MSN Messenger for Windows 98

I am having trouble running MSN Messenger in Windows 98. I can log in and it only works a matter of seconds before I get an error message saying it has encountered a problem and will be shut down. I have disabled my anti-virus (AVG) and that has not worked. I am 'trying' to run MSN Messenger 6.1. I have uninstalled it and re-installed it with no change in performance. There do not seem to be any updates or patches for it this problem I have found. Soooo any help would be appreciated!! Thanks .. Lily

 

Lily,

My kids run Messenger on my 98 system without a problem. I also run Noton's SystemWorks 2003 on that system. What is the exact error message that you are getting? I assume that your system has the minimum requirements- 233 MHz processor, 64MB RAM, and IE 5.01 or later.

Mike

 

No Mike actually I am not running bare bones minimum. I know some time ago I had some difficulty with the same and all I did was exited out of Nortons and installed the MSN and it worked fine ... reading told me later that it somehow got caught up in the firewall settings and by closing out Nortons during the install allowed MSN to install properly. My system is Windows 98, with 192 M RAM and the latest version of IE .. The only place I am 'lacking' is I am not running Windows XP.
Thank you for your feedback. I know many who have lesser systems than I do and seem to have no problem with it .. mine however just seems to have this glitch.

 

Those are not correct minimum specs for 98.

The following list describes the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 98:
A personal computer with a 486DX 66 megahertz (MHz) or faster processor (Pentium central processing unit recommended).
16 megabytes (MB) of memory (24 MB recommended).
A typical upgrade from Windows 95 requires approximately 195 MB of free hard disk space, but the hard disk space may range from between 120 MB and 295 MB, depending on your computer configuration and the options that you choose to install.
A full install of Windows 98 on a FAT16 drive requires 225 MB of free hard disk space, but may range from between 165 MB and 355 MB, depending on your computer configuration and that options that you choose to install.
A full install of Windows 98 on a FAT32 drive requires 175 MB of free hard disk space, but may range from between 140 MB and 255 MB, depending on your computer configuration and the options that you choose to install.
One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk drive.
VGA or higher resolution (16-bit or 24-bit color SVGA recommended).

Direct From The Horses Mouth

The specs you quoted are for XP.

The minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP Home Edition are:
Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)
At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)
At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard disk
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
Keyboard and a Microsoft Mouse or some other compatible pointing device
Video adapter and monitor with Super VGA (800 x 600)or higher resolution
Sound card
Speakers or headphones

Direct From The Horses Mouth

 

??????? Crucial you are telling me MINE are not correct specs for Windows 98??? I didn't really give much for specs and what I did give is quite within the realm of 98 ... I do know the specs for this computer and I know they should be quite capable of running MSN messenger. I have searched for possible patches for the problem but have not as yet found what I need. I will keep working on it .. I know there has to be a solution somewhere lol

 

PrairieLily - What type and how fast/slow is your connection? IM has some min. specs. to run Messenger and if your connection is dialup and much below 28,800 it might give you problems.

You might check here to see if there is help: http://messenger.msn.com/Help/

 

PrairieLily,

Your specs are fine for your system to run MSN. The specs that Crucial gave are for installing Win98 on a system. Should I assume that you are using version 6.1?

Mike

 

It makes no difference what specs are what as long as Win 98 installs and runs the specs are fine.

I have Win98 SE/IE6 SP1 on a Cyrix 150 ( running at 120 ) with 64 meg of RAM and that **** things runs just as well as the same combo on an AMD 500 with 196 meg of RAM. Other than a tad bit slower ( which is of course fully expected ) there is very little if any difference.

I do not think the MSN problem in question has a darn thing to do with System Specs. But If you have both AOL and MSN there could be problems. ( don't know. never tired running both ) They both have a strong desire to run things thier way.

I had MSN ( or the kids did ) on the 150 machine for awhile and it ran fine.

The kids had AOL ( unitll I dumped it ) on the 150 machine and it was fine. They do use AIM 95 which works fine.

BillyBob

 

The original question posed by MinnesotaMike was merely finding out if your system met the minimum requirements to use MSN Messenger, and it does.

Did you get a net passport? Does it actually sign in and then you get the error?
Are there any details to the error message?
What other programs have been running when you try to run it? Have you tried stopping any?