[OT] Just in case any of you upgrade to Windows Messenger Live and the contacts go missing

["Chris Jackson" <chris@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

If they go missing try option 2 it worked a treat with me :-) Well
done
Carlos and it only took them 2 hours to respond [shock]







Hi Chris,

Thank you for contacting Windows Live Messenger Technical Support. My name
is Carlos, and I'll be glad to assist you with your concern.

I have read the information that you have provided us, and according to
your
statement you have just upgraded to Windows Live Messenger and your
contacts
list did not display completely when you signed in to Windows Live
Messenger. I too use Windows Live Messenger so I understand how
inconvenient
this issue must have been. I myself encountered this and I want you to know
that there is a quick fix for this. I realize that this issue may have
prevented you from communicating with your friends and love ones. Please
know that I will be able to help you regarding this issue.

You may be experiencing one of these situations due to this issue:
- All the contacts are missing from your contact list.
- Some contacts are missing from your contact list.
- You cannot find particular contacts.
- You cannot view your contacts.

The probable causes to this situation are the following:
- You may have deleted this contact through another program that uses the
same address book.
- A cache file in Windows Live Messenger may be corrupted.
- Your contacts may not have signed in to their Messenger, MSN Hotmail, or
MSN accounts in more than 60 days.

Chris, before I give you the troubleshooting steps let me walk you through
some of the processes you will be performing to resolve your issue. You
will
be deleting your contacts list associated with your profile, update your
contacts list from our contacts server by signing in to Windows Live
Messenger, and re-adding your contacts one by one if necessary.

I would really like you to get started using Windows Live Messengers
streamlined functions and newly added features  again so I will do
everything I can to help resolve your issue. Please follow these
instructions carefully. This may take a while so your patience is very much
appreciated.

Option 1. If you have a Hotmail or a Windows Live Messenger address, the
contact list that appears in Windows Live Messenger is also shared by
Hotmail. Therefore, if you delete a contact from the Hotmail address book,
that contact will also be deleted from the Windows Live Messenger contact
list. Alternatively, if you are using the MSN client program or Outlook
Express to access your Hotmail Inbox, deleting contacts in Outlook Express
can delete the contacts from Windows Live Messenger. If this is not the
case, skip to the next step.

Option 2. If your contact list is empty or incomplete after you upgrade to
Windows Live Messenger, the cached contact list may not have updated
correctly. To update your contact list, follow these steps:

I. Change Windows Explorer settings
a. Right click on the "Start" button and choose
"Explore" from the short-cut
menu to open the "Windows Explorer" window.

b. In the "Windows Explorer" window , click on the
"Tools" menu followed by
"Folder Options". Click on the "View" tab. In the
Advanced settings list,
check "Show hidden files and folders" and uncheck the option
"Hide
extensions for known file types" under Hidden files and folders. Click
on
"OK" to close the "Folder Options" window.

c. In the "Windows Explorer" window, click on the
"View" menu followed by
"Explorer bar" and ensure that the "Folders" option is
checked. This will
ensure that you are able to see the folder list on the left side of the
Windows Explorer window.

II. Try to delete the Contacts Cache folder to resolve the issue by
following the steps below:
a. Right click on the "Start" button and choose
"Explore" from the short-cut
menu to open the "Windows Explorer" window.

b. In the "Windows Explorer" window, go to the Folder list on the
left pane
and navigate to the folder C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows logon
name>\Contacts\<Your Messenger email address>
- <Windows Login name> is the login name you use to sign into Windows
- <Your Windows Live Messenger email address> is the address that you
use to
sign into Windows Live Messenger

c. Delete all the files that are within the <Your Windows Live Messenger
email address> folder.

d. Right click on the "Start" button and choose
"Explore" from the short-cut
menu to open the "Windows Explorer" window.

e. In the "Windows Explorer" window, go to the Folder list on the
left pane
and navigate to the folder C:\Documents and Settings\<Your Windows logon
name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows Live
Contacts\<Your
Messenger email address>
- <Windows Login name> is the login name you use to sign into Windows
- <Your Windows Live Messenger email address> is the address that you
use to
sign into Windows Live Messenger.

f. Delete the "real" and the "shadow" folders that are
within the <Your
Windows Live Messenger email address> folder.

III. Try to sign into Windows Live Messenger again.

Option 3. Each user who signs in to Windows Live Messenger has a contact
list. If the user is signed in with a Microsoft domain e-mail address, that
user's contact list is shared between Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger.
The MSN policy is to delete an inactive user's address from other users'
contact lists after 60 days of inactivity. This does not apply to inactive
MSN paying subscribers or to inactive Hotmail Extra Storage subscribers.

If a contact has disappeared from your contact list, that person may not
have signed in to Windows Live Messenger or used that Hotmail account or
that MSN account for more than 60 days. However, the associated Windows
Live
ID may still be valid. To communicate with that contact again, you must
again add that contact to your contact list.

I. Re-add contacts from your allow list to Contact list:
a. Sign in to Windows Live Messenger.
b. On the "Tools" menu, click "Options," and then click
"Privacy."
c. Right-click each contact on the Allow List, and then click "Add to
Contact list." If the contact is not on your Allow List, add the
contact:
- In the main Windows Live Messenger window, click "Add a
Contact" on the
"Contacts" menu.
- Follow the steps in the wizard to add the contact.

I hope these steps resolve your concern with Windows Live Messenger. If you
need further assistance, you may contact us at http://support.live.com For
additional information and self-help instructions, visit
http://ideas.live.com/programpage.aspx?versionId=0eccd94b-eb48-497c-8e60-c63
13f7ebb73

Thank you for contacting Windows Live Messenger Technical Support. Have a
great day.

Sincerely,

Carlos
Windows Live Messenger Technical Support






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