Every time I want to install Windows Live Messenger on a client’s computer, I am amazed by the ridiculous badness of their installer; you have to wait while it checks your whole PC for other Microsoft programs before it even starts downloading the Messenger itself. The install operation has never taken less than 20 minutes for me, and that was on a good day, with a fast connection and a new laptop. The slowest must have been getting on for an hour, with the client paying me and getting more and more frustrated that a simple instant messenger could be such a palava to install. I had to concur.
When will Microsoft realise that people just want things to be simple and if they wanted Windows Live Writer, Mail or any of the other bloatware they keep coming out with, then they would just download that and install it on its own. I installed both Yahoo Messenger and Picasa on the same laptop in less than half the time it has so far taken to install Windows Live Messenger.
Also it’s the presumption of Microsoft that you will willingly allow their software to scan your whole computer before you get their IM client- it really smacks of ‘all your base are belong to us’. This is why I use Ubuntu as my main OS and only go onto Windows when strictly necessary.
While I type this, the Live Messenger installer has been stuck on 99% downloaded for the last 10 minutes… total install time so far, over 20 minutes… roll on the revolution and make posts like this a thing of the past.
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12 August 2008 at 11:38 PM
Mike Brady
I agree about the installer. But dang, that’s no reason to use Linux!
19 August 2008 at 2:16 PM
Daniel Monday
I also agree on the installer, ive had soo many errors & the amout of time it takes, i found downgrading to MSN 7.5 helps
30 August 2008 at 2:54 AM
m$sucks
I am having so much trouble to install MSN messenger. It is the worst installer I ever experienced with. It SUCKS!
30 August 2008 at 10:20 AM
Guy
@Mike- yes but this is just the tip of the iceberg where MS is concerned and people are switching to Linux because of issues like this.
7 September 2008 at 2:48 PM
Jon
Anyone got a direct link to the install_messenger.exe ?
16 October 2008 at 9:03 PM
Jordan
As I sit here, installing msn messenger (or live messenger, whatever it is called nowadays) through Windows Live Installer, I once again contemplate suicide or turning my business into an anything but microsoft solution.
I just want one thing installed, one thing. Why does it have to take 20-45 minutes?
18 November 2008 at 6:50 PM
Thom
I don’t really think any other software has ever irritated me as much as this piece of crap installer (and I’ve broken god knows how many computer components by rage!!)
I got a new laptop today, so am doing the boring yet needed task of installing software I regularly use and customising it to my tastes. In the Summer, we reinstalled XP on my brother’s laptop due to nasty spyware/virus. The amount of times the WL Installer would be ‘downloading’ or searching the computer for always at least several minutes, to fail with no help other than a link to the most useless Windows Live page - you think common sense would be a link to the separate installer for each application, nope Windows Live loves to make things as complicated as they can!! It makes me even angrier when I always spot it managed to leave a shortcut to the Windows Live homepage in my start-menu, launch the Windows Live site in my default browser and asks you twice at the start if you want to change everything to Windows Live (default homepage, default search, send anonymous info…)
I’m always highly supportive of Windows, as it’s the OS I’ve always used, however, the internet side of the business is meant to be crucial since the .com boom where Google was the most successful for Microsoft. Yet this is the most ridiculous, one of the most poorly created installer apps ever. You really think they’d try and make it perfect considering how far behind many consider them to be behind Google and the lack of success (almost failure?) of Vista.
Unbelievable…