MSN Explorer 9

The client thinks Microsoft is still there

Setting up MSN Explorer

From the installer to the first sign-in

The client is original and unmodified. Everything that makes it talk to Puppenspieler instead of Microsoft happens through name resolution and a certificate - nothing is patched.

You do not need an account beforehand. MSN Explorer signs you up itself, in its own wizard, the way it did in 2004. The account centre on this site is for AOL only.

What you need

What	Detail
System	Windows 2000 or XP, in a virtual machine
Client	MSN Explorer 9, German or English
Package	msn_setup.zip
Network	the MSN names pointed at this server
Trust	the project's root certificate

A virtual machine is not a suggestion. The setup redirects Microsoft's own host names and installs a root certificate - neither belongs on a machine you use for anything else.

1. Point the names here

The client resolves Microsoft's host names and goes there. Redirect them to this server in the hosts file of the virtual machine.

2. Import the root certificate

This is the step that catches people. The client checks the certificate and insists on HTTPS. Without the root certificate in the machine's trust store, no connection comes up at all - and the error it shows says nothing about certificates.

3. Run the setup

From the package, pick what matches the machine:

• Windows XP and newer - msn_setup_xp_up.exe
• Windows 2000 - msn_setup_win2000.hta

and the language build you want, MSNSUSII_de.exe or msnsusii_en.exe.

The wizard fetches the package descriptions and the program files from this server and installs MSN Explorer.

4. Sign up, inside MSN

Start MSN Explorer and go through its own registration: it asks for the name you want, offers what is free, takes a password, and creates the account. The server answers every step of that conversation - the client does not know anything has changed.

Then it signs you in, and the portal comes up.

Watch it first

There is a recording of the whole run on a Windows XP VM, start to finish and uncut. Worth seeing before you start, so you know what each step should look like.