How can I downgrade from Social Windows, live messenger?

I Hate Windows Live Messenger 9, How To Downgrade To The Previous Version?

• I just installed the latest version of windows live messenger, and I absolutely hate it- Is there any way I can uninstall the latest version and get back to the 8. something version ...show more

• Answer:

  Yes, you should be able to. But first you will need to uninstall Messenger 9 or the installation will give you an error message saying that you already have a later version installed. To uninstall Messenger 9, you need to go into your Control Panel and select 'Add/Remove Programs' if you're using XP, or 'Uninstall a program' if you're using Vista. When the list of programs displays, be aware that Messenger 9 is now cleverly disguised! It will be under 'Windows Live Essentials' instead of Messenger, like previous versions used to show up as. So you can only really get rid of it by uninstalling Windows Live Essentials. The bad news with this is that this will also uninstall any other Windows Live programs that you downloaded at the same time, ie. Live Mail, Live Writer or Live Photo Gallery. But you can always go back to re-download the other programs if it also removes anything else. The only other way to remove it involves deleting registry keys, etc. and this is not something you should attempt unless you know exactly what you're doing where computers are concerned. Restart your PC after uninstalling Messenger 9 (this must be done before downloading the older version), and then download the previous version - Messenger 8. I found a link here for you to download the older version: http://www.brothersoft.com/windows-live-messenger-59597.html However, watch out for messages from Windows as you install it - it will probably tell you that a newer version is available and would you like to download it, so make sure you click 'No'!