'Messenger For Mac' Problem ..

[Scott M]

hello, i'm scott, i'm a new member here, and i know it's a bit rude to start off with a request for help, but something is really bugging me and i'm hoping that maybe someone on here will know how to fix it.

this problem had only started about 2 days ago. here's the problem.

i use messenger for mac (the latest version) and now, for some reason, i seem to be having trouble with it. 2 different things are happening. first, no one can see my profile picture, instead, it's just a blue mac icon (blue man) and no matter how many times i try to change it, it won't work. secondly, every time i sign out, and then sign back in again, my msn name reverts to my EMAIL address. no matter how many times i change it, it always goes back to showing my email address the next time i log in. this is doing my head in, as i have to change my msn name every time i log on msn.

any help would be MUCH appreciated.

EDIT: i am now aware that i've posted in the complete incorrect place, i apologise for this! (the shame)

 

[fernandovalente]

Try Adium X. It's much better than Microsoft Messenger for Mac. It has more features than MSN for Mac.

http://adium.im/

 

[BlueRevolution]

hello, i'm scott,

Hi Scott.

i'm a new member here,

Welcome!

and i know it's a bit rude to start off with a request for help,

No worries. That's how I started too.

but something is really bugging me and i'm hoping that maybe someone on here will know how to fix it.

Have you tried repairing permissions? The client could be having trouble writing changes to disk. I agree with fernandovalente about Adium, though. It's a brilliant app, a shining example of the awesomeness of Mac developers.

 

[Ivan P]

Try Adium X. It's much better than Microsoft Messenger for Mac. It has more features than MSN for Mac.

http://adium.im/

Before today I would have recommended this program. Additionally, the phrasing of my previous sentence does indeed mean I would no longer recommend it. I accidentally selected the wrong item from the right-click menu and blocked one of my best friends on MSN without meaning to. Adium said I had successfully unblocked them, but every time I signed back in they were once again blocked. This spread even further then just Adium in the end - signing in using aMSN or Microsoft Messenger for Mac would show the contact as blocked as well, and signing back in using those apps would reinstate the block even if I attempted an unblock. Even sites like eBuddy and Meebo acted the same. Basically, I had to open a new account and readd all my buddies just because of one bug in the app that obviously affected the way the server handles a block. Looking through support documents, it seems this has been happening to many Adium users since at least 2005. I'd stay clear after that...

 

[Scott M]

what is repairing permissions? sorry if this is obvious, lol. i really have not heard of it before.

 

[iWoz]

to OP..

I have also experienced these issues on numerous occasions with Mac Messenger, Unfortunately the microsoft team haven't developed mac messenger aswell as they have on a windows based machine which is quite frustrating as most of my friends use windows live messenger.

Alot of people rate Adium very highly. Personally I'd just hold out for an update to mac messenger. But it has been a year since any news of an update.

 

[Neil-UKWSD]

Hi,

I had the same problem with the display picture after fresh installing my MacBook Air with 10.6 and installing Messenger.

I did some googling and found the answer was to create a folder called Microsoft User Data in the Documents folder.

 

[Sambo110]

to OP..

I have also experienced these issues on numerous occasions with Mac Messenger, Unfortunately the microsoft team haven't developed mac messenger aswell as they have on a windows based machine which is quite frustrating as most of my friends use windows live messenger.

Alot of people rate Adium very highly. Personally I'd just hold out for an update to mac messenger. But it has been a year since any news of an update.

Why would you want to wait for an update for that buggy piece of crap? Just use Adium, or even aMSN, anything is better than that.

I have blocked/unblocked people fine on Adium, the only problems I have had is while uploading and downloading at the same time.

 

[jzuena]

what is repairing permissions? sorry if this is obvious, lol. i really have not heard of it before.

This ensures that the file ownership and read/write permissions on files are set correctly. If a configuration file got set read-only somehow, you might not be able to save your changes.

You do this through Disk Utility (in Applications -> Utilities). Highlight the startup disk (most likely "Macintosh HD") in the left pane and select First Aid in the right pane. Then click Repair Disk Permissions.

 

[iWoz]

Why would you want to wait for an update for that buggy piece of crap? Just use Adium, or even aMSN, anything is better than that.

I have blocked/unblocked people fine on Adium, the only problems I have had is while uploading and downloading at the same time.

Because im using the pre-beta version which as buggy. But still allows audio and video capability!

 

[Scott M]

ok, so now i've tried all the things that have been said on here, the repairing permissions didn't fix it, and i really disliked that other msn program, adium, and i hate how slow amsn is. even with amsn though, i'm having the same problem with the name. which signifies that my problem may be with the msn address, and not the program, but i've tried my friends msn addresses on here too, and it does the same thing.

starting to lose hope now

 

[CrzyCanuck72]

FWIW, I use Adium exclusively, and I'm also having the problem where my MSN display name shows up as my email. Also, I use Live Messenger on my BlackBerry, and the problem happens there as well... because it's not client-specific, it might be something wrong with Microsoft's servers or something...

edit: did some quick googling, and this is a widespread problem with no real solution right now...

 

[Neil-UKWSD]

Hi Scott,

Did you try creating the folder as I suggested, this fixed the issue I had with the display picture at least.

I have the same issue with the display name not saving, just hadn't noticed lol.

 

[Scott M]

Hi Scott,

Did you try creating the folder as I suggested, this fixed the issue I had with the display picture at least.

I have the same issue with the display name not saving, just hadn't noticed lol.

yeah, i had a look, but it seems that i already have that folder.

i don't know what to do was ok for like a year, and now it just randomly decides to mess about (N)

 

[Jason Beck]

Messenger is just waaaayyyyy too buggy. Adium.. get it.

 

[Mike Macintosh]

I to agree that you should try Adium, its a great app used it since day 1, and you can link your MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Myspace, Google Talk, ICQ, Facebook, etc accounts to it and use them all on one big application.

You will also save the extra space you would need like 4-5 other programs to run these for more music, pictures, games, etc.

 

[Scott M]

i've tried adium, and i'm having the same problem on there.

 

[CrzyCanuck72]

i've tried adium, and i'm having the same problem on there.

If you read my post you'd see that you're not the only one with this problem, and at the moment, there is no fix. It randomly affects Macs, PCs, the official MSN client, unofficial clients (eg. Adium), mobile clients (MSN for BlackBerry), etc. Just sit tight and hopefully it will resolve itself.

 

[Scott M]

If you read my post you'd see that you're not the only one with this problem, and at the moment, there is no fix. It randomly affects Macs, PCs, the official MSN client, unofficial clients (eg. Adium), mobile clients (MSN for BlackBerry), etc. Just sit tight and hopefully it will resolve itself.

i did read it, and it gave me some hope, thanks