger
version (among other information) as part of the login process through the main Messenger
connection, and then the software uses the response from the server to determine what to
show. It's not a separate URL or connection.

--
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
--

"Brian B" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" <> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>There really isn't a good solution for this yet, besides patching your executable in
>>various
>>ways, all of which at this point could cause some degree of odd behavior (too early to
>>say).
>>
>>If you're looking for a registry key or something that turns this off, there isn't one.
>
> How about the URL it goes to go to see if there's an update? I can
> block that at the firewall with an ACL.
>
> Sincerely,
> Brian B
>
>
> Please post replies here so everyone may benefit.
>
> msdndotnntpdotnospamdot1atcomceptdotnet (replace dot with .)

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" <> wrote:

>
>It doesn't work that way. When you sign into the service, it sends your OS and Messenger
>version (among other information) as part of the login process through the main Messenger
>connection, and then the software uses the response from the server to determine what to
>show. It's not a separate URL or connection.

Time to dump this and go to a 3rd party tool then. Can you imagine MS
forcing everyone to get WU notices while providing them no way to turn
it off? They'd be crucified in the press and by the public. Just
because they've found new ways to force ads on us doesn't mean we want
the new junk and we should have the RIGHT to say 'no' and have it go
away.

Sincerely,
Brian B


Please post replies here so everyone may benefit.

msdndotnntpdotnospamdot1atcomceptdotnet (replace dot with .)

Hi Brian,

To be fair, it's not a forced update on 8.5. However, I do understand and wish it were
different.

--
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
--

"Brian B" <> wrote in message
news:...
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" <> wrote:
>
>>
>>It doesn't work that way. When you sign into the service, it sends your OS and Messenger
>>version (among other information) as part of the login process through the main Messenger
>>connection, and then the software uses the response from the server to determine what to
>>show. It's not a separate URL or connection.
>
> Time to dump this and go to a 3rd party tool then. Can you imagine MS
> forcing everyone to get WU notices while providing them no way to turn
> it off? They'd be crucified in the press and by the public. Just
> because they've found new ways to force ads on us doesn't mean we want
> the new junk and we should have the RIGHT to say 'no' and have it go
> away.
>
> Sincerely,
> Brian B
>
>
> Please post replies here so everyone may benefit.
>
> msdndotnntpdotnospamdot1atcomceptdotnet (replace dot with .)

You can completely remove the update suggestion by running WLM 8.5 in Windows 2000 compatibility mode.
To do this, simply right-click on the WLM shortcut
--> Properties
--> Compatibility
--> Compatibility Mode : "Run this program in compatibility mode for:"
--> "Windows 2000"

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to run Messenger Plus with WLM in this compatibility mode, so if anyone has a solution around this problem, let me know! I like the possibilities offered by this add-on a lot...