Electronic Punk

For as long as I can remember Windows Live has had a place among the icons on the system tray, at some point during the Windows 7 beta phase it got updated and this behaviour was changed so that even when minimised it took a spot on the left side of the taskbar with any other applications you might have pinned. (The first shot shows how it looks when the contact window is minimised and the second when it is on display elsewhere on my desktop).




I can see how the option of pinning applications might be popular, but it is not for me, as having messenger there against my will is not something I want as a minimalist.

I also don't like how there are pointlessly two windows shown with one just being my display picture, fortunately there is a workaround!

To change Messengers behaviour back to Windows Vista's all you need to do is tell msnmsgr.exe to run in Windows Vista compatibility mode.

• Browse to C:\Program Files\Windows Live\Messenger (or C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Live\Messenger if you are a 64bit user).
• Right click on msnmsgr.exe and select properties.
• Go to the compatbility tab and select to run this application in compatibility mode for Windows Vista SP2. (shown below)

Windows Live may well then reconfigure as if it is reinstalling (it will also re-add start menu shortcuts if you have modified or removed them) but when Windows Live Messsenger is restarted...



there we go back in the spot I like to find it! Should Windows Live Messenger appear on your start menu and where your most frequently used applications appear it's funky jump list box will still be fully functional. The list when you right click on its title bar on the taskbar is also fully functional as well as Windows 7 'peek' function.

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ming

This is a nice guide on how to put Live Messenger back into the System tray instead of having it sitting in the taskbar. Much neater when it's not on the taskbar.

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Bman

I like having it pinned to my taskbar but hate the double tabs for it. I guess there is no way to remove the stupid display pic one?

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Android412

Thank you, I hate when MS "fixes" stuff that wasn't broken