Status Not Changing from 'Online' to 'Away' on Vista - Jonathan Kay can you help?

I recently moved my father from an old computer running Windows XP to a new
one running Windows Vista (Home Premium, 32-bit version).

Since doing this I am noticing an issue with his Windows Live Messenger
client (version 8.5.1302.1018).

I am finding that his status sometimes does not change from "Online" to
"Away" after the inactivity timeout period (set to 5 minutes) has expired.
In fact, I have noticed him showing up as "Online" all night even though he
stopped using his computer at about 8 pm.

I suspect an issue with the way Messenger determines whether the computer is
busy or idle on Vista.

Jonathan Kay - is there any way you can check if this an issue the
developers are aware of? Is there something simple we should be checking?

Thanks.

PS
His computer is set to go to sleep (hybrid sleep mode) after 45 mins. I
guess it's probably not going to sleep either - still need to confirm this.

Greetings Ian,

It's not specifically a Vista problem -- this problem has existed since the feature has been
existence. More than likely there is one (or more) specific apps which are running on the
system that make Messenger think the computer is still active.

There's a whole group of situations that cause this. If possible, eliminate any background
applications from starting and running -- anything that pops up regular dialogs, changes
windows focus, etc., will prevent Messenger from determining that you're actually gone.

You can use the System Configuration tool (click Start, type System Configuration) to check
on what's starting or the Autoruns tool from Microsoft Technet as a starting point:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/s.../bb963902.aspx

If it was actually going to sleep after 45-minutes, he wouldn't be idle at all -- he would be
offline. So it's the same deal.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2008 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--



"Ian" <nospam@xxxxxx> wrote in message news:e82Rn#BgIHA.5900@xxxxxx