downloaded it on my computer when she was home this summer. Now every time I go
online it opens that account and her friends want to start chatting thinking I
am her. Is there any way I can get Hotmail off of my computer and not mess up
her account?
This actually illustrates a very surprising confusion I see regularly on Ask
Leo!.
Many people donât realize that Hotmail, MSN Instant Messenger, and even MSN
itself are all very different things. They use the terms for one when talking
about the other, or use a generic term like âMSNâ which could be many different
things.
The question above is a good example: the behavior sounds like MSN Instant
Messenger, yet the question references Hotmail.
So which is it, really?
Letâs start by defining each of those.
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Hotmail, originally âHoTMaiLâ emphasizing that it was HTML
mail, is an online email service. By visiting http://hotmail.com and logging in with your own account,
you can send and receive email. As long as you have a web browser (and if
youâre reading this, you do), there is nothing to download. Visit Hotmail,
login, read and send email. Thatâs pretty much all there is to it.
MSN Instant Messenger is an instant messaging client. It
allows you to chat in real time with other people using MSN Instant Messenger,
or compatible chat clients. This is a program that you typically
download and install in order to
use. (Though there are web-based versions of the client, the phrase âMSN
Instant Messengerâ refers, specifically, to the downloadable program.)
Thereâs further confusion, of course, because thereâs a compatible, but
different, instant messaging program called âWindows Messengerâ.
Messenger.â
MSN, short for MicroSoft Network, is a family of services
and products created by Microsoft. It begins with its home page, http://msn.com, which is a general
internet âportalâ â a web site that contains news, features and links to other
sites and services. Both Hotmail and MSN Instant Messenger are a part of
MSN.
So you can see that when someone asks me âHow do I uninstall Hotmail?â â
well, the question doesnât really make sense. Itâs not something that was
installed in the first place.
What this question is really referring to is, of course, MSN Instant
Messenger. It does support both automatic login, and the ability of friends to
see that you are logged in, so that they can start chatting with you.
The answer to that question is either to uninstall it, or perhaps
to disable itâs auto-login feature. Instructions for uninstalling both Windows
and MSN Instant Messenger are in this article: How do I uninstall Windows
Messenger?, while disabling auto-start and auto-login are in this article:
How do I stop MSN Messenger from starting automatically and logging me
in?.
Computers are picky beasts, as you probably realize. Unfortunately that also
means that terminology matters in order to get the most accurate assistance
possible.
Having been unable to get any relevant and useful information from Microsoft about a problem I had with downloading attachments, a quick search yesterday found your great web site and my problem was solved !!
I think you gave a slightly misleading solution here, and that is you gave the âHow to uninstallâ link before the preferred procedure of disabling auto-login. Because I thought anybody asking a basic question like that is bound to follow your instructions step-by-step :)
The problem maybe that I still donât know how newbies might think even though I was once a newbie!
The related links arenât intended to be a step by step anything ⊠theyâre simply related. The real intent of the article is to clarify the definitions of things like Messenger, Hotmail and others.
How do I stop MSN Hotmail, not messenger, from starting automatically and logging me in?.
I have today installed a Hotmail account. Although I can log in, when I click open account it takes me to a news and interest page and I canât get a compose page or any incoming mail.
I have been tearing my hair out all afternoon so how do I uninstall it Please Thanks
For goodness sake! Donât uninstall anything! Get with it! Go to MSN Instant Messaging & SIGN YOURSELF up with an email address and IM name! Then YOU can chat with your daughter at anytime, & IM w/your friends/family. With your own IM name, her friends wonât âbugâ you anymore when you log on. Iâm over age 60 & we have âfamilyâ chats w/family while traveling the world, (from internet cafes or hotel lobbies). We add each one to the conversation & all chat together, whether in Hawaii, Thailand, Peru, or Oregon. Itâs way better than a postcard received after getting back home & you know if there are any problems someone has to deal with that a stateside person can help with. Go for it! I can hardly use a computer, but I could figure that one out! Just read everything & follow the instructions!
Leo, maybe try being a milk man, directions for something as uninstalling hot mail is to hard 4 u
ty 4 wasteing my time, what article. you,ve wasted enough of my time
leo,i have a free hotmail account and every time i want to reply to a web page it wonât allow me.please help me to delete my account!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pls open my hotmail inbox
please help me uninstall hotmail account from my pc
Actual question: I have Messenger, and in Messenger I should be able to click my emailâs related link to open Hotmail. However, I managed to disable a Windows XP service so that Hotmail wonât auto-open thru Messenger. Any idea which service controls that?
I recently a signed up for a hotmail account and know when I open up âexplorerâ I get a message that reads warning about âsecure sitesâ which I never had before and which is a painâŠin addition hotmail will not remember my password as Iâve selected. Any thoughts.
Thanks, Jack
I do not like the hotmail I want it remove from
my computer. If you donât want something you donât
want to keep it. So tell me how to get it off.
Thanks Mr Guidry
I do not like the hotmail I want it remove from
my computer. If you donât want something you donât
want to keep it. So tell me how to get it off.
Thanks Mr Guidry
I wish to change my name and loose some undesirables who Ive met over past few years, i want my name to be off of their msn lists, how do i do this please anyone?
I would like to get hotmail uninstall off my
computer. It not in add or remove but it still
in. Donât like it.
Thank you Mr Guidry
Dear Leo,
All you told me was how to get rid of msn âmessengerâ or windows âmessengerâ! Thatâs not what I asked you. I asked you âhow do I uninstall or get âhotmailâ off my computer !
Old Goat⊠you CANâT âuninstallâ Hotmail because Hotmail never installs itself in the first place. Hotmail is a website, not a program. The problem that is causing this IS MSN messenger that presents itself like itâs Hotmail. Uninstall MSN messenger and your problems with âHotmailâ should be solved.
I want to use outlook express and hotmail interferes. Get it off of my computor
If You say I have to remove Messenger ,in order to rid my computer ,how do I go about this . Also I do want to keep my msn mail . It was a lot less complicated . Your response will be greatly appreciated . Thank You Leo .
my email in hotmail writing is very faint it is only in hotmail the rest of my computer is fine.
my email in hotmail writing is very faint but not in any other part of my computer.
I want to unstall all windows live components
Hi! Iâve been uninstalling some things on my computer and Iâd like to know if I uninstall MSN will I still be able to use my hotmail/email account?
Whenever I receive a hotmail/email & try to reply, I loose the entire text or body of email that I received. In other words, I get email, I reply, and when I hit âreplyâ, everything that was sent to me is now blank, including my signature. Does anyone know how to resolve this? Sometimes I still get the whole text, most times my reply page goes blank. HELP!
how do I uninstall hotmail. I canât write any letters or reply to themâŠthinking I might need to delete the program and re-install. Need your opinion and directions.
18-Mar-2011
In checking out hoymail we got it installedbut we donât want it .How do we get it uninstalled ?
20-Jun-2011
I joined Hotmail but do not use it and apparently they are returning mail to my Contacts that has been sent to me on my Netscape site.
Leo, in IE, my Hotmail e-mails donât open nor do the folders. A message just says âloading,â but nothing happens. Any idea what the problem is and how to fix it? All works fine in Firefox.
@Heath
The first thing Iâd try in that situation would be to clear the browser cache. It solves a multitude of browser problems.
Whatâs a browser cache, how do I âclearâ it, and why would I want to?
Thanks, Leo. Did it, but the problem continues. This has been happening for a few weeks. Any other suggestions?
@Heath
Lotâs of times when I have problems like that Iâll try another browser. Each of the browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Safari) renders things differently. Trying another browser will let you know if it is a browser problem.
Sometimes trying another browser is really doing what Mark suggested, as it starts you with a cleared browser cache. But then sometimes itâs the program.
Troubleshooting is a matter of narrowing possibilities down. If another browser doesnât do the trick try opening Hotmail on someone elseâs computer. Then youâll know if it is something on your computer or not!
I need to uninstall MSN HOT MAIL as it contains 21 Old emails dating back to sept 2010 all american. I try to delete each but not one will delete. Taking up alot of space on Desk Top and annoying. Please help