Help! What to do after installing a program!

[Capt Underpants]

I just installed MSS messenger 4.0 for mac OSX, and now there's 2 MSN messenger icons on my desktop. One looks like a white floppy disk drive and the other is the file I downloaded to install MSN messenger. I want to get rid of them, but will dragging them to the trash delete MSn messenger?

 

[pyrotoaster]

The initial file, whether a disk image or a zip or sit containing a disk image, has served its purpose. You can delete it.
The other icon is a mounted disk image. This is basically treated as a "virtual disk" that will stay mounted until you eject it or log out. That mounted image contains either an installer (which will need to be run, if you haven't already done so) or simply the application itself. If it contains the app, you need to copy the app to your applications folder (and voila! it's installed!).
Mounting a disk image does not "install" a application, it merely decompresses the file containing it. You usually have to install it yourself after that (as mentioned above).
It's really the easiest way to install applications I've ever seen.

 

[PlaceofDis]

im gonna assume that MSN messenger has an installer right? if so and you went through the installer, check your applications folder to make sure that the MSN messenger app is there, if it is you can get rid of the icons.

if MSN messenger is not in your applications folder, open up the "floppy drive" on your desktop and drag it to your applications and then you can eject the disk image and delete the other files

 

[Capt Underpants]

okay. there's not an MSN messenger icon in the applications folder. what do i need to do to get it in there so I can delete the icons? There is an MSN messenger icon in the dock, though, if that means anything. I'm sorry for complete newbness, but I am trying to learn a new OS.

 

[jsw]

Right click (or control-click) on the icon in the dock. Select "Show in Finder", which is probably the only option that comes up. You'll see where MSN is. Drag it to the Applications folder.

You should be all set.

Keep us informed.

 

[PlaceofDis]

jsw beat me to it.

 

[Capt Underpants]

Okay, guys. thanks for all of your help. I dragged it in to the applications folder and it copied it in. I deleted the icons, and now everything works perfectly. thanks again!