Me - 1 MSN Messenger - 0

Don't get me started on the fact that we use MSN Messenger (though we are switching to a paid product we can control!). This morning I came in and MSN Messenger was freezing, with the CPU pegging to 40%. I uninstalled it, reinstalled it, and was still having the same issue. The odd thing was not all of us were having the issue (or at least not everyone was reporting it). I decided to go third party since a lot of people request help via Messenger. As I was sitting at my desk it was still ticking me off that there was an issue at all and since my boss is out tomorrow I didn't want to get swarmed with reports of the issue. Via trusty Google I entered "msn messenger using cpu" and found a site describing the issue to a t (including the 40% cpu usage).

The author details that Microsoft serves it's adds via rad.msn.com and that this is what was pegging the CPU. He added to the Restricted Sites list in Internet Explorer and the issue was resolved. Tried it on my PC, issue resolved. Try it on one of the Web Developers PCs, issue resolved. Fired up Group Policy Management and added it there. GPUpdate, restricted site added and suddenly people start popping online. Thank you Google!

How to Fix Windows Live Messenger 2011's High CPU Usage | Technology Mob | Technology Mob

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Comments

petedude

Isn't there some FOSS MSN-compatible IM client you could load instead?

the_Grinch

Definitely, but the issue we have is we'd have to manually go around and install a third party client for everyone. Much easier to just fix the issue they walk around to all our users and load another program. Plus it would require them to remember their MSN password which many do not.

veritas_libertas

I'm a big fan of OpenFire. It will fully integrate with your AD credentials: Openfire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MrBigg

the_Grinch wrote: »

Don't get me started on the fact that we use MSN Messenger (though we are switching to a paid product we can control!). This morning I came in and MSN Messenger was freezing, with the CPU pegging to 40%. I uninstalled it, reinstalled it, and was still having the same issue. The odd thing was not all of us were having the issue (or at least not everyone was reporting it). I decided to go third party since a lot of people request help via Messenger. As I was sitting at my desk it was still ticking me off that there was an issue at all and since my boss is out tomorrow I didn't want to get swarmed with reports of the issue. Via trusty Google I entered "msn messenger using cpu" and found a site describing the issue to a t (including the 40% cpu usage).

The author details that Microsoft serves it's adds via rad.msn.com and that this is what was pegging the CPU. He added to the Restricted Sites list in Internet Explorer and the issue was resolved. Tried it on my PC, issue resolved. Try it on one of the Web Developers PCs, issue resolved. Fired up Group Policy Management and added it there. GPUpdate, restricted site added and suddenly people start popping online. Thank you Google!

How to Fix Windows Live Messenger 2011's High CPU Usage | Technology Mob | Technology Mob

+1

Story sounds similar to my morning. We also use MSN messenger but the issue I ran into this morning was memory leaking, clients would hit about a gig usage after a few minutes and eventually the client would crash.

This fix also worked for my issue, thanks for posting it!

the_Grinch

We did look at OpenFire, but we are very much moving to the cloud and dumping our servers. Also, the University controls AD and gives us fairly limited access to it. Would love to run an OpenFire server, but it's just not in the cards.

drkat

Office Communicator

tpatt100

I didn't know MSN Messenger was still around....

veritas_libertas

tpatt100 wrote: »

I didn't know MSN Messenger was still around....

ba dum ching... rimshot

Qord

Another vote for Openfire/Spark combo. You only need read-only AD access, and that's only for authentication, so if you've got adequate groups already set up in AD you're almost there! (I used our "staff" OU to dictate who can login and existing distribution lists to separate groups of people)

And depending on how many users you're talking, you could potentially run this on a desktop machine instead of a dedicated server.

MickQ

Yep, a company I used to work at insisted on us using it. Once I blocked the ads, everything went so much smoother (and less distracting).

the_Grinch

For us it is something they've always used and so we continued the trend. Of course with the recent upgrade, you can no longer import contact lists so it has become a pretty big hassle. Add to it this CPU hogging issue and we said yup time to get something else.