How to: Uninstall Windows Live Messenger 2011

How to: Uninstall Windows Live Messenger 2011

Judging by the user comments I've read in the program's review and blog post, I'd say Windows Live Messenger 2011hasn't been very successful among users. Whether the problem is the integration with Facebook or the new "social" interface, I can't tell. What I know for sure is that many people want to get rid of it and go back to a previous, lighter and more friendly version of Live Messenger. So here's a short tutorial I wrote on how to downgrade to Windows Live Messenger 2009 in just a few easy steps.

1. First of all, you need to remove Windows Live Messenger from your computer. Go to Control Panel > Programs and Features, scroll down to Windows Live Essentials 2011, right click on it and start the uninstalling wizard.

2. In the first screen of the wizard, select the "Remove one or more Windows Live programs".

3. Select the programs you want to uninstall. Bad news is that you need to remove all the apps you've installed from the Live Essentials suite, besides Messenger (good news is that you can reinstall them all afterwards).

4. Wait for the process to finish, and then you'll have to restart the system.

5. Now that your computer is free from version 2011, it's time to install Windows Live Messenger 2009. Get the fileand run it.

6. Select Live Messenger, plus all the apps you want to install back - and which you were forced to uninstall in setp 3 - and wait for the process to complete.

7. Once done, go to the Start menu and launch Messenger. There! Version 2009 is ready for you.