Ed Bott is probably my favorite person to read when it comes to covering Windows and other Microsoft software. Today I noticed a little post he had regarding a way to fix Windows Live Messenger in case you find yourself unable to log in. I didn't think much of it, until my wife asked me why she hadn't been able to log in to her messenger for a few days. I quickly went back and read Ed's tip, then logged in remotely to her machine and deleted the registry key mentioned, and voila - she's back online.

So if you're having problems with your Messenger, the registry key you want to delete is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\MSNMessenger\Policies

Give it a shot - it might well fix your problem!

Thanks, Ed.