Shoutbox

Hi All,

I installed Plus!, and told it to start at boot time using the prefs window. When i do so, it will add a registry key /winstart. However, when I start my computer again, Plus! never starts at all.

However, when i manually remove the /winstart parameter, Plus! will start, but only after I open the main MSNm window. Does anyone have the same plight that I have and that you can help?

Best Regards,
Joel

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel
When i do so, it will add a registry key /winstart. However, when I start my computer again, Plus! never starts at all.

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It will start though....

How do you know it doesn't start? Did you look at your processes (in xp: CTRL-ALT-DEL)? If you see msgplus.exe it has been started up.

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel
However, when i manually remove the /winstart parameter, Plus! will start, but only after I open the main MSNm window. Does anyone have the same plight that I have and that you can help?

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That suggest to me that it indeed did start up. Because MSN Messenger will not start up Plus! for you. Plus! had to be started up before that.

Note that when Plus! is started you wont see anything visible as it is not designed for anything else then hooking Messenger. It is only when MSN Messenger is started that you'll see a visible change (the Plus! menu is added).

Maybe you're confusing Messenger Plus! to be a messenger program by itself. This is not the case. Messenger Plus! is not a messenger program, it "just" adds some more features to the existing MSN Messenger (or Windows Messenger for that matter). You're still chatting with MSN Messenger, not thru Messenger Plus!.

Messenger Plus! is an addon for MSN Messenger, it is not a standalone clone of MSN Messenger.

As cookie said if you have plus! set to start up at the beginning it will.

Heres a screenshot of my com and task manager as I also have plus set up for the start. Also as cookie said to get to the task manager hit ctrl + alt + del at the same time WARNING do not end any processes as this may cause harm to your com.

OK I guess I'll have to elaborate more.

Cookie: I know it has not start because the XP process list in the Task manager does not have msgplus.exe.
Cookie:If msgplus.exe does not run, even starting MSNm will not help.
Cookie:I know its a addon!
Extreme:If i use the /winstart parameter, it will not start. But without the winstart parameter, it will start, but will not appear in the MSN window.

-----Elaboration-----
Usually I do not open the main MSN window, I just right-click on the icon and then select "Send an Instant Message". Even with Plus! started, the Plus! menu will not be added, I'll have to open the main MSN window to see the Plus! menu list.

Hope this clears some stuff up
Best Regards,
Joel

It behaves like it should...

some elaboration from my side :

There is no Plus! menu when you right click the icon in your system tray, that's normal. Plus! only adds a menu in the main screen of MSN Messenger (aka: your contactlist).

So not seeing a menu when you right-click the icon doesn't mean that Plus! hasn't started up. It is running just fine, proof: open the contactlist and the Plus! menu will be there; or CTRL-AL-DEL and you'll see the process.

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel
Extreme:If i use the /winstart parameter, it will not start.

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Yes it will. The only "problem" is that you edited/played around in the registry and thus the "chain of events" is broken. What I mean is, when /winstart is used, Plus! will be started up, checks for another registry value and then quits. That other registry value is the value which holds the normal startup key for Messenger. Because you changed some settings (automatically startup in Messenger, or deleting startup keys) this doesn't work properly anymore.

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel
But without the winstart parameter, it will start, but will not appear in the MSN window.

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Proberly because Plus! is loaded after MSN Messenger. This can happend and this is exactly the reason why you shouldn't remove the parameter (or the reason why you shouldn't play around with startup options if you don't know exactly how they work and what they do )

To fix all this:
1) Remove all the startup keys from Messenger Plus! and MSN Messenger
2) Startup Plus! manually
3) Startup MSN Messenger manually
4) Go to the MSN Messenger options:
Enable: Tools > Options > General > Automatically run Messenger when I log on to Windows
5) Go to the Messenger Plus! options:
Enable: Plus! > Preferences > Miscellaneous > Force Messenger Plus! to load when computer starts
6) Exit MSN Messenger completely (right-click the MSN Messenger icon and choose Exit)
7) Now on your next reboot, Plus! and MSN Messenger will start up both together in the right order.



To know more and in detail what exactly happens with the /winstart parameter, read:
CookieRevised's reply to Startupmonitor issue
(but ignore the given workaround in that thread as it is for people who have issues with startupmonitors)

Never mind... I fixed it

I just added Plus! to my startup folder, and plus will then be forced to start (by windows). When the plus main app is running, even if its started later, it will still appear in the main msn window.

thankx for you help guys

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel
even if its started later, it will still appear in the main msn window.

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ermm... no... not always. There is a reason why Plus! should be started up before MSN Messenger....

I strongly suggest you to do what I've told you to do, otherwise you might get errors once...

Yep... I just did my startup folder in addition to what you told me

quote:

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Originally posted by CookieRevised

To fix all this:
1) Remove all the startup keys from Messenger Plus! and MSN Messenger
2) Startup Plus! manually
3) Startup MSN Messenger manually
4) Go to the MSN Messenger options:
Enable: Tools > Options > General > Automatically run Messenger when I log on to Windows
5) Go to the Messenger Plus! options:
Enable: Plus! > Preferences > Miscellaneous > Force Messenger Plus! to load when computer starts
6) Exit MSN Messenger completely (right-click the MSN Messenger icon and choose Exit)
7) Now on your next reboot, Plus! and MSN Messenger will start up both together in the right order.

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Mmm, I just did these things but it still doesn't work.  Well, actually, it DOES work but when I reboot MSN, Plus! isn't visable in my menu...  I don't get it...

try doing what i did.

go to the folder where u installed Plus! (mine is C:\Program Files\Messenger Plus!\) and make a shortcut to msgplus.exe.

copy that shortcut into your start menu's startup folder. This way, if the plus core is not started by the normal method, the startup folder will force plus to start.