Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
Windows Live Messenger is designed to only allow one person to login at a time. There are several ways to sidestep this limitation.
Can I log into to two MSN Instant Messenger accounts at the same time? I want to be able to chat using two IDs simultaneously.
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The answer is both no and yes.
MSN Instant Messenger, now called Windows Live Messenger, is designed to support only one account at a time. That means if you login to a second account, you have to log out of the first.
But there are a couple of tricks that, while not elegant, can work.
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Certainly if you have two computers you can login using different MSN IM accounts on each. That's easy, but probably not what you were really looking for.
There are several tricks you can try, though, that I think will get you there.
Windows versus MSN Instant Messenger Windows Instant Messenger, the IM program that comes installed with Windows XP is not the same as MSN Instant Messenger. However, even though they have different feature sets, they talk to the same instant messaging service. (You can read more about the difference between all the messengers here.) So you can run Windows Instant Messenger and MSN Instant Messenger side by side, and login to different accounts on each.
MSN Web Messenger MSN provides a web-based version of their instant messaging client at http://webmessenger.msn.com/. You can login to one account using Web Messenger, and login to a different one using your IM client software of choice.
Other Clients There are other instant messaging client programs out there that work with MSN Instant Messenger. Specifically, you could install programs like Pidgin (formerly known as Gaim) or Trillian as additional IM clients, and log into separate accounts using each.
Other Clients, Part II Trillian allows you to login to multiple accounts simultaneously using separate identities. So in a sense, you can do exactly what you're looking for from a single application. As I write this, my copy of Trillian is logged into two separate MSN Instant Messenger accounts, and I can IM myself between the two. Other IM clients might also offer this feature.
So there you have it. You could log into at least different IM accounts at once using the different approaches I've listed here, or a virtually unlimited number of accounts using programs that support it, such as Trillian.
Article C2996 - April 15, 2007
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
HI,
i USED MY FRIEND COMPUTER AND AFTER FORGOT TO SIGNOUT,
Posted by: ATAUR at August 10, 2009 12:03 PMAFTER HE SEND ME A MESSAGE THAT i MAY USE MY MSN ACCOUNT IN TWO COMPUTER, i MISTAKENLY CHECED "YES"
AND HE CHANGE MY PICTURE AND LEFT SOME DIRTY NOTES ON MY MESSENGER NOW HOW CAN i CHANGE TO JUST ONE COMPUTER, i HAVE ALREADY CHANGED MY PASSWORD
all of you guys: MEEBO! I just discovered it and it is a heaven's mana! It works everywhere. EVERYWHERE. (well still have to test at another paranoid company...) Forget all other stuff, if you are behind a company firewall even a portable version (thinstall) of Pidgin or Trillian (by the way - you pay for Trillian services) will not (WILL NOT) work on some of them. Meebo works! Oh how it works.... Multiple accounts on almost any imaginable chat/mail network. And if you download its Notifier (and it did install itself even on a seriously restrictive network pc) it's even more of a hug: it sits in your taskbar and notifies you of any messages AND email you choose. I wanted a family email, a wife email, a husband email, and ability for husband and wife to watch all theri own and family accounts simoultaneously. AND to chat privately between themselves. I have been paying bloody £60p/a to get this to work at MSN - UNSUCESSFULLY. For years. (all I get is add-free webmail). A few moments ago I found Meebo. ...TY God, thank you... Meebo.com does it all for free. YO! (btw just visited msgshit.com and it greeted me with a pop-up advert, jeez...) MEEBO MEEBO MEEBO (for as long as it last in it's benevolance)
Posted by: a well wishing bloke at August 27, 2009 9:56 AMbe careful tho with Meebo Notifier autostart options (right click Meebo Notifier icon in taskbar, Preferences...) and if you are on a hotdesk (public, used by more than one user) pc, you should probably disselect all startup options.
Posted by: degrumpf at August 27, 2009 10:08 AMI caried on reading other posts - they all lack in flexibility I found with Meebo - most need admin rights to install for instance. Meebo Notifier DOES NOT.
and one more minor misfortune - no skype account login available throug Meebo, but still a great place
Posted by: degrumpf at August 27, 2009 10:27 AMsorry, my fault - multiple yahoo account logins ARE possible (entered wrong pass... :S)
Posted by: degrumpf at August 27, 2009 10:40 AM