Quake3World

Preventing AOL Instant Messenger from Starting with Outlook Express

Thanks to reader Larry H. for the following:

Problem: AOL Instant messenger starts up with Outlook Express. (very annoying)

Solutions (that didn't work):

1. I have tried msconfig to delete startup.
2. I have edited preferences in AIM to not start when windows starts.
3. I have disabled AIM to not be my default Instant Messanger.
4. I have doubled checked Outlook Express to make sure Outlook
was not starting AIM . (Outlook Express ->Tools General)

None of this worked!

Final Result: Before deleting AIM, I tried one more tactic. My son has his own desktop with his own settings, separate from my desktop and settings, on the same computer. I went to his desktop settings, and performed the above steps, rebooted, and so far, no AIM starting itself with Outlook Express. Apparently, all users who have separate desktop settings need to change AIM preferences to get rid of this behavior.

12/02/03 Stop AOL Instant Messenger From Launching When You Open Outlook Express

If AOL Instant Messenger is automatically launching whenever you open Outlook Express, you can do the following to stop this behavior:

* Open AOL Instant Messenger and Sign on.
* Click My AIM on the menu.
* On the drop-down menu, select Edit Options and then Edit Preferences then Sign On/Off.
* Uncheck the box "Make AIM my default instant messaging program"

By turning this option off, the option in Outlook Express to 'Automatically log onto AOL instant messenger' is no longer there, and Outlook Express will not launch AIM when starting. (The next time you start AIM, at the prompt to make it the default IM program, select the checkbox to not perform that test in the future.)