I can still use my msn but the icon on the screen now looks like a set up box.When iv looked in the add and remove programmes to repair it its not in their,nor is there a icon in the menu i cant uninstall it to reinstall as its gone.
Its also not in program files either so cant under stand how its working??Any advise please?Thank you

Are you sure that it is MSN Messenger and not the built in Windows MSN Messenger?

The later (version 4.1) is bundled with XP and appears in the Window's Components section of Add/Remove.

You can disable this version there. To repair it you would need to repair XP as it is integrated.

If it is indeed the MSN Messenger (that you downloaded) you could try to reinstall it over the top or else here are some other places to look:

Uninstall Programs Manually

Just because Windows XP has the Add/Remove Programs feature it doesn't mean your application will appear in the list. Furthermore, even if it does appear, it's no guarantee that the uninstall feature will work. When you run across one of these situations the items listed below will help in getting rid of the application. Be aware that these steps may not remove everything associated with the application and can impact other applications on the computer. Have a backup or restore point and use caution.

*

Find the directory for the application and delete all the files in the directory. Delete the directory. e.g. click C: under My Computer then Program Files etc.
*

Open regedit (start/run regedit) and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE and find the folder for the application. Delete the folder.
*

Open regedit and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE and find the folder for the application. Delete the folder.
*

To remove the application entry from Add/Remove Programs (if present) open regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Uninstall and find the folder for the application. Delete the folder.
*

Some applications have Services attached to them. If this is the case, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es, locate and delete the service.
*

In Windows Explorer, navigate to the individual user settings and delete program references. Common places to check would be:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs and delete relevant entries.
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and delete relevant entries.
C:\Documents and Settings\%YourUserID%\Start Menu\Programs and delete relevant entries.
[Do this for each User ID listed]
C:\Documents and Settings\%YourUserID%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and delete relevant entries.
[Do this for each User ID listed]

If no entries were found in the previous step and the application launches automatically, navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows
and delete the entry.

A good free Registry Cleaner here: RegSeeker

It is a good idea to backup your Registry before cleaning. This is a good free tool for that:

[ERUNT] Registry Backup and Restore for Windows
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/


[ERUNT Download URLs]
http://www.aumha.org/downloads/erunt.zip
http://www.aumha.org/downloads/erunt-setup.exe


[Installing & Using ERUNT]
http://www.winxptutor.com/regback.htm
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-on...runt/erunt.txt


....................................

Altering system files; & or modifying the registry can be risky and D-A-L.com and its members cannot accept liability for any adverse effects caused by following advice freely given on this site.

Thank you its definatly not a windows msn,i shall have a look and what you typed,im not very computor literate.I have a register cleaner by pctools as i have their spydoctor and anti virus