Web Talk

If you use Windows Live Messenger (previously known as MSN Messenger) you should know by now that you can not download it as standalone program anymore. As a matter of fact WLM is now part of the suite best known as Windows Live package which embeds a lot of different applications such as: Windows Live Writer, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Toolbar, Windows Live Messenger 2009 etc. This installer called wlsetup-all.exe  and whose size is more than 100 MB can not be uncompressed, unpacked or extracted into single installers, so if you want a single application out of it, you have just to download and install the whole bunch. If you are craving to get the single Windows Live Messenger application 2009 (Messenger.msi) or  other single applications out of  Windows Live package, just follow this easy hack.

1. Download Windows Live Installer from download.live.com.
2. Install Windows Live Messenger 2009 (or just upgrade, if you already have it on your PC).
3. Now, on your Windows Vista, open Windows Explorer (make sure to run it with  Administrator rights) and set it to show hidden files and folders and protected operating system files. Here is a micro-guide to do it: Click Start – Type Windows Explorer on the Search box and hit Enter – Click Organize – Click Folder and Search options – Under the View tab tick the following setting: Show hidden files and folders. Now untick the following setting: Hide protected operating system files. Done!
4. Now browse to this folder: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Windows Live\.cache\
5. Now you should face a lot of folders named with a lot of characters and numbers. Open all of them and look for: Messenger.msi
6. Messenger.msi is the standalone setup installer for Windows Live Messenger 2009. Just copy-and-paste it wherever you want on your computer.
7. If you get errors or issues after installing WLM as standalone, just retrieve the following files which are located in the same folders named with a lot of characters and numbers: Contacts.msi, dw20shared.msi, crt.msi
8. After getting the above files install them.
9. Now you should be able to run your WIndows Live Messenger smoothly.

By the way, this hack also works for all of the other applications contained in the Windows Live package.