How To Uninstall Or Remove Windows Live Messenger

If you have bought a laptop recently that came equipped with Windows Live Messenger and are wondering how to remove or stop it from starting with Windows then this article is for you. Windows Live Essentials is a package given free by Microsoft which includes Windows Live Messenger, Live Writer, and Movie Maker, Photo Gallery and so on.

The first part shows you how to stop Live Messenger from automatically starting with Windows, and the second part gives the steps to completely remove Live Messenger.

Stop Live Messenger From Starting With Windows

Are you bothered with Live Messenger showing up on your desktop each time you login to your PC? For one thing, Live Messenger by default has a hidden menu, so you keep wondering how to turn it off from showing up the next time you restart your PC. Here is how you can remove it from Windows startup:

1. Click on the Help icon and select ‘Show the menu bar’.

2. Select Tools –> Options from the menu bar.

3. Go to the Sign in tab and then unselect the option ‘Automatically run Windows Live Messenger when I log on to Windows’. Click OK to save the changes.

Completely Remove Or Uninstall Windows Live Messenger

If your kid spends too much time on IM, then you can either set up a parental control software or use built-in Windows 7 Parental Controls. Or simply uninstall Live Messenger from your PC.

While trying to remove Live Messenger, most of us are left wondering how to do it as we cannot find the program listed in the Add/Remove Programs control panel applet. Here are the steps to uninstall Live Messenger, which was earlier installed as part of the Windows Live Essentials.

1. Go to Windows Add/Remove Programs (or Control Panel—> Programs and Features in Windows 7).

2. Select Windows Live Essentials and click ‘Uninstall’. Don’t worry, this will not remove the software immediately.

3. In the next step, click Continue.

4. Select Messenger in the list of Live Essentials programs and click Continue.

5. The uninstallation will take up a while, depending on the number of programs you selected.