How to upgrade MSN messenger 5.0 on Win NT 4.0 ?

My company network still has number of workstations with Windows NT 4.0.
They have all the latest available service packs and upgrades. On all of
them is MSN Messenger Ver 5.0.0544. As far as I know, that is the latest
available version that still works on Windows NT. They have worked without
any problems until a few weeks ago. All of them now ask to be upgraded to
newer version, and claim that there is a newer version. Login message is:

"You must install newer version in order to continue"

But, there is no newer version that I know of? If I follow upgrade prompt,
they download some Messenger Live version which could not be installed. At
some point of install, I get error message. If I remember correctly
something like:

bootstrap.exe ordinal not found
the ordinal 730 could not be located in the dynamic link library shell32.dll

What do I do now? Does that mean that from now on, no user of Win NT could
reach any of their contacts any more?

Rik

 

Greetings Rik,

This looks like a bug and wouldn't be the first time these older clients have been messed up.
I've made some enquires to find out one way or another.

I've modified the MSN Messenger 5.0 executable to lie to the service about it's version so
you can login again. Obviously this probably isn't a great solution, but it's a workaround
for now. Simply unzip the exe into the \Program Files\MSN Messenger folder and it will work:
http://messenger.jonathankay.com/redir/msngr5verlie.asp

--
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

 

Thank you for your effort. I can login now. We will have more tests
tomorrow. Let us hope that your server will not send back some data
formatted for messenger 8.1.

If I may add something unrelated. It would be sad thing to completely
abandon even unofficial support of Windows NT. It is a beautiful OS, steady
as a rock. Some of my computers have been working for 10 years now. Most
workstations do not need more than one business program, mail, and instant
messenger client. No USB, no CD drive, no Internet browsing. With UPS for
protection, they simply work, long time after everybody have forgotten about
them, computer case buried under the old paper and boxes. No updates, no
administrators, no hassle. That should be the ideal for all good, reliable
software. It's a pity to completely abandon one that we already have.

Rik

 

Hi Rik,

I've done more research since you reported this and it appears the problem is limited to NT4
as Windows 95 clients (also stuck with 5.0) can still log in without any problem. That said,
I'm pretty sure it's just an oversight whilst the latest updates were put in place. However,
I've still yet to hear back officially one way or another.

--
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

 

I understand. These messages on Microsoft news server will son expire. Can
you tell me where should I look later to find notice of eventual official
resolution off this problem?

Rik