Jonathan Kay (
TReKiE) posted a tool to prevent Live Messenger 2009 from automatically updating to 2011:
Use Messenger Reviver to bypass the Windows Live Messenger 2009 forced upgrade. Full instructions on how to use it are listed there too. If this doesn't work, setting Messenger to Windows XP compatibility mode is still worth a shot too. But, I would first try Messenger Reviver without any compatibility mode to prevent other problems.
If you already updated to WLM 2011 and you need to re-download 2009:
First uninstall WLM 2011 (
Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Windows Live Essentials). The you can download the full installer of the last known WLM 2009 version on
http://rnd.menthix.net/windows_live/Windows_Live_..._-_Wave_3_-_QFE_3/ (
Click your preferred language and download wlsetup-all.exe). Remember to run Messenger Reviver directly after installing WLM 2009.
The
download link Cookie provided should work too, but if you use the site to choose another language it tends to detect your OS and redirect you to a 2011 download. The
offline installers archive makes finding the right file a bit easier.
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