Messenger Link Reviver for Windows Live Messenger 2009
Recently, Microsoft disabled web links in Windows Live Messenger 2009 citing it to be a temporary measure to a malicious worm. Therefore links now appear as just text and need to be copy/pasted to your browser manually. One can debate the effectiveness of this action as Messenger already had the ability to simply not deliver links meeting a certain criteria, but it seems they’ve given up on this original functionality and now rely on the SmartScreen link redirector exclusively in Windows Live Messenger 2011.
Windows Live Messenger 2011 isn’t for everyone though. You’re certainly out of luck if you use Windows XP, Messenger Plus Live, or want to use features missing in 2011 such as handwriting or webcam.
So for those who wish to use Windows Live Messenger 2009 and still have the ability to click on links, I give you Messenger Link Reviver.
How to use Messenger Link Reviver
Download the Messenger Link Reviver zip file and run the application. Click Start to apply the Reviver changes and Messenger will automatically restart. You should now be able to click on links again.
Note that you’ll be prompted to elevate to administrator permissions if you’re using Windows Vista or Windows 7 with UAC on.
Requirements
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (any edition of these)
.NET Framework 2.0 or higher (already included with Windows Vista and Windows 7)
Windows Live Messenger 2009 14.0.8089.726 or 14.0.8117.416
Frequently asked questions
Does it work with modifiers to Messenger?
Yes, Messenger Link Reviver will not remove any changes you’ve made to Messenger. However, if you use a tool which does so, you may need to re-run the reviver after making any changes.
I get a “.NET Framework Initialization Error” or “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click on OK to terminate the application” when I run Messenger link Reviver.
You’ll need to install at least the 2.0 .NET Framework on your machine.
Version history
01/14/2011 1.1.0.0 Allows continued sign in after CVR (forced) update
11/21/2010 1.0.0.0 Initial release
Just a quick note that Spaces will be shutting down soon, so this blog will be moving. More on where you’ll be able to find the blog later.
The blog has now moved and as such, new advertising has appeared. If you see a download link or image below this line, it is not the download link for Link Reviver. The download link is above.
Very needed Thanks a lot
Nice! What are you still doing on spaces btw, don\’t you risk loosing all your content if you don\’t switch fast?
Hi Jon, would it be possible for you to tell me which files, if any, the Link Reviver modifies ? Or does it just make registry changes. I’m asking cuz then I could make a custom installer for myself with the modified file included so all i have to do is just install it and all the changes are already incorporated without having to run the link reviver. thanks!
Sorry, I should’ve mentioned that. It modifies the Messenger executable (msnmsgr.exe), although not significantly so other applications which do the same will continue to work.
I’m afraid there’s no magical reg key that I’ve seen which will stop this.
Would you find a “silent” option for scripting/batch/etc useful then?
Silent option would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Jon, I’ve re-built the stock QFE2 MSI with an msnmsgr.exe that was patched using your link reviver, the main advantage being that you just install the MSI and forget about having to use the link reviver on it cuz now it works out of the box. I’ve tested it and it’s working just fine.
Here’s the link: http://www.mediafire.com/?x6i9ae89lgulsik
I’ve created another MSI for my personal use with an msnmsgr.exe that has not only been link-revived but apatched as well. Since there’s personal preferences involved with use of the apatch, I’m not posting that here but lemme know if you’re interested in that as well. Thanks for the link reviver. Regards.
Greetings Rahim. That’s a great idea. I’ve considered similar things in the past, but I’m not entirely sure of the legal implications of directly giving out modified Microsoft software. I admit I’ve never thought to just use the original MSI though.
Anyway, for the time being I’m just going to leave this here in the comments and people can take advantage of your work if they read here.
Hi Jon, I agree I don’t think *you* should be officially distributing modified MS software directly because I don’t think *they* appreciate that very much, but if somebody else has created something of the sort and linked to it in a comment, it becomes a different matter altogether, what do you think?
Yep, sounds reasonable to me
thank you thank you.. I can’t express the gratitude I feel right now. Thank you again for keeping messenger usable, _with_ the webcam option still available.
Hi Jonathan:
I remember asking you some tech questions last year, and wow i was doing a google search and found you again
I tried to login to WLM2009 today after a reboot and that damn prompt box popped up forcing an upgrade. I dont want it. Will using your messinger link revival application eliminate that prompt box and let me login to WLM2009? or is there another solution for it? I really dont want to upgrade to WLM2011.
Thanking You
Jamie
Greetings Jamie,
Glad to see you again. And yes, it will be back to normal operation after using Link Reviver, give it a go.
Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you. you make my day
but do you know for how long this is going to work? cuz i messed up something and im unable to upgrade to any other version.
my old messenger is working again
I don’t really see any reason to deliberately break this change on their end. There are certainly other modifications they’ve ignored which would be far more “serious”, such as those which remove the advertising from the product. I’d always be happy to help out with any install problems, so don’t worry
Loving it:-) Thank you so much!
i know i used this link before and it worked awesome..today im getting the popup to new version again.
When i try to run this application now shows cannot access it..it is being used by another process
any help?
Greetings Diane,
It sounds like something else is reinstalling the older version. I did take a peak at the Plus forum and noted that you actually have a broken install of Messenger. As such, you should use ZapMessenger to fix the broken installer, then reinstall Messenger by downloading and running this Microsoft Installer file and then finally use Link Reviver again.
I think that will possibly deal with the problem and at the very least would allow you to upgrade or uninstall properly again if you wanted.
Thank you so much!!!!!!! I love my “old” messenger!!!!!
Thanks for this, I couldn’t install or uninstall anything to do with messenger to attempt to fix this.
I’m running vista and for some reason and xp version is attempting to pop up.
Still, this works, so thank you very much
Greetings Scott,
Glad to hear it. Although we can probably fix your install as well. Are you just using Messenger? If so, you can just use ZapMessenger to remove the Messenger install and then reinstall any version you prefer. However, if other parts of the Windows Live suite are broken, more work will be needed to fix that.
I’m a bit confused by what you mean by “the xp version” though. The only specific Messenger version to XP is Windows Messenger (not Windows Live) and it would have to be manually installed onto Vista (and doesn’t work properly anyway).
Hi Jonathan..
i’ve tried to use Zap Messenger… shows will take a few minutes and hrs pass and nothing is done. still still showing its doing something.
Jonathan, you are an angel !! it works !
hi jonathan great programme only prob i had was i had to install the new 2011 messenger uninstalled it but my old one back one run your programme and bingo well done m8 and my thks
Greetings David,
Yeah, I have considered automating the uninstall of 2011 and reinstalling 2009 for this and other projects. However, it’s really quite an involved process to do properly and there’s lots of points of failure. Not really sure if it’s worth it
well jonathan if others read this they will no its easy enough to unistall 2011 and use your programme to use 2009 get up the good work m8 and cheers
YES!!!!! Thank You!!! One question though does anyone know why they removed the option to show webcam in the first place? Kinda stupid if you ask me, to remove an option that so many like to have. doesn’t go a long way to create loyalty.
Well it could be any number of reasons. They won’t tell us specifically and what explanation(s) have been available conflict with one another. However from a general perspective, when any features are removed from Microsoft software it’s usually due to a perception that a certain function isn’t used by “enough” people to warrant the “resources” to continue having it in the product.
*”enough” being a percentage of users and “resources” being time in maintenance and testing.
Mind you, at least webcam as its basic level is still covered by video call, despite being distinctly different and inferior in a lot of ways. The removal of the handwriting feature in 2011 was a huge mistake in my opinion and has no alternative.
well, tried to update over and over again with the same error (couldn’t update, error 0×80004004) then, googling, i found this blog, then just used your tool, now each time i try to connect, i get the pop-up that the service is unavailable… guess “they” didn’t cross their arms…
Greetings sabas. It does sound like your installation may be broken and there is a [small] possibly it couldn’t roll back properly when you tried the update and now your entire installation is broken. Therefore before continuing further, I would suggest you use System Restore in Windows to restore prior to the attempt to update just for your own sanity. You’ll have to run Link Reviver after that completes to sign back in again.
Regardless, if that doesn’t work or isn’t an option – what error code are you getting now when you attempt to sign in and get the service unavailable? You’ll have to click the ‘Show details’ to see the code.
When I download from the link provided for link reviver, I do not get a that messenger link reviver box that you show. All I get is something that changes a registry key, nothing else, and it does nothing to help the problem. No clue whyh I do not get what you show
Greetings George. I can quite assure you that it doesn’t “change a registry key”. I really wish it were that simple. Are you sure you clicked the right link? Since moving to WordPress, there’s now conflicting advertising around the page. Here is the real link you can just click.
thanx for the quick answer jonathan, but it just didn’t work for me… the error said that there was a file that was corrupted:
Signing in to Windows Live Messenger failed because the service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. Error 80040154
This Error might occur due to the following reason:
* MSXML library is corrupted
http://windowslivehelp.com/solution.aspx?solutionid=f427b98c-8fc9-4e0c-9931-859ddf8caa69
i followed the steps,and i succeeded, i was going to dostep 2 when then, i was getting windows update messages, then it updated to silverlight 3 times (do i need it, can i uninstall this safely?), security update for ms visual c++, security update for ms works 9, and finally, it updated live essentials 2011… now messenger is running.
now, is there any chance to go back to msngr 2009 and get it to work again?? i would love to do so, cause i already hate LE 2011, thanx in advance
note: when i was updating, i chose not to install new features, only to update the ones already installed, and when i got the 80004004 error, it marked like it already installed live photo when this option was not enabled, and the other options were marked with error. regards
Greetings sabas. Getting back to 2009 now shouldn’t be a problem if you just use the standard uninstall process in the Control Panel to uninstall all the Live Essentials components. You can then install 2009 from Microsoft, although this is the version without webcam (if that’s important to you, you can use the installers here on my blog). You’ll also need to use Link Reviver again to bring back clickable links.
Also, Silverlight isn’t used in Messenger, so no, you don’t need it. As far as I’m aware, none of the other applications in the Live Essentials use it with the exception of the Bing toolbar (which I’m guessing you don’t use).
forgot to say that, when i used the link reviver tool, it succeeded too, the problem was the service unavailable error after that…
I see. I don’t really think Link Reviver is responsible in this case. The changes it makes don’t really have anything to do with the XML stuff.
A million thanks. I really don’t care too much about using a webcam on this laptop but 2009 is the only version I can run without getting the WL Communications Platform error. That’s despite having followed their instructions to the letter and deleting the one .dll that I found from the list.
I’m extremely grateful for your efforts.
Hi, I’m from Brazil. Our Windows Live Messenger also are not working, the 2009 version. I may be inconvenient means, but wanted to know if such a program to revive the messenger link can bring some damage to my computer, or have some type of security. This program affects my system, or the messenger? Where low Messenger link reviver? Excuse me anything. Thank in advance.
Greetings Juliana. As I didn’t write Messenger and don’t have the source code, I can’t 100% guarantee that any changes to Messenger might cause it to work in a way unintended. However, the change is quite subtle and if something were to go wrong, it would probably just crash the program temporarily.
I can tell you that the changes made to Messenger were tested by myself and others for several months before releasing to the public. I’m actually not aware of any crashes or damage caused during the testing or since the release.
Additionally, a backup is made so you can easily revert back to the way things are now if you were to experience a problem.
The program can be downloaded for free?
Greetings Juliana. It is 100% free. Here is a direct link to download if you’re seeing download images on the page which are advertising (which are not link Reviver).
Thanks for the help, I’ll download the program for sure.
First of all thanks for all the small fixes you offer on here – they’re really great at fixing Microsoft’s screw ups (seriously what are they thinking when they made some of these changes??). I’ve been using Messenger 8.5 until yesterday, but recently I’ve had major problems with 8.5 – I can’t see any emoticons or display pictures of anyone that has upgraded to the latest 2009 version – nor can I receive or send files with them… I’m guessing this is because of some sort of new network modifications Microsoft is doing. Who knows. Regardless, I updated yesterday to 2009, used the Link Reviver hack, and I’ve got a problem now. Well, before I mention the problem, I’d like to mention that I can’t stand Win7′s original theme, which has programs on the taskbar that are permanently open, and so I changed my taskbar completely so it has none of that (similarly to XP, Vista). Messenger 2009 requires one of these windows in Win7 though. I know you’ve released a fix for this so you can get rid of the window itself, but that’s not what I’m after. What I’m after is a tasktray icon like MSN had in Vista or XP. This version of 2009 has none in Win7. When I change my compatibility to either VISTA or XP of the .exe, I get an icon in my taskbar for MSN, which is what I’m looking for. The problem I have then though is that the Link Reviver no longer works. I can’t get both of these to work. Either I set compatibility and get the tray icon, but no hyperlinks, or I use default compatibility with no task tray but with working hyperlinks… Do you know if the previous 2009 version has a task tray icon? Or maybe if you go into compatibility, hyperlinks will still work? Or maybe if I set a compatibility to the link reviver it’ll get the job done? >_<
Greetings CC. This actually should just work. Using Messenger 2009 (14.0.8089.726) set to Vista SP2 in compatibility gives me the notification area icon and links are still working (after using link reviver). It’s possible that Messenger just couldn’t configure itself properly when you were trying to sign in, so try again.
If you’re still having problems we can look more into it, but this should work and compatibility mode shouldn’t really affect fixing the hyperlinks.
I actually put off downgrading to 14.0.8089.726 for a while, but I finally got around to doing it today and it doesn’t want to work for me on there either. I am going insane over this. It should be such a simple fix. I’ve tried alternate methods as well such as manually going in with a hex editor and changing things around to allow the URLs to work, but that fails to work for me as well! I think my computer is just cursed… This only happens when I have it on compatibility mode (either Vista or XP). If I have it on no compatibility, URLs work fine. I’m really annoyed by the extra messenger window and that there is no tasktray icon though, so I turn on compatibility to fix those two problems but run into this one… -_-
I’d ask you what exactly you did to get yours to work in compatibility mode, but I know that the answer would just be the same instructions you’ve written on here a million times… I seriously think msn just hates me or my computer is cursed. LOL -_-