Circumventing the latest forced upgrade for Messenger 2009

Update 6/20/2012:  Microsoft has blocked Windows Live Messenger 2009 from signing in.  You can use the Messenger Reviver utility to bypass the block.

At some point when you next sign in using Windows Live Messenger 2009 (build 14.0.8089.726 – you know, the one that still has Webcam support), you’ll be forced to upgrade to either the latest version of Messenger 2009 (sans webcam).

The solution
To get around this, simply use the latest version of my Link Reviver tool.  Not only will you be able to click on hyperlinks again, but you’ll also be able to use your previous version with Webcam.

If you have already upgraded
I’ll be providing a better way to get webcam back soon.  But if you need to do it now, use ZapMessenger to uninstall Messenger, download and run the Messenger QFE2 installer, and then use Link Reviver to restore it to be able to login.

Why is this happening
Well, according to the Inside Windows Live blog, “important security updates, performance improvements, targeted bug fixes, and some other, minor changes.”  To date, all we’ve seen is removed functionality.  Although the blog goes on to address this, “this Messenger update simplifies how you start a video call from within Messenger pre-2011. Rather than individually managing your and your friend’s webcam feeds and audio, you can now start a video call just by clicking the “Video” button in the conversation window or by clicking the webcam icon.”

Right.  You can see some of the previous explanations (see comments especially).

Just another brick in the wall
This is hardly news for anyone who has used Messenger for awhile, and was generally expected by the Messenger community.  This has happened before, with again, little to no explanation, bad installer versions, and even locking out certain versions of Windows.