How Do I Know If I Have Instant Messenger on My Computer?

If you want to communicate with someone online in real time, you will want to make use of instant-messenging programs, which can be used to talk to people in any part of the world with an Internet connection. You can download software for this purpose or you can have it installed on a computer upon purchase. Sometimes if you sign up for an email service, you can get the IM software as part of the bundle. There are a few ways to determine whether Instant Messenger is installed on a computer.

Instructions

Using the Desktop

1. Start the computer and wait for the desktop to fully load.

2. Look at the icons on the desktop and in the system tray, which is found at the bottom right of the screen.

3. Look for any of the following IM programs on your desktop; Yahoo, AOL, MSN or MySpace. Yahoo will appear as a yellow smiley face. AOL will appear as a little yellow or orange man running. MSN appears as the top of a person and is either blue or green, depending on the version you have.

Using the Start Menu

1. Go to the Start Menu button, located at the lower left corner of your desktop. Open the Start Menu by clicking "Start."

2. Move the pointer to "All Programs" at the bottom left of the Start Menu. Highlight "All Programs" with your mouse and wait for the dialog box to open. It will include a list of most of your currently installed programs.

3. Look through the list for one of the IM programs mentioned above. If you can't find any, continue to the next step.

Using Add/Remove Programs

1. Close the dialog box by clicking anywhere on the desktop outside of the dialog box. Go to the Start Menu once again.

2. Look for "Control Panel" along the right side of the menu list. Click "Control Panel" to open that pane. Look for "Add/Remove Programs" in the list of icons.

3. Click on the icon for "Add/Remove Programs" to bring up the dialog box with the list of programs that can be uninstalled on your computer. Depending on the amount of software installed, this can take several minutes.

4. Look for one of the previously mentioned IM programs in the list provided. If you can't find one there, continue to the next step.

Using Program Files

1. Go to the "My Computer" icon on the desktop. Click the icon to open the window. Click on the icon for "C" drive. Doing this will open the pane and show details of all the main folders on the "C" drive.

2. Look for the folder labeled "Program Files." This is the file that holds most of the operating software on the computer. Click on the file folder to open it.

3. Look for any IM folders in the pane that opens. The folders should be in alphabetical order.

References

• Microsoft Help Site