Windows Live Messenger and Windows Messenger

Work with Microsoft Windows Messenger and Windows Live Messenger on the same computer
Microsoft Windows XP comes with Windows Messenger, which remains available even after Windows Live Messenger is installed on your computer. Windows Messenger is primarily designed for business use and does not include many of the fun features of Windows Live Messenger. If both products are installed on your computer, you may want to configure them so they don't conflict with one another.

Set Windows Messenger to stop starting automatically

If you sign in to both Windows Messenger and Messenger by using the same Windows Live ID, the program that started first will stop when the second program starts. You can set Windows Messenger to stop starting automatically.

* Start Windows Messenger.
* On the Help menu, click Help Topics.
* Open Stop the Windows Messenger program from starting automatically, and follow the steps in the topic.

Use a different Windows Live ID

You can use Windows Messenger and Messenger at the same time if you use a different Windows Live ID to sign in to each program.

Note
Some programs, such as Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Outlook Express, and Remote Assistance, connect to Windows Messenger by default. When you're signed in to Messenger, you may appear online to people who connect to these programs and have you listed as a contact.