How To Remove Instant Messaging Users for Windows Messenger on Windows XP-Based Computers

When you use Windows Messenger to log on to the .NET Passport service for the first time on a computer that is running either Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional, the information that you use to log on is displayed in a list of user accounts that is maintained by Windows. After you quit and then restart Windows Messenger, your user name is displayed in the list of Windows Messenger users.

This step-by-step article describes how to remove the user logon information from the list of user accounts in Windows and from the list of Windows Messenger users.

How to Remove an Instant Messaging User Account from the List of Windows Messenger Users

To remove an instant messaging user account from the list of Windows Messenger users:

For users of stand-alone or workgroup computers:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   
   Note: If you are using the Classic start menu, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel
2. Click User Accounts.
3. Click your user account.
4. Under Related Tasks, click Manage my network passwords.
5. Click the user account that you want to remove in the Stored User Names and Passwords box, and then click Remove.
6. Click OK to confirm that you want to remove this user.
7. Click Close

For users of computers that are joined to a domain:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
   
   Note: If you are using the Classic start menu, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel
2. Click User Accounts.
3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Manage Passwords in the Passwords and .NET Passports box.
4. In Stored Users and Passwords, click the user account that you want to remove, and then click Remove.
5. Click OK to confirm that you want to remove this user.
6. Click Close to close the Stored Users and Passwords window, and then click OK to close the User Accounts window.