If you encounter this problem with Microsoft Live Mail or Messenger you need to do the following to solve the problem:
1. Go to Control Panel -> Then Add/Uninstall programs – Here you will see a list of all your programs that you can change or uninstall -> Select Windows Live Messenger/Essentials, you will then have the option to uninstall or reapir -> select repair, wait for it to load and it will fix itself, and the problem will be solved. This solution will work on Windows Vista, 7 and 8.