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How to prevent MSN Messenger from Starting with Outlook Express
When you open Outlook Express, you may find that MSN Messenger is automatically started. This is caused by some integrated MSN features that let you access the MSN contact list directly from Outlook Express. No matter whether you want these features, you can't stop MSN from being automatically started with Outlook Express. There are no settings either in Outlook Express or in MSN that let you decide whether to start MSN automatically with Outlook Express. So is there any way to stop MSN from being started by Outlook Express? Yes, the secret lies in system registry.
Follow these steps to disable MSN with Outlook Express:
- Click Start, then click Run .
- Type in 'regedit' and click OK to open Registry Editor .
- In Registry Editor, expand the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
- Locate and expand the sub key Software > Microsoft
- Find the sub key Outlook Express .
- Right click on sub key Outlook Express, select New, then select DWORD Value to insert a new value.
- In the right pane there will appear a new item named New Value #1. Rename it to Hide Messenger. Then double click it to open the Edit DWORD Value dialog. Change the Value data to 2 and click OK.
- Done.
Now let's test the result: stop MSN, and restart Outlook Express, you will find MSN Messenger no longer apear. To re-enable MSN in Outlook Express, simply delete the Hide Messenger value in the Registry Editor, and restart your Outlook Express.
